Alcock and Harris.

Foreign Diplomacy in Bakumatsu Japan

Author(s): John McMaster
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 22, No. 3/4 (1967), pp. 305-367
Published by: Sophia University
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 Alcock and Harris
FOREIGN DIPLOMACY IN BAKUMATSU JAPAN

by JOHN MCMASTER

T W ENTY-ONE times
thegunsshattered
thenoonday
quietofEdoBay.Asthey
roared,
thered-ball flagofJapan washoistedtojoinwhatJapanese calledtheflowery flagof
theAmericans. It wasJuly29th,theyearwas i858andthewarship wasacknowl-
edgingthata commercial treatyhadjustbeensignedonboard.Theroar,thesmokeandthe
shudder throughout thewoodenshipwasappropriate. The proximate causeofthetreaty
hadbeencannon.Although theJapanesethenhadnoshiptomatchthe"Powhattan," the
solitary vesselwas notas important as thenewsshehadbrought from Shanghai.Other
foreign vesselswereon thewaytoJapan,notalonebutinfleets. A British squadron was
to be followed bya French, bothfreshfrom forcing
treaties
uponChina.A Russianfleet
was expectedsoon.Therehad beenlittlediscussion. The American envoy,Townsend
Harris,hadsaidsimplythattorefuse toa singleforeignerwhatit wouldshortly haveto
giveup tomighty fleetswoulddisgracetheTokugawabakufu, themilitary government
ofJapan, in theeyesofitsownpeople.Bettertomakethebestofthesituation. TheJapa-
nesehaddonesobutitcannothavebeena happygroupofbakufu whowentashore
officials
thatafternoon.
Bycontrast theAmerican musthavebeenjubilant.The manwhohadleftNewYorkan
alcoholic failure
in I849hadnowachieveda finediplomatic successforhiscountry aswell
as hisownpersonalredemption.
DuringtenyearsofexileHarrishadroamedthePacific andIndianoceanspossibly even
as a remittance manpaidbyhisfamily tostayaway.1Thatwasovernow.He hadachieved
an honourable placein thehistories.
Moreover no manhadmorereasonto dislikeJapan
thanHarris.The needlessprivations forced uponhimby thebakufu at Shimodaandall
thewearymonths ofnegotiationshouldhavedisgusted himwithJapanandeverything
Japanese. "The mendacity ofthesemenpassesallbelief,"
runsa typicalentryin hisYour-
nal,". . . I amreallyill,yetI amforceddayafterdaytolistentouselessdebatesonpoints

MTHE AUTHOR is gratefulto the staffsof the courtesyand assistance.The Dutch translations
Anderson Room of the UniversityLibrary, wouldhave beenimpossiblewithoutthepatient
Cambridge,the Special CollectionsDepartment helpofMiss H. Walburghschmidt.
at the City College of New York, the Public 1 Hyman Kublin, "A Salute to Townsend
RecordOffice,the Ministeredes Affaires
E1tran- Harris",7apan6arterly,v, No. 3,July-September
geres and the AlgemeenRijksarchief fortheir I958, pp. 2-5.
306 Monumenta xm, 3-4
Ni.pponica,

thathavebeenexhausted
andareonlyvaried
bysomenewphaseoffalsehood."2
Inspite
ofit all he was enthusiastic about"hisbelovedJapanandexpatiates uponherbeauties
withall theardourofan elderly lovercontemplating thecharms ofa youthful fiancee."3
"Evenmoreeulogistic thantheDutch",wroteanother foreigner
whoknewhimat the
time.4
Whatthismeantinpractice wasthatHarriswouldgivetheJapanese thebenefit ofthe
doubtinanymatter arisingbetween them and nations.
foreign Unlikesomelaterforeign-
erswhoalsolovedJapan,he hadnointention ofremaining there.Aninterest inhelping
to puthistreaty intoforce wasenoughtoholdhimfora fewmonths buthewasa tempo-
rarydiplomat cometo do a particular job. Thatjob was done.
A sincere Christian, HarrishopedtobringJapan intothecomity ofnationsundermore
reputable conditions thanIndiaorChina.Thiswas nowpossibleas histreaty provided
fora verygradualopeningofrelations withtheWest.It wasas muchas hecoulddo.To
put possibility intopracticewas beyondthepowerofTownsendHarrisor anyother
American.
Wanderings thathadtouchedCalcutta,Penang,Singapore, HongKongandShanghai
had taughtHarristhatBritish merchants formed themajority oftheforeigners in Asia
anddidthebulkofitsforeign trade.As soonasJapanwasopenedtotrade,Britain would
inevitably becomethechiefarbiterofits foreign relations.
Harris'simportance would
endwiththearrivalofthefirstBritishrepresentative.
It hadtobe so.Evenbefore theoutbreak ofitscivilwarinthespring ofi86otheUnited
Stateshad littleinterest in thecommercial prospectsofJapanand an almostcomplete
indifferencetothewelfare ofHarris.5 Itstradewassmallanditsdesiretobackup a diplo-
matwithwarships evensmaller. In contrast to Palmerston'ssupportoftenuousclaims
to Britishcitizenship witha navalbombardment, American policyreckonedthatits
citizenswhodaredforeign adventures in hopesofprofit shouldfacethepenalties when
thosehopeswentsour.Although thebakufu fearedcolonization,
mostWestern nations
hadas littleinterest inJapanas theAmericans.
NapoleonII hadinstructed hisdiplomats to cooperatewithBritain preciselybecause
French interest intheareawasso small.The Emperor hopedthatBritish goodwillearned
inChinaandJapan mightbeuseful insomeareaofgenuine Frenchinterest.6Russiancon-
cernwas confined to buyingprovisions forherSiberiancoloniesand thewarm-water
anchorage at Nagasakiforherfleetinwinter.Shewouldnibbletentatively at islandsto
thenorthandwestbutseemstohavehadlittleinterest inthethreemostpopulatedJapa-
neseislands.Asidefrom thehopethattheoldrelations oftheEast-IndiaCompany would

