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1868
June
11, 1868
To take advantage of our opportunity in 1865 I did all in my
power to ally us with Satsuma and to employ Murata Zoroku* to
take charge of the domain military administration and to bring
about a complete military reform in Choshu. At that time the
only person who backed me was the old gentleman Seizan. Remembering
that, I was so filled with emotion that I stool rooted to the
spot, unaware that tears had begun to flow. Today when public
opinion is sharply divided and solutions to our problems are
nowhere in sight, would I be so troubled as I am if the old
gentleman were still alive? Yet if we look from the present
to the past the great purpose of the loyalist warriors who died
miserably over the years out of loyalty to the Imperial ancestors
will promote the welfare of our people for ages to come, so
I must endure my troubles and worries.... At night I searched
in an old box and found there the letters of Kusaka and Takasugi.
*Murata
Zoroku is the early name of Omura Masujiro (1823-1869), an eminent
student of the Dutch Learning from Choshu.
*Kusaka
Genzui (1839-1864) was the prototype of the Choshu shishi, pictured
ordinarily with an expression of grim determination wearing
the hachimaki headband. Kusaka died at the age of twenty-five.
Wounded in the hopeless Choshu charge on Hamaguri Gate of the
Kyoto Palace in 1864, he committed suicide.
14
June 1868
… then I went up to the Domain Office. There I submitted
a four-point proposal stressing that men of ability should be
promoted, and that the government must take the final step to
bring peace to the land by establishing a master policy of dispatching
more troops to the front and the like.
22
June 1868
Last night in conversation with the warriors, we talked
about the deeds of old Murata Seifu. I have always admired that
old gentleman. I have long wanted to build a monument under
his favorite pine tree, but I have not yet done so. IN a few
days I am going to Nagasaki, then directly back to Kyoto, not
returning here o this trip. For that reason I want to erect
the stone before I go, and I made plans on the spur of the moment.
A stonecutter obtained a stone for me; then I went to the present
owner of the pine tree, Inoue Tojin, to tell him of my long-held
intention; and Tojin gladly gave permission. I entrusted the
completion of the monument in honor of Old Seifu to Naganuma
Tarobei and left. I wrote the phrase “Seifu’s pine”
for the face of the stone; and prepared for the back the following
inscription: “Murata Seifu was born in an era of peace
and tranquility. Practiced in the military arts and cultivated
in the literary arts, he swept away the reactionary customs
of the age, and renewed the spirit of the warrior within our
domain. Must we not then admire his virtues in our own day?
In the summer of 1868, when I had returned from Kyoto, I passed
by his old garden and saw his beloved pine. Regretting as I
do that he is no longer with us, I have built this monument,
and admonish those who come after against cutting the tree.
On behalf of the old gentleman, I write here a poem in the Chinese
zekku fashion, following his manner:
Now
that I have taken office with the central government occupying
the heights
I am ready to sustain the thrust of sword and spear against
me,
But when will our learned Elder Statesman return to his native
town.
The old
pine tree by his library is in bloom again. In this fifth month
of the Year of the Emperor’s Restoration. Respectfully
composed by Kido Oe Takayoshi.
11
July 1868
Poem requested by Setai, who received Katsura’s long sword
on this date.. Koryusen = Old Dragon Springs.
Once
having acquired my good sword Koryusen,
For ten years I entrusted my life to it.
It protected me on the main thoroughfares of the Empire;
I used it to clear the way through copse and thorny path.
For many years there was tumult in the land;
And I took this sword with me on distant missions.
Like a friend it accompanied me through those difficult days;
With it strapped to my waist, somehow I stole through enemy
territory.
When spring rains darken mountains and field,
Oft have the dreams of my youth come to naught.
When autumn winds shatter the grass and leaves,
My sword cries out in its scabbard on behalf of
The great eternal code which weights heavily,
My own fame and wealth are insignificant.
Yet when troubles came without end,
I always endured them with an upright heart.
