The shogunate called on former middle counselor Tokugawa Nariaki, who had retired from the politics of the Mito domain, regarding coastal defense matters. On July 3, Kaei 6 (1853), an order from senior councilor Abe Masahiro was sent down to the Mito residence, requiring him to attend the castle every other day. This was a summons to a retired lord of 54 years.
Two days later, on July 5, Nariaki went to Edo Castle. He could not meet shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi, and was told he was ill, but in fact Ieyoshi had already died. The one he met was the heir, Iesada. That same day, Nariaki wrote to Matsudaira Yoshinaga about his surprise. Sohō reads this letter as a sign of Nariaki’s satisfaction.
Why was it Nariaki? Sohō cites the *Kaikoku Kigen*, compiled by Katsu Kaishū. It is said that Ieyoshi, on his sickbed, left word that after his death Nariaki should be consulted on foreign matters. While noting that it is unclear whether this is fact or rumor, Sohō writes that it seems likely. Shimazu Nariakira, too, wrote to Owari Yoshikatsu on June 10 that there was no choice but to leave matters to Nariaki.
In a letter to Nariaki dated July 10, Nariakira stated that too much concealment breeds suspicion. He also urged that the matter be conveyed widely to the daimyo and their opinions sought. On July 9, Nariaki presented his thoughts on coastal defense to Abe. There were 10 articles on reasons not to be friendly, and 5 articles on measures to take. He wrote that it was a national disgrace that American ships had entered Uraga and taken measurements, and he rejected trade as well.
At the same time, he also called for having the Dutch supply warships and steamships, along with shipwrights and navigators. Sohō values only this one point highly, seeing it as the foundation for the later navy. To this long document, a single line of different wording was attached on a slip of paper. Its content was that if his own plan were adopted, the word “peace” should be suppressed, and the matter should be left in the hands of the coastal defense officers alone. This was the idea of publicly insisting on expulsion while keeping peace as a hidden option.
Sohō sees weakness in Nariaki and his circle in the fact that, knowing there was no chance of victory, they resorted to expedient means. Katsu Kaishū, too, remarked in *Magaki no Ibara* that anyone who took the public stance as Nariaki’s true intention did not truly know him. On August 15, Yokoi Shōnan wrote from Kumamoto to Fujita Tōko that Edo should be designated as the battlefield. Nariaki never in the end unveiled the words he had sealed away, and he did not lower the banner of expelling foreigners. While regarding Nariaki as one of the outstanding figures among the daimyo, Sohō declared that it was those who had placed their hopes in him who ought to feel ashamed.
What Nariaki, who raised the banner of expelling foreigners, wrote on the slip attached to his opinion paper can be traced through Sohō’s commentary in *Kinsei Nihon Kokuminshi, Perry’s Arrival and Its Time* and through Katsu Kaishū’s words in *Magaki no Ibara*.
On the third day of the seventh month of Kaei 6 (1853), a notice came down to the Mito residence.Original
Since there was business concerning coastal defense, he was to attend the castle roughly every other day for a while.Original
As he was a retired lord, he need not use the main street; he was to enter by Hirakawa Gate and proceed to the waiting chamber by way of Furoya Gate.Original
Nakayama Bingo no kami, chief retainer of Mito, was summoned and received these instructions from senior councilor Abe Masahiro directly.OriginalOriginal
水戶前中納言殿、海岸防禦筋之儀に付、此節御用も有之候間、以來暫之內、隔日程にも御登城可被成候
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryThe former middle counselor of Mito, Tokugawa Nariaki.Original
Fifty-four years old.Original
A man who had withdrawn from domain government was called back to the shogunate’s coastal defense.OriginalOriginal
“I Was Astonished”
Two days later, on the fifth day of the seventh month, Nariaki attended the castle.Original
He was unable to meet shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi.Original
He was told this was due to illness.Original
In fact, Ieyoshi had already died.Original
The one who granted Nariaki an audience was the heir apparent, Iesada.OriginalOriginal
That same day, Nariaki wrote a reply to Matsudaira Yoshinaga.Original
“On the third of this month, I was excused from mourning and ordered to attend the castle; I was astonished.”Original
He was saying that he had been summoned before the period of mourning had ended, and that this had astonished him.
He continued, writing that he had had an audience with Iesada in the Goza no ma and discussed the matter of the foreign ships together with the senior councilors, and added the following.Original
“Being without talent, I have no good plan that could be of any use whatsoever.”OriginalOriginal
則今日登城仕候處、於御座之間、右大將君へ(家定)御目見へ被仰付、其後閣老一同、異船之儀に付對談有之
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryTokutomi Sohō reads this letter as an expression of Nariaki’s satisfaction.Original
Nariaki knew that Yoshinaga had strongly urged Abe to appoint him.Original
Sohō writes that even as it took the form of boasting, some gratitude must have been mixed in as well.OriginalOriginal
Named from His Deathbed
Why was it Nariaki?Original
Sohō quotes the Kaikoku Kigen, compiled by Katsu Kaishū.OriginalOriginal
The day before his illness grew grave, Ieyoshi ordered his attendants to put ceremonial robes over him as he lay ill, and said, “Summon Ise.”Original
Foreign affairs must never be treated carelessly.Original
He himself had fallen ill and could not bring this matter to its conclusion.Original
The former middle counselor of Mito had devoted himself to this matter for many years.Original
After he himself died, Nariaki should be called up to the castle, and together they should plan for foreign affairs.OriginalOriginal
Sohō, cautioning that he did not know whether this was fact or rumor, writes, “It seems it was likely something of this sort.”OriginalOriginal
The hopes of the realm, too, had gathered around this man.Original
On the tenth day of the sixth month, Shimazu Nariakira wrote to Owari Yoshikatsu that this time even the senior councilors seemed utterly astonished, and that given the present circumstances there was nothing to do but entrust matters to the retired lord of Mito.Original
Tanabe Taichi’s Bakumatsu Gaikō Dan, while saying it was no exaggeration to call Abe Masahiro one of the finest chief ministers of the shogunate, also writes that it is regrettable that at this time he lacked the courage to decide the matter with a single stroke.OriginalOriginal
齊彬は、六月十日附(嘉永六年)にて、尾張慶勝に書を與へて曰く、今度は老中も大仰天之樣子此後又々渡來は無疑、當時の處にては、乍恐水老公へ御委任の外は有間敷と奉存候
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryThe Harm of Excessive Secrecy
In a letter that Nariakira sent from Kagoshima to Nariaki dated the tenth day of the seventh month, there is a scathing passage aimed at the shogunate.Original
He had heard that the matter of the foreign ships was somehow being kept secret.Original
It was probably because the senior councilors feared unrest among the people.Original
But if things are kept too secret, people instead grow suspicious and spread rumors treating even trivial matters as grave ones.OriginalOriginal
“Since there is not a single person born in Japan who wishes ill upon the imperial land.”Original
Nariakira writes that there is no need to keep this matter secret.Original
It should be conveyed in detail to the Gosanke, the Gosankyō, and the daimyo who hold provinces, and their opinions sought before reaching a decision.Original
That, he says, would form the basis of unity among the people.OriginalOriginal
御三家方、御三卿方は勿論、國持諸大名へも委敷被仰聞、存寄之御尋等も御座候而、御評決に相成候へば、人心一和之基ひにも可相成
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryOn top of this, he bluntly states that a way of proceeding in which those in charge have no settled views and simply leave everything to the assembled opinions of others will never reach a resolution.Original
He also writes that it is quite dangerous to seek knowledge of foreign countries from Nariaki.Original
Nariaki, he says, regards foreign countries entirely as barbarians, and is nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well when it comes to the state of the world.Original
In a land of the blind, even a one-eyed man is king.OriginalOriginal
Ten Articles and Five Matters
On the ninth day of the seventh month, Nariaki presented his humble views on coastal defense to Abe.Original
Ten articles gave reasons why peace should not be made, and five articles gave means of coastal defense.OriginalOriginal
The most urgent matter was to settle once and for all whether it would be peace or war, and once decided, never to waver from it.Original
The American ships had sailed into Uraga, put out a white flag, submitted a petition, and moreover had sailed into the inner bay, fired blank shots, and even taken soundings as they pleased.Original
“This is truly a national disgrace unheard of since the founding of the realm.”OriginalOriginal
然に此度渡來之アメリカ夷、重き御制禁を心得ながら、浦賀へ乘入、和睦合圖の白旗差出し、推て願書を奉り、剰內海え乘込、空砲打鳴し、我儘に測量迄致し、其驕傲無禮之始末言語同斷にて、實に開闢以來の國恥とも可申候
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryTrade, too, should be rejected.Original
To exchange useful goods such as gold, silver, copper, and iron for useless items such as woolens and satins brings great harm and no benefit.Original
Nariaki writes that even trade with the Dutch might well be halted.OriginalOriginal
The section on means was concrete.Original
The Dutch should be ordered to assemble and present as tribute warships and steamships, along with shipwrights and navigators.Original
Adopting the strengths of foreign countries is in keeping with the greatness of the divine land, and there are precedents in ancient histories of having scholars of the Five Classics and various craftsmen presented as tribute from the Three Han.Original
Garrisons should be placed at strategic points along the coast, and fishermen organized into groups to be trained as local soldiers.Original
They are strong of bone and muscle, and are already seasoned upon the sea.Original
Practice the two arts of spear and sword.Original
As long as the foreign enemies do not land, they cannot fully indulge their desires.OriginalOriginal
Of these, Tokutomi Sohō praises highly only the one clause about seeking large ships, great guns, shipbuilding engineers, and navigators from Holland.Original
It was not realized right away, but it became the foundation for laying the groundwork of the Bakufu’s navy in later years, and by extension of the Japanese Imperial Navy, Tokutomi Sohō writes.OriginalOriginal
The Sealed Character
Within that long text, a single line of a different nature is inserted.Original
On the attached note was written the following.OriginalOriginal
“If my humble plan is to be adopted, I wish that the single character ‘peace’ be sealed away and entrusted only to the coastal defense officers.”OriginalOriginal
If his plan were to be used, he wished that the single character “peace” be sealed, and that only the coastal defense officers keep charge of it.Original
Outwardly, the policy of driving them off by force would be maintained.Original
Peace existed, but it was not to be shown on the surface.Original
Sohō does not overlook this point.Original
While openly and boldly advocating for driving the foreigners off by force, behind the scenes he knew that under the present circumstances there was no prospect of victory in war, and so he devised expedient measures—this, Sohō writes, is precisely where the weakness of Nariaki’s and the Mito faction’s argument lay.Original
Katsu Kaishū also remarked in Magaki no Ibara that Lord Keizan’s argument had a side put forward openly and a side kept hidden, and that if one took the surface argument as the lord’s true intention, one probably did not truly know the lord.OriginalOriginal
勝海舟は、其著『籬の茨』に於て、按ずるに景山公の御說、其表に押立つる所あり、また其裏にする處あり。智者は必よく其說の表裏を伺ひ奉らむ。當時士氣の衰弱萎靡を撓めむには、其表に說き給ふ處、所謂頭上の一大針ならめ。若是を察せず、其表說を以て、公の御本意とせば、恐らくは公を知る者にあらず
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryAbe wrote an afterword to this memorandum and named the work Mioya no Mitama.OriginalOriginal
Only the Surface Was Visible
What the realm saw was only the surface character.OriginalOriginal
On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, Yokoi Shōnan wrote from Kumamoto to Fujita Tōko in Edo.Original
That the elder lord had become guardian was the arrival of a great opportunity for the revival of the realm; Edo should be made a battlefield fought to the death, and the foreign enemies should be ground to powder, he wrote.Original
Yokoi Shōnan was known as one of the great forerunners of the argument for opening the country, alongside Sakuma Shōzan.Original
Yet his tone was entirely that of an advocate of expelling the barbarians, Sohō points out.OriginalOriginal
That sealed character, Nariaki himself never in the end unsealed.Original
This was because he never took down, of his own accord, the sign of the expel-the-barbarians advocate.OriginalOriginal
Sohō’s assessment is harsh.Original
Nariaki was one of the most outstanding among the hereditary daimyo, but he was not the man the realm expected him to be.Original
He had opinions, but he was attentive to details while neglecting the larger picture.Original
He had cunning and skill, but they were far too transparent.Original
Those who placed their expectations on something undeserving of expectation ought rather to be ashamed of their own lack of insight—Sohō writes even this much.OriginalOriginal
彼は世襲の大名中には、最も卓越したる一人であつた。而して其の頭も手も、普通一遍の人に比して、固より傑出してゐた。されど不幸にして彼は、天下の期待する程の人物ではなかつた
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryThe true feelings written on a single attached note, and the sign that the realm looked up to.Original
Was it not by the very measure of that gap that the realm’s expectations later came to be betrayed?Original
| Source text | Kinsei Nihon kokuminshi, Perry’s Arrival and Its Time (1929). National Diet Library Digital Collections (PDM). PID 3431222 |
| Checked against | Ishin shiryō kōyō, vol. 1 (1937). PID 1046665 |
| Dates and names | All 6 dates in the text exist in the calendar for their year, and the Western years given alongside them agree. Of the 10 people named in the text, 8 also appear in Ishin shiryō kōyō, vol. 1. |
| English gates | 90 of 90 sentences passed the checks on the English text. |
This article is a reading of Kinsei Nihon kokuminshi, Perry’s Arrival and Its Time. Tokutomi Sohō’s views are those of the 1920s and 1930s and may differ from current scholarship. The source text is a century old and may differ from current scholarship.