2 Townsend Harris, Complete 7ournal,New ElginsMissionto Chinaand 7apan,2 vols., New

York,I930, p. 327. York,i86o, p. 345.
3 E. B. Fonblanque, andPe-chi-li,
Lon- 5 Kublin,pp. 3, 7.
Ni.ppon
don,I862, p. Io5. 6 AlexanderMichie, TheEnglishman
in China,
4 LaurenceOliphant,Narrativeof theEarl of 2 vols.,London,I900,i, io6.
 in BakumatsuJapan"
MCMASTER. "... ForeignDiplomacy 307

givethema specialbusinessadvantageinJapan,theNetherlands was almostentirely

involvedin Indonesia.Ofall theWestern powersonlyBritaincombined a sufficientin-
terestintheJapantradewiththepowertoenforce it.
As longestresidentdiplomat,Harriswouldhave the honorary positionof doyen.
Whenthediplomatic corpsas a groupdealtwiththebakufu, hewouldbe itsspokesman.
It was a ceremonial honour. In practicethearrival ofa Britishrepresentative wouldrel-
egateHarristobeingmerely theminister ofa second-ratepower.Personality orpersua-
sionmighthelphimtoinfluence eventsbutthemajordecisions mustliewiththeBritish
ambassador. Pendinghis arrival,Harrishad littleto do but caretaking chores.
Thesehadtheirimportance. Duringthenextelevenmonthsthebakufu woulddecide
howbesttodealwiththeunwanted foreigntrade.Muchthatitdidinthisinterim period
woulddetermine thelaterhistory ofJapan.AsDonkerCurtiusstayedonatNagasakiinhis
traditionalpositionas Netherlands businessagent,Harriswas theonlyknowledgeable
foreigner dealingdirectly withthebakufu. Unlikelaterforeigners, hewas toohumbleto
write.Nota wealthy manandhardly lazywithhispen,heyetturned downa publisher's
offer,7writing toa friend "We havequiteenoughoferrorrelating to thiscountry in the
shapeofbooks,andI earnestly hopethatwe shallhavenomoreinflicted on us untilsome
manfitted fortheworkbyhavingfullylearnedthelanguage... shallgiveus an honest,
truthful workonJapan."8 Otherswerenottobe so modest.
Chiefamongst theseandtheonlyoneto sharea knowledge ofdiplomatic matters was
Rutherford Alcock,thefirst British ambassador. In i86i-62, he wrote a book The Capital
oftheTycoon, from whichalmostall laterhistorical writing derives.So muchso thatit is
scarcely realizedthat Harris remained inJapan more than fouryearsafterthelastentry
inhisYournal onFebruary 27th,i858.Alcockwrotea bookandburned hisprivate papers.
Harrisrefused towritebutlefthisprivatepapers.Theseareworthstudybecausehewas
betterqualified to writeonJapanthanAlcock.Formanymonths theyarealsotheonly
Western evidencecomingoutofJapan.
Giventhewidespread popularity ofAlcock'sbook,it is a healthy corrective tolookat
Japanese affairsthrough theeyesofTownsendHarris.UnlikeRutherford Alcock,hewas
nota career diplomat looking tofuture promotion anda pension. Harrishaddonehiswork,
recovered hisreputation, andwantedonlyto return to hisbelovedManhattan. Witha
deeploveofJapananditspeople,andno professional ambitions to colourhisvision,he
wasperhapsthemostdisinterested observer ofthescene.
Backfromtreaty-making, Harrissettledintofamiliar surroundings at Shimodaand
awaitedtheBritish fleet.A longlettertoSecretary ofStateCassinWashington explained
varioussections ofhistreaty.9

7 HarrisPapers,City College of New York, Edo,22 AugustI895.

Book4, No. 20, to Childs & Peterson,Shimoda, 9 Harris Papers, Book 4, No. 37, to Cass,
29 MarchI859. Shimoda,7 Augusti858.
8 HarrisPapers,Book4, No. I57, to E. Garrett,
308 Monumenta XXi,3-4
Nipponica,