Long have you coveted this sword
So without hesitation have I unbuckled it from my side to present
to you.
Last night news arrived, alas!
That rebels in the East have advanced again.
My faithful sword! Your mission is not yet done.
Now we part, I to stay in the West, you to go East,
I beg you to adhere always to your purpose
That you devote yourself without surcease to the cause.
While the country is not yet pacified!
While tumult reigns all about,
Give this sword renown!
“I
present you with this sword, and the poem to accompany it, Mr.
Inoue.”
6 August 1868
It was the will of Heaven that power should be restored
to the Imperial government last winter; but the Restoration
was fully realized only after many loyal and benevolent men
had sacrificed their lives in the service of the Imperial family.
Several dozen of my friends fell as martyrs to the cause of
the Empire, but by chance I have survived to this day. Must
I not give my utter devotion to the cause of the nation? In
my humble view the Imperial Government at present has but little
military power or authority; and our troubles with foreign nations
are critical beyond comprehension. At this time when the Imperial
family fortunes have taken a slight upward turn by our recognition
that the highest loyalty of a subject is to his Emperor, Heaven
has not yet completely abandoned our Divine Land. But the rebel
flame still burns; and indications are clear that the traitors
are making a major drive to achieve their goals. Since spring,
therefore, I have wanted to take advantage of the present opportunity
to sweep the Tohoku completely clear of the enemy while our
spirit is undiminished, establish a broad foundation for our
nation, and spread its influence abroad on a grand scale, so
that those who inherit our mission will delineate the borders
of our Divine Land with precision, and spread our influence
abroad beginning with Karafuto and Kamchatka. Now, however,
we are not sure whether we can even hold Japan proper. The number
of loyal and righteous samurai who have died violent deaths
on the field of battles without yet having achieved their purpose
is legion, and their souls wander restlessly about the realm
of the dead. Those of us who have survived to this day owe it
to those who have died for the cause to accomplish their purpose
so their souls might rest in peace.
…
Now once
again people misunderstand me. Their discussion of my views
tends to be murky and irrelevant. This situation in my domain
impinges on my thoughts constantly. If I am so ineffective in
dealing with my own countrymen, how can I be effective in the
Imperial Government? At the same time that I am hearing those
rumors, I am also disturbed by the daily reports of severe fighting
which is taking place in the Tohoku. Things go contrary to my
wishes eight or nine times out of ten even in my home province,
as I noted before. So to make up for my failures I went to see
the commander of the vanguard forces of the Imperial armies;
but, although I made several appeals to him, he would not give
me permission to serve with him. Rather than that, I was given
in formal orders to hasten to the scene of the big political
troubles in Edo. I have been driven into a corner.
Suspicions
about me are in circulation without end. I am human, after all,
so I cannot be relaxed about the situation. But I must always
guard myself against becoming excessively emotional. I remember
what I was told by two men of my acquaintance, now deceased.*
One day, when I feared I might make a mistake because of my
emotional nature, I asked for their opinions. One of them sat
up straight in a formal position, and said, “Loyalty and
filial piety are altogether emotional inquality. What I deplore
in people is heartlessness.” The other said, “I
have seen you help people, but I have never seen you deceive
a man. The injury done to a man by deceiving him is great; while
the harm done by assistance to him is slight. Most of those
whom you have helped are the right sort of people.” Despite
this advice from my two acquaintances, I still act with circumspection.
Even though one discard his emotional nature, and live without
commitment to a righteous cause, his troubles may well go on
endlessly. These are cruel times, and people still advise me
to be less emotional. I am at a loss as to what to do.
I drank
more than I should have tonight, and I dreamed endlessly. At
times the moon shone brightly, then again it was hidden behind
a cloud. My two acquaintances have died, so I do not record
their names; but I grieve for them.
*An
informed guess is that these two men were Takasugi Shinsaku
and Kusaka Genzui.
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