The Fall of the Shogun

The Fall

of the

Shogun

The Power Path Series, Book One

Dov Silverman

Copyright © Dov Silverman 1986, 2018

Silverman, Dov

The Fall of the Shogun.

You can find more about Dov Silverman by visiting:

https://dov-silverman.com

ISBN, PRINT-13: 978-1539917755

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

In memory of our son, Jeff.

He said, ‘Life isn’t fair.’ He lived his with courage,

to the fullest to the end.

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

William Shakespeare

... but there is neither east nor west,

Border, nor breed, nor birth,

When two strong men stand face to face,

’Tho they come from the ends of the earth.

Rudyard Kipling 1893

Prologue

US State Department, Washington DC, April 1853

Director William Whittefield of the Japanese Section and Secretary of the Navy, Jason Spaulding, listened intently to Harold MacDonald. ...and men such as Moryiama Einosuke can change the course of Japan's future. In that country there are a few influential people seeking western education. They want to equal and better the power they saw Admiral Biddel bring into Yedo Bay in 1852.

William Whittefield and Jason Spaulding exchanged cautious glances. Then the Director said, Mr. MacDonald, please continue. Tell us what happened when you were shipwrecked.

"Luck was with me when I landed. Instead of having my head lopped off according to Japanese law, I was thrown into prison. Later I was shipped south to the island of Dishima in the port of Nagasaki, the only place in the Japanese empire open to foreigners, exclusively the Dutch. I became an English instructor and assistant to Moryiama Einosuke at the government's School of Interpreters. Of the fourteen very bright men in the school, he was by far the most brilliant. I was told he spoke Dutch like a native, he studied in Latin and his English was fluent and grammatically correct with what I took to be a peculiar New England twang. I asked him if he had ever been out of Japan but his answer was negative. Moryiama was a confident man, sure of himself even when working with those of superior rank. Other interpreters told the Japanese lords what they wanted to hear. Mangiro had about him a genuineness you often find in clergymen

William Whittefield's body stiffened. His pockmarked face blanched. He jumped up and crossed the room, advancing on MacDonald who flashed a surprised look at the Secretary of the Navy. Jason Spaulding shifted forward in his chair, wondering what had disturbed the Director.

Describe this Moryiama Einosuke, or Mangiro as you just called him! William Whittefield said to MacDonald. Describe his build!

He was about five feet eight inches, taller than most Japanese. Light-skinned, with fine features, except for a broken nose which lent a rugged dignity to his face.

Whittefield looked down into the pupils of MacDonald's eyes, holding them with his before asking the next question. Why did you first call him Moryiama Einosuke and then Mangiro?

Mr. Whittefield. I came here at the request of the US State Department, and was directed to you because I spent two and a half years in Japan. I don't know what I've said to antagonize you.

William Whittefield held up his hand. Pardon my aggressive behavior, Mr. MacDonald. For several years now I've concerned myself with learning about Japan and its people. You are the first westerner to come out of a hermetically sealed kingdom in two and a half centuries. Your information and observations are extremely important to us.

What do you mean by hermetically sealed?

It's a new word scientists use to mean air-tight or completely shut off from.

MacDonald thumbed his nose, staring thoughtfully into space for a moment, then said, I wouldn't use the word hermetically.

Why not?

It's true the Japanese are centuries behind us in scientific and technical knowledge. However there are, in that country, a handful of nobles who promote Dutch Learning, a term meaning modem education. That's why I've been using Moryiama as an example. He and a few select protégés in the Shogunate are studying the western world. Officially the school does not exist, as trade with foreigners is forbidden. Yet the Japanese built the artificial island of Dishima to allow them to trade with the Dutch on a limited basis, and the school is a reality.

Are you saying that the Japanese are in the process of modernization?

No, but the word hermetically doesn't fit. It's true that for more than two hundred years foreign seamen and shipwrecked crews were usually killed on the beaches, and any Japanese landing on a foreign island or boarding a foreign ship were and still are beheaded when they return, but there are people in high places who want western knowledge. They have used the Dutch to sneak it into the country.

Why didn't they kill you? Jason Spaulding asked.