Although it vexedmanymindsandtempers a decadelater,thequestionofextrater-

ritorialitywas easilydismissed in i858. Japanese municipal lawswere"verypeculiar"
wroteHarris.It wouldbe unfair tomakeforeigners liveunderthem.It wouldbe equally
unfair to demandthattheJapanese abrogatethem.Seeingjusticein neither proposal,
Harrischosea separateforeign settlement whereforeign consulscouldapplytheirre-
spectivelegalcodesto theirownnationals.
Theseconsular officersthemselves presented a problem. Asidefromcontrolling their
country's merchants andseamen,theirmaindutywas to reportupontheprospects for
theirnation'stradewithJapan.
In mostpartsoftheworldconsularofficers madeperiodichorseback tripsto visit
farming andmining districts.
It wasa chanceto getawayfrom theroutine oftheseaport.
Usuallyseveralforeigners wouldgo together, combining dutywithhunting, fishingand
anyotheramusement thatcametheirway.Havinghad a vacationtheywouldreturn
bringing a littlecommercial information withwhichto impresstheirsuperiors. The
presence andpriceofforeign imports ininlandtowns,thestateofthecrops,possibleim-
provements toincrease exports,anda generalcomment on theprosperity ofthedistrict
theyvisitedmadeup a report inan agewhichdidnotteachitschildren economics. This
rightofconsular travelwasa standard practiceinmostcountries, butonceagainthe"very
peculiar"lawsofJapan intruded.
Havingsignedthetreatythebakufu nowbeganraisingobjections toit. This travelof
consular personnel outsidethenarrow limitsofthetreatyportscouldembarrass them.
Foreigners mightintrudein thedomainsbelonging to the"eighteengreatDaimyos."
Theymightalsointerfere withthe"sanctity whichattaches toKyoto,theresidence ofthe
SpiritualEmperor." 10 VerballyHarris gavewaywithout givingupthetreaty right,noting
whatwastobe thetouchstone ofhisJapanpolicy:hewouldnotembarrass thebakufu on
secondary matters butwouldholdfirm to theessentials ofhistreaty.
One ofthesewashisresidence at theEdo capital.The bakufu wishedto postponethis
fora yearanda halfuntilJanuary i86i, butHarrisstoodfastonthisquestion. The changes
wouldbe so greatthata responsible personmustbe therewhentradestarts, hewroteto
Washington. Additionally, hisinterpreter, Heusken,had beentoldby Moriyama, his
Japaneseopposite, thatmanydaimyo didnotcareaboutexchange orshipping regulations,
butobjectedstrongly tovisibleconcessions suchas therightofforeign diplomats tolive
at Edo.11As thebakufu didnottakemuchinterest intariffs, Harrissettheimport tariff
at
20% on mostgoodsin orderto ensure a sufficient
incomeforthegovernment.
IfHarriswaspro-Japanese, hewasalsoreputedly "Tell thetruth,
anti-British. fearGod
andhatetheBritish" wasreportedly thekeystone ofhislife-longconduct.12 Ofthefirst
twothereis littledoubt.The thirdis opentoquestion. Thereis littleevidence ofitinhis
10 See also, W. G. Beasley,SelectDocumentson 12 W. E. Griffis,
Townsend
Harris,
London,I895,
7apaneseForeign Policy,London,I955, p. 220. P.4.
11 Harris,7ournal, p. 538.
 McMAsTER. ". Japan"
inBakumatsu
.ForeignDiplomacy 309

papers,yetitmaybe true.The agedHarrishadoneinterview withhisfuture biographer

inNewYorkin I874. Atthistimehementioned theinfluence ofhisgrandmother whose
homehadbeenburnedby Britishtroopsin I8I2. As a youthin upstateNew Yorkhe
probably Againin hislastyearshe maywellhavebeenso. Americans
was anti-British.
ingeneralwerebitteraboutBritish support fortherebelcauseduring itscivilwar.Harris
mayhavebeenbitteraboutrecentBritishpolicyinJapan.However,his
in particular
contemporary lettersanddespatches from Japanwerenotanti-British.
The finalpointin hisAugust7thlettertoWashington putthismatter in theproper
Inithedescribed
perspective. theuseofNagasakias oneofthemostimportant provisions
ofthetreaty, forthepresentU.S. Naval depotat HongKong"is placedin one ofthe
worstspotsinthewholeEast,as itregards andthevilepopulation
insalubrity thatexists
there,to whichmaybe addedtheimportant factthatthewholeofthesuppliesforour
EasternSquadronarein thehandsofourgreatpoliticalandcommercial rival."Harris's
desiretoremovenavalstoresfrom thecolonyofa powerwithwhomtheremightbe war
wasonlycommon sense.BritainandtheUnitedStateshadbeenonthevergeofwarover
theOregonboundary whenHarrishadleftforJapan.
To describe Britainas "our greatpoliticalandcommercial rival"was a simplestate-
mentoffactrather thanprejudice. Harrisputsitat theendofhislistafter a climatewhich
maderecovery forinvalidseamenanda busyharbour
difficult which made desertion only
tooeasy.
Harriswas on goodtermswithSirJohnBowring, governor ofHongKong.Bowring
hadwritten thathe didnotwishto bringa largefleettoJapanunlessit was necessary.
Harris hadrepliedthatitwouldnotbe needed.13It therefore seemsoddtoclaima moral
forElgin
superiority inemploying fewer warshipsthanthePerry expeditions,14butforeign
writersthenandsincehaveenjoyedabusingtheirownoreachother'snationsforintimi-
datingtheJapanese.'5 Thereis notmuchin anyoftheclaims.
By drivingofftheone or two shipmissionswhichhad attempted to communicate
peacefullywithJapanthebakufu hadforced to use powerful
foreigners squadrons. Once
thesehadbeenseenandthenumber ofcannoncountedit didnotmatter muchwhether
latersquadronswerelargeorsmall.Moreshipscouldalwaysbe summoned. The question
didaffordHarrissomelateramusement.
A leadingarticleintheTimesofNovember 2nd,i858 hadstatedthat"thegunsofthe
Peihoand theroaroftheBritishLion alonesecuredthe American Treaty."Another
inthesamepapertwoyearslaterannounced
leadingarticle thattheAmerican Treatyhad
onlybeensecured"by thepresence ofan overwhelming American navalforceintheBay
ofYedo." As this"overwhelming force"hadconsisted ofoneship,Harrissenttheclip-
13Harris,7ournal,p. 624. I930, p. I40.
14 in 7apan,New
F. C. Jones,Extraterritoriality 15 E. g.,P.J.Treat,DiplomaticRelations
Between
Haven, I93I, p. 20. Montague Paske-Smith, U.S.and7apan,Stanford, I932, andW. L. Neuman,
WesternBarbariansin Tokugawa7apan, Kobe, AmericaEncounters 7apan,JohnsHopkins,I963.
 MonumentaNipponica,xm, 3-4

pingsalongto hercommander noting, "It is wellsaidthatliarsshouldhavegoodmem-

ories."16
To LordElgin,Harrisadmitted thathistreaty hadbeensecuredbytheAnglo-French
actionin Chinaandwenton to givetheBritish negotiator allofthehelphecould.Elgin
wasbriefed on thenegotiations leading up to the treaty.More important,Harrisloaned
theservicesofhisinterpreter, HenryHeusken.Thesewereinvaluableas he combined
Japanesewith his nativeDutch, theonlyWestern languageknownto theJapanese inter-
FortheirhelpbothHarrisandHeuskenwereawardedgoldsnuff
preters. boxesbearing
the cipherofQueen Victoria in diamonds. These were presented a yearlateraftera sus-
piciousAmerican Congresshadapprovedtheforeign giftstoitsagents.
The urgings of Harris that Britain quickly accept thetreaty, coupledwiththestub-
bornness oftheJapanese negotiators whofought longandhardovertheslightest deviation
from theHarrisTreaty-"I sayit to theircredit,"wroteLordElgin-brought thecom-
mercialtreatywithJapanthrough almostverbatim toa finalhamandchampagne dinner
aboardthewarships. Harrishadbeenabletokeephispromise tothebakufu thatitwould
getmorelenienttreatment bydealingwithhimbefore theBritish arrived.AsLordElgin
noted,thetreatyconcessions were"not,in someimportant particulars,as considerable
as thoseacquiredfrom ChinaundertheTreatynegotiated bymeat Tien-tsin."'17
The onlymajorchangemadebyLordElginwas tolowertheimportdutyon cottons
andwoolensfrom 20% to 5?%.As thesewerethemajorimports from BritainintoAsia,
thiswasa sizablelossto theJapanese treasury.
LordElginhadnotactedinignorance. A yearpreviously, Britishmerchants in China
had writtento himin responseto his requestforadvicebeforemakingtheTientsin
Treaty.One firm writing abouttariffs hadnoted,"As merchants we ofcoursedesireto
see theseplacedon thelowestpossiblescale,butas theyarelookedto by theChinese
government as a sourceofRevenue,wethinkinthisviewthat,withsomefewexceptions,
theyareas moderate as theywellcanbe,andcertainly contrast favourably withsimilar
dutiesinourowncountry."318
Knowingtheimportance oftariffrevenueininfluencing anAsiangovernment to sup-
portforeign trade, why theonly important change he made in the HarrisTreaty wasto
slashthatrevenueis difficult to understand. LordElginwas muchgivento discoursing
upontheChristian dutyofWesterners to"civilize"Asians.19 He wasalsoa Scot.Perhaps,

bridge,Box 2, H. Wilkinsonand Co., to HM

16 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 329, to Tatnall,
Yedo, 26 Julyi86o. ConsulCanton,Hong Kong,5 SeptemberI857.
17 Parliamentary Papers,AccountsandPapers, 19 E. g., "This abominableEast ... strewed
all over with recordsof our violenceand fraud
Second Session,I859, Letterno. I99, Elgin to
Malmesbury,"H.M.S. Furious", 30 August and disregardof truth", quoted in Richard
i858. Harris, China,BBC Publications,March I966,
18 Parkes Papers, UniversityLibrary Cam- p. 30.
 MoCM A .TPP R. F7nr,icrn ninlnmov-r inRPTAlnmft.si T1 n "3 I TT

as a German clericwroteafter a sojournin igthcentury Britain,

"so hypocritical,theysay
Christandmeancotton."20
Britishmerchants in HongKongwerehappywiththeElginTreaty,itscommercial
arrangements being"on themostliberalpossiblescale."The low tariff on textileswas
particularlywelcome."We aremuchmistaken if,from whatwe hearoftheJapanese, the
marketthuscreatedforourhomemanufactures willnotrivalthatafforded by thevast
empirelatelythrown openbytheTreatyofTien-tsin."521
LordElginhadreferred to theHarrisTreatyas a "verymaterialadvance,"but this
HongKongBritish newspaper uppedthatratingtoan"extraordinary advance"overthe
wood,water,andprovisions treatyforwhichSirJamesGraham"had thegallto take
creditandParliament thestupidity tovotemoneyforthepresentation yacht."It wasin
striking contrastto therecentDutchtreaty whichinreturn for200 yearsofcommercial
relations granted thema tradewhichpassedentirely through thehandsoftheJapanese
government officials"underthemostannoying restrictions
andsubjecttoa dutyof35%."'
The articleconcluded byhappily referring tothefutureJapanese treaty portofKanagawa
as "theWhampoaofEdo."
Itsonlylapsefrom optimism wastonotethatowingto thepeculiarity ofgovernment
in Japanunderwhichsome360 feudalprincesrule"separateand almostindependent
principalities",foreignerswouldnotbe allowedto travelin theinterior.
LordElgintoo had had somesecondthoughts about the situationin Japan.With
Harrisheconsidered thatmuchdepended the
upon prudent conduct ofthefirstforeigners.
He hadbeenimpressed withthepoweroftheJapanese policewhohadmerely totapwith
a fananyonewhopressedtoocloseto thelineofmarchtosendhimbackintothecrowd.
Yet he hadoncestrayed awayfrom hispoliceescortandbeenstonedbysmallboysfrom
a hostilemob.Theymayhavethought hewasChineseand,giventhesamurai contempt
forcommerce, hadjeeredhimwith"haveyouanything to sell?"22The factremained.
Foreigners wouldnotbe popularinEdo.
LikeHarris,Elginrefused to postponetheresidence ofa Britishambassador at Edo.
He hadwritten theMinister ofForeignAffairs whohadmanagedtheHarrisTreatyonly
to be informed thatthismanno longerheldoffice, a newministry havingtakenover.
LordElginwasunabletoobtainanyaccurate information aboutthischangebutassumed
itbodednogood.Apparently themenwhohadsignedtheHarrisTreatyhadbeendriven
from office
onthataccount.Theyhadbeenreplaced bymenhostiletoforeigners whohad
thenbeenforced to signevenmoretreaties. "Allthatremained ... afterpassingthrough

in the unidentified
20 Theodore Fontane, Der Stechlin,
HongKongpaperincluded in box
chapter"In Missionto England." labelled"PrintedMiscellaneous."
21 Jardine,
Matheson& Co. Archive,Univer- 22 H. S. Williams,Shadesof thePast,Tokyo,
sityLibrary,Cambridge,newsclippingfroman I960 p. 57.
3I2 Monumenta ca, xxI, 3-4
Nipponi

thesesuccessive stagesofhumiliationwas... torender ... theTreaties... ofnon-effect

in theirworking."23
At ShimodaHarriswas alsodisturbed. His nextletterto Washington was lessopti-
mistic.After notingthathehadnursedelevenRussiansailorsleftashorewithscurvy-a
dietofbread, fowlsandclaretpulledtenofthemthrough-he wentontowriteofpolitics.24
Epilepticanddropsical,theshogunhaddiedthatAugust.The resulting questionofsuc-
cessionhad causedthedismissal of"Hotta,PrinceofBitchii, (HottaMasayoshi), Chief
oftheGreatCouncilofState"(a rojyu) andminister forforeign as wellas another
affairs,
roji,"Naito,PrinceofKii" (Nait6Nobuchika).25 Theirplaceshadbeentakenby "Ota,
PrinceofBingo"and"Manabe,PrinceofShimoda"(ManabeAkikatsu).26
As hadLordElgin,Harrisassumedthesemenhadbeendismissed forsupporting his
treaty.This was trueenoughas faras it went.27Theyhadalsobeendismissed forsup-
portingthecandidature ofHitotsubashiYoshinobu,28 a maturemanwithsomequal-
itiesofleadership openmindtowardsforeign
anda fairly trade.These did notrecom-
mendhim to Ii Naosuke,29 who had been namedregentin June-a positionwith
dictatorialpowersfilledonlyin timeofemergency. The signingoftheHarrisTreaty
was theweaponhe used in thepowerstruggleof thatsummerto dismissthe more
progressive of therojuialongwiththeircandidateHitotsubashi Yoshinobu.The new
shogunwouldhavelittletodowithgovernment. He wasfourteen. Now firmly inpower,
theregentbegantojustifytheforebodings ofElginandHarris.
Following upona choleraepidemic whichreportedly killedI o,ooo persons inEdo and
tookmorethanIoO livesin thehamletsurrounding theAmerican consulateat Shimoda,
thefirstproblemseemeda pettyone.A letterfromNagasakidatedJulygthwas not
delivered to HarrisuntilOctober28th.In ordertoeducatethenewministers offoreign
Harrisdemandeda fullexplanation,
affairs, writingthatit was a seriousinsultamong
Western withdiplomatic
nationsto interfere mail.He regretted thisevidenceofbakufu
declaring
ill-will, thatifrefusedhisgovernment wouldknowhowtosecureredress.30 It
wasbluff. Harriscouldnotordera rowboat,muchlessa gunboat,to hissupport. Ota's
replymerely Harristoa minorofficial
referred fora verbalanswer.31 "As Representative
oftheUnitedStatesI do notacknowledge anysuperior on earth,"countered Harris,"I
23 Foreign Office, Japan Correspondence, 27 W. G. Beasley,TheModern ofYapan,
History
F.O. 46, Edo, 28 July London,i963, pp. 72-73.
III, Alcockto Malmesbury,
28
I859.
24Harris Papers, Book 4, No. 38 to Cass, 29

Shimoda,i Septemberi858. 30 Harris Papers, Book 4, No. 87 to Ota,

25 % Shimoda,29 Octoberi858.
26 "Ota, PrinceofBingo": This mandoes not 31 Westerndiplomats resistedstronglyowing
seem to appear in the biographicalsectionof to theirChinaexperience in whichminorofficials
whichhas been had beenused to delayall negotiation.
W. G. Beasley,SelectDocuments, "I had at
He is identified Foochow preciselythe same battle to fight".
usedfortheotheridentifications.
in Frenchrecordsas Ota BitchiiofKakegawain F.O. 46, III, Alcock to Malmesbury,Edo, 28
T6tomi.ManabeAkikatsu1'j4p &4f.. JulyI859.
 M c M A S T E R. ". .. ForeignDiplomacy
inBakumatsu
Japan" 3I3