"Maybe because there are daimyos in the north where I landed who are loyal to Lord Nariakira and the Emperor and who seek Dutch Learning."

Why do business only with the Dutch? A long blue cloud of cigar smoke emphasized the Secretary of the Navy's question.

About three hundred years ago the Jesuits, led by Francis Xavier, began to make Japanese converts. The missionaries mixed religion, politics, and business. A small Roman Catholic uprising gave the Shogun an excuse for killing over three hundred thousand people and consolidating his political position. The Dutch, being more interested in trade than promoting Christianity, were allowed this small trading concession.

Mr. MacDonald, Spaulding said, your initial report tells of a Mr. Levysohn, who heads the Dutch Trade Delegation on Dishima, who stated that trading with the Japanese has been done at a loss or breakeven point for a long time. Why have the Dutch continued? MacDonald turned his broad impassive face towards Jason Spaulding. There is an Indian proverb that says don't try to clean your ass with the money a trader tells you he lost on a business deal.

The three men laughed and the tension was broken.

Then MacDonald said, More important, and this information was put in my ear in a polite but firm way by Mangiro. From the late seventeenth century until now, the Dutch pay unofficially in books, designs, or small mechanical devices which can be secreted in one's clothing en route from Dishima to the mainland in order to obtain the results of the national census of Japan taken every five years. According to Moryiama, the population figure has remained stable at about thirty million on the four main islands for as long as the Shogun has been in power. You will agree that thirty million is a potential market worth waiting for.

Jason Spaulding's cigar remained suspended in mid-air, held between thumb and forefinger. Smoke drifted from his open mouth. Then he pulled a notebook from his breast pocket and wrote quickly.

William Whittefield walked to the window overlooking the Potomac River. Without turning, he asked, What is the disposition of their military?

I have no idea. Certain classes of people carried weapons, almost always swords. Some were guards; others wore them for ceremonial purposes or as a sign of rank. I could never distinguish between them. I did see a few antiquated muskets. I must add that in two and a half years I only left Dishima for a few restricted walks through the dockside market in Nagasaki, and no interpreter ever answered my questions about their military.

What is their attitude or feeling towards Christianity now? Spaulding asked.

At the beginning I was questioned for two months. They frequently asked about my religion. I am an Episcopalian. Once I began to recite the Apostle's Creed but when I said 'and in Jesus Christ his only son born of the Virgin Mary', Moryiama quickly stopped me, probably saving my life. He interpreted what I had said as 'there are no gods'. He also told them I cultivate my mind and will, and revere Heaven in order to obtain enlightenment and happiness.

Mr. MacDonald, Director Whittefield said, I must ask you again. You used the name Moryiama Einosuke and then Mangiro for the same man. Why?

"Because he was Mangiro before he was given the rank of junior samurai. With that honor came a more prestigious name given him by his lord and benefactor, the daimyo or feudal Lord Nariakira. The rank also enabled him to speak freely to aristocrats, which he had to do as an interpreter."

The census figure of thirty million, do you think it's true? Spaulding asked.

"Yes. There were two things Moryiama wanted to impress on me before I was brought back on the USS Preble with the shipwrecked American sailors. First was the number of people inhabiting Japan. Second that the feudal Lord Shimatzu Nariakira of Satsuma in southern Kyushu, an adviser to the Emperor, is one of the leading exponents of Dutch Learning, and opposed to the Shogun."

You have used the term Shogun as a euphemism for political and military power in Japan, Whittefield said. We know that the Emperor, who claims direct descent from the Sun God, has the loyalty of all the Japanese people. Therefore, President Fillmore's correspondence was addressed to His Highness, and Commodore Perry has specific instructions to deal with the Emperor in Tokyo. Harold MacDonald's expression became a puzzled frown. He cleared his throat and took his time before answering. Why did you send Commodore Perry to Yedo, or Tokyo as you call it?

Because it is the seat of the government.

You're correct. But the Emperor is in Kyoto with the Imperial Court. The Shogun in Yedo is the real power, not the Emperor.

A heavy silence filled the room. The Secretary of the Navy leaned forward. Are you certain, Mr. MacDonald? This has great significance! Are you very sure?