shalldecline toreceive anycommunications thatcarry withthemanyinsistence ofan

intention tosetupsucha claim."32
Postalservice thereupon improved andtheNagasaki officials
werepunished. Harris
regretteditbuthopedthatOtahadlearned thatthe"oldDeshima dayshavepassedaway
nevertoreturn."33 It wasdoubtfulthatthelessonhadbeenlearned, foras I859 began
another anti-foreignmoveappeared. It camefrom a different quarter.
Inorder toquietopposition,thebakufu askeda year'sdelaybefore sending itsembassy
toWashington toratifythetreaty.Thiswasbecause "ofa lasteffortwhichsomeofthe
daimyos aremaking withtheMikado,topreserve ifpossible theancient lawwhich in-
flicted
thepenalty ofdeathonanyJapanese whomayleavethecountry."34
Oneyearearlier, bakufuofficials
had"roared withlaughter"35 whenHarris suggested
thatJapanese heldtheemperor in veneration. Theyhadreplied thathewaswithout
money, politicalpower oranything elsethatmattered inJapan. A month later, thesame
mentoldHarris theywerehaving tosendmore bribes as things hadcometoa standstill
inKyoto.36 Obviously,thepositionofemperor heldsomeimportance. He wasnolonger
thesubject ofunrestrainedlaughter.Thismovetousetheprestige ofthemanHarris
referredtoas "theSpiritual Emperor" wassuccessful. Harrisgaveinandtheembassy
waspostponed foroneyear.He wasadding tohiseducation.
InJanuary I859,Harris tookupmoreimportant matters, goingtochoosethesitefor
Americans toliveatKanagawa. Asnoother foreign
diplomats weresent,hewasineffect
actingforalltheWesterners. Kanagawa wasanimportant advance inhistreaty. Itwasa
newportforforeigners, awayfrom therestrictive practices ofNagasaki'sDeshima orthe
naturallimitationsofHakodate, a poornorthern portuseful mainly tosupply boozeand
brothelstowhalermen. Kanagawa bycontrast wasa busytownsomethirty milesfrom
Edowhichhada population ofmorethanonemillion. It shouldhaveprovided a good
settingforthenewfree tradewhich Harris desired.
To builda market forWestern goods, theforeignershadtobeonorneartheTokaido.
Alongthishighway passedmostofthepilgrims, pedlars andtravellersofnineteenth-
centuryJapan. Thenas nowtheJapanese delightedinbuying souvenirsofa journey so
thatTakaidatravellers wouldtakea knowledge ofWestern goodstomanycorners of
thecountry. Aboveall,many ofthegreattrains ofdaimyo, sometimeswithmore thana
thousand retainersandservants,on their wayto andfrom theirenforcedresidence as
hostages oftheEdobakufu, wouldtrudge slowly pasttheKanagawa shops, orpassthe
nightatitsmany inns.Thesestraggled alongbothsidesofthenarrow highway forsome

32 Harris Papers, Book 4, No. 88 to Ota, 34 Harris Papers, Book 4, No. 66, to Cass,
Shimoda,22 Novemberi858. Shimoda,29 Januaryi859.
33 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 2, to Churtius, 35 Harris,Yournal,p. $I7.
Shimoda, IO Januaryi859. Note: the letter 36 CarlCrow,He Opened theDoorto 7apan,New
numbersof this collectionare not in strict York,I939, p. 240.
chronologicalorder.
3I4 Monumenta ca, XXII, 3-4
Npponi

threemiles.Harrisreckoned thathalfofthetravelofthekingdom passedthrough this

town.
Havinghimself goneinprocession toEdo in I857 heknewthevalueofthistraffic and
pickedouttwopossiblelocations at Kanagawa.Bothhadshallowwaterat lowtide,but
Harrisdecidedtheirotheradvantages madea longwoodenlanding jettyworthwhile.37
Bakufu proposeda graverdifficulty
officials thanshallowwater.As theattendants ofthe
daimyowere"insolent adventurers ... whocleartheroadwithout anyregardforperson
ornation,"38 theremightbeincidents. The dangerwasrealenoughbutas Harrispointed
out,ifthebakufu didnotuseitsefficient policeforcetoprotectforeigners it wouldsoon
be inveryseriousdifficulties.39
Boththepooranchorage andthedangerofclashescouldbe avertedifa thirdlocation
suggestedby the bakufu was accepted.This had a deep-water anchoragebut Harris
thought theadvantage toodearlybought.It wasfivemilesfrom theTakaidaandseven
milesfrom thecenter ofKanagawa.Separating itfrom theTokaidowerethreewidepieces
ofwater,thenwithout bridges, anda precipitous hill.The onlylinkwithpopulated Japan
wasa footpath so steepas tobe impassible onhorseback. No tradecouldbe hopedforex-
ceptfrom thosewhowentthereexpressly tobuyorsell.Foreign residentswouldbealmost
as isolatedas Harrishadbeenat Shimoda.40 The reasonforHarris'schoiceofKanagawa
had beento breakthe bakufu traditionofimprisoning foreignersby geography. "For
thatreasonI placedYokohamaoutofconsideration."'41
"FindingthatI couldnotbe inducedto acceptofYokohamatheysuddenly informed
methatas no actionwas actuallyrequired beforethe4thofJuly next,theywouldpost-
poneanyfuture consideration ofthesubjectuntilthattime.Theyprobably feelthatthey
cannotbeina worseposition thannowandarewillingtotrusttothechapter ofaccidents
as to thefuture."42 Harrisseemsto havebeenworried aboutthebakufu's goodfaith.He
wasalsoplanning to gohome,forhecloseshislonganddetailedletter:"I havefeltitpro-
perto giveyouthisstatement ofthematter, so thatwhoevermayhavethefuture set-
tlement ofthequestion, may have all thefactsthat I possess."43
As Harriswasplanning to leave,another manwasbeingorderedtoJapan.Farto the

37 Harris Papers, Book 4, No. 74, to Cass, trained observerwithfourbookstohiscredit,

he
Shimoda,I4 MarchI859. seemsaccurateinmatters ofpersonal
experience.
38 C. P. Hodgson,A Residence at Nagasakiand Previous servicein Abyssinia
andAustraliahad
Hakodate, London, i86i, p. 284. Hodgson was givenhimconsiderable training.
dismissedfromthe consularservicelate in i86o. 39 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 74 to Cass,
The fulsome praiseforBritishpolicy and Ruther- Shimoda, 4 MarchI859.
fordAlcockfoundin hisintroduction-contrast- 40 HenryHeusken,7apan7ournal, Rutgers
ing as it does withmuchofhis text-seemsto be Press,I964, p. I23.
explainedby thefactthathe was thenapplying 41 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 74, to Cass,
foranotherconsularpositioninFranceandAlcock Shimoda, I4 MarchI859.
was due homeon leave.His reporting ofrumours 42 Ibid.
on such thingsas mineralwealthor the armed 43 Ibid.

forcesof the daimyoare widelyinaccurate. As a

 MCMASTER. "... ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 3I5

south,Rutherford Alcock,Her Britannic Majesty'sconsulat Canton,was writingto

Londonacknowledging hisappointment as consulgeneraltoJapan.Oddlyenough,he
wascomplaining abouthispromotion.
Insteadofa position nearerhome"I amnowtransferred ... tothemostoutlying region
in theworld... eithertodiein theseregions whereso manyhavegonebefore me,with
twoorthreeyearsmoreservice ortobeexpended, as navalstoresareexpended,solongas
wearandtearwillletthemholdtogether, withno unnecessary regardto whatis to be-
comeofthemafterwards."44 It was nota happymanwhowouldtakeoveras thechief
foreign diplomat inJapan.
Whenhis instructions arrivedtheycannothaveimprovedhis temper.They were
simpleofexpression butverydifficult ofapplication. Alcockwastoinsistuponfulfilment
ofthetreatybutalsoto contenthimself withgradualprogress, makingno threatsand
allowingforthesupposed"timidity andignorance" oftheJapanese.45Memories ofthe
Crimeawerestillfreshin Whitehall so thathe was also to takeeveryopportunity of
spyingupontheRussiansandto preventthebakufu from cedinganyterritoryto them.
Yet he was to do thiswithoutpromising anyBritishsupportforBritaindid notaspire
to paramount influence in Japan.This was curiousadvice.Owingto herdominant
position ontheChinacoastshewouldunavoidably havethemostresidents inJapan,the
mostshipsenteringJapanese harbours andthelion'sshareoftheJapan trade.The answer
wassimple.Appeasement hadcomeintovogueat theForeignOffice followingcriticism
oftherecentwarin China.As therewas to be suchlittlesupportfromhome,perhaps
Alcockwas wiseto begincomplaining evenbefore histaskbegan.
InJapanHarriscontinued puttingthings into order fortheopeningoftrade.The first
oil wellsin Pennsylvania had quietlybegunto pumpthedeathknellofthewhaling
industry, butHarris had no wayofknowing this.Oneofhismaininterests inJapanwas
atHakodate,thenorthern porttowhichtheU.S. whaling fleetresorted
eachspring.The
whalermen had been gettingfirewood, drinking water and there
supplies under the
PerryTreatysinceI854. This was notenough.They"wantwomenandmustandwill
have'em" wroteConsulRice.46Theyalsowantedsakeandhadbeengetting both,for
theywerea welcomesourceofrevenueto thispoortown.The peoplewerewillingbut
nowthatthebakufu hadtakenthetownfrom thelocaldaimyo theofficials
werenot,follow-
ingtheAmericans everywhere ashoreto forbid orraisethepriceofeachtransaction.47
Unlessbakufu ceasedinterfering,
officials thewhalers promised totakeandholdthetown.
"Theycando it andtheirofficers willleadthem"wroteRice.Fivehundred whalermen
whocouldhavebeenenjoying thedelightsoftheHawaiianIslandswerenotto be put
off easily.The bakufuseemstohaveseentheerror ofitswaysintimebutConsulRicewas

44 F.O. 391, I, Per-

to EdmundHammond, i859.
manentForeignUnder-Secretary I854-73, Can- 46 Harris7ournal,
p. 503.
ton,22 FebruaryI859. 47 Harris Papers, Book 4, No. io6 to Ota,
to Alcock,i March Shimoda,23 FebruaryI859.
45 E.. 46, III, Malmsbury

MN; XXII, 3-4 E

3I6 Monumenta XXII,3-4
Nipponica,

himselfproving a problem forHarris.Aftercomplaining tothebakufu thatthenewgover-

norofHakodatewas a manlackingin wisdom,overflowing in dislikeofforeigners and
givento drinking considerably beyond his capacity,Harris had in turn to admonish
ConsulRice.
The consul'sservant wastakingsaketo thecrewofthe"U.S.S. Mississippi." He was
alsosellingthemticketsto brothels on shore.ConsulRice was apparently involvedas
Harriswrote him not to letthe desirefor gain getthe upper hand.48 The remonstrance
waswasted.SixweekslaterHarriswroteWashington thatU.S. Navalofficers werestill
complaining thatConsulRice was profiting on supplies, pilotage,liquorand brothels.
A copywas sentto Mr. Rice.
Thingswerebrighter at NagasakiwhereHarrisfounda steadierman,theAmerican
merchant, J.G. Walsh,andappointed himconsul.At thattimeonlyBritainhada career
Allothernations
service. appointed localmerchants tohandleconsular dutiesinreturn for
fees.Oftenhewasnotevena national ofthecountry concerned. Atsmaller portsoneman
mightrepresent severalnations.
AtthetimeBritain regarded theUnitedStatesas anenemy, wasattempting tocontain
Russianexpansion andonthevergeofwarwithFrance."We areallturned riflemen here,
withfinegunsanduniforms, determined tobarbecue everyunfortunate Frenchfrogwho
maybe rashenoughtolandonourhappysoil,"49 wroteanEnglishman at home.InJapan
allforeignersstoodtogether. The Britishconsulat HakodatewasFrenchconsulas well,
flyingthetwoflagssidebyside.A Frenchmissionary priestwashisvoluntary interpreter
andtranslator. The Frenchconsulat Yokohamawouldbe another Britishsubject, Jose
Loureiro,a Macoese.AtNagasaki,theFrenchconsulwouldbe a Scot,Kenneth Macken-
zie,thePortuguese consulwouldbeanAmerican namedEvans,U.S. Consul Walsh would
lookafterRussianaffairs, whilstGermanmerchants wouldbecomehonorary Britishor
Dutchsubjects.
At Nagasaki,Harriswas examined bya U.S. Navydoctorandsentto Shanghaifora
rest.50Whilehe was in China,M. Duchesnede Bellecourt, newlyappointedconsul
generalforJapan, wrotea noteinParis.He hadbeenstudying theDutchrecords ofJapan.
Whenhearrived inthatcountry he would takea doctor, a a
naturalist, businessman and
a miningengineer and begina systematic exploration oftheinterior.51 It hadthefine
progressive sound of the Second Empire but inJapan events were moving in a different
direction.Although Francehadbeenquickto followLordElginandobtaina treatyof
herown, de Bellecourt didnotreachJapanuntilmid-September ofI859.

48 Harris Papers, Book 4, No. 23, to Rice, 51 Direction

Etrangeres,
Archivesdes Affaires
2I April
Shimoda, I859. des Consulats et des AffairesCommerciales,
49 CharlesWaterton, ofCharles
Letters Waterton,Yeddo, I859-6I, i, de Bellecourtto Ministry,
London,I955, p. I26. I4 May I859. Some commercial despatchesare
50 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. I26, to Cass, 26 enclosedin volumesone and two of Direction
AprilI859. Politique.
 M CMASTER. ". .. ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 3I7

The Britisharrived at EdoinJuly, theNetherlands consulgeneralarrived at Nagasaki

at theendofFebruaryi86o. Noneofthesepowersbothered to inspecttheKanagawa
locationbetween Harris'svisitinJanuary andtheopening oftradeonJuly Ist.Theywere
to paythepenaltyofthisneglect.WhileHarrisappointed consulsandprepared forthe
openingoftrade,thebakufu was working to nullifyhisfreetradebefore it everbegan.
Withthefieldclearofforeigners it workedrapidlytoundooneofthemostimportant of
thetreaty provisions. Hundreds ofmenweresettoworkto turna fishing villageintoa
seaport.The expenseofa road,bridges, a seafront,houses,godowns(warehouses), anda
stone-facedlandingpierat Yokohamawasfargreater thanthecostofa woodenjettyat
Kanagawa.Expensewas not the primary consideration.One of the world'sgreatest
seaportsbeganlifeas a deliberate effort to strangletrade.
The meaningoftheprevioussummer's politicalturnover was nowbecomingclear.
At YokohamatheregentIi Naosukewas applyingthetraditional Japanese methodof
handling foreigners.It was simpleenough-shutthemintoa cage.
Onceinthatcage,alltransactions couldbe supervised bybakufu officials,
thusderiving
themaximum profit fromtheminimum amountoftrade.52 Withtheforeigners shutup
awayfrom populated areasandconfined withingatesguardedbyshogunal troops,some
ofthebakufu's prestigemightstillbe salvaged.
The mainargument puttoHarristhattheKanagawalocationmightprovokeclashes
betweenforeigners and followers ofthe daimyomaywell haveenteredIi Naosuke's
calculations.
As hewasnota manafraid tousethepolicepowerofhisoffice,53 itwasprob-
ablysecondary to hiswishtorestrict trade.
Whatis clearis thathe haddecidedto tryandregainthegroundlostby theHarris
Treaty.54 NeitherHarrisnorAlcockthoughtthatthebakufu wouldfightbutbothbe-
lieveditwouldtrytheforeigners' mettle tothepointofwar.55 InJanuaryHarrishadwrit-
tenthatthebakufu hadbeenpressing Yokohamauponhimforseveralmonths so thatthe
decisionto challengetheforeigners musthavebeenmadesoonafterIi Naosuketook
powerthepreceding summer. It was a boldmove,possiblytakenagainsttheadviceof
hissubordinates.56 NotonlyhadtheAmerican beendeliberately deceivedbutthebakufu
wasstaking itsprestige upona verypublicissue.
Largenumbers ofworkmen hadbeenemployed inbuilding thecustomshouseandland-
ingstagesat Yokohama.Government noticeshadbeenpostedinEdo offering taxrelief,
landandhousestoJapanese merchants whowouldmoveto thenewport.Theirresult
was plain.Yokohama'sfirstJapanesepopulationwas heavywithadventurers whose
smallcapitalwas matched withequallysmallscruples.57 In placeofthelargewholesale

52 Hodgson, pp. IO-I3. I859; HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. I90, to Cass,

13 Beasley,Modern History
of7apan,p. 75. 3 SeptemberI859.
54 CorrespondenceCommerciale, i, No. I8, 56 P. J.Treat, i, 86.

to Walewski,Edo, 20 NovemberI859. 57 JosephHeco, Narrative

ofa 7apanese,Yoko-
55 F.O. 46,III, to Malmesbury,Edo, i i August hama, I899, I, 249.
3I8 Monumenta xxii,3-4
Nipponica,

merchants towhomHarrishadbeenpromised
Ctonyas3 businessmen,58
accessforforeign
theywereto meetmainly smallshopkeepers andpedlarswhowereoftenthedregs
ofEdo'sbusiness community.
To emphasize thechallenge, workmen dugouttheswamp inthebackofthesettlement
linkingthetworivers which bounded it,thusmaking the muddy beachflatintoanisland.
Thecomparison withDeshima wasnowcomplete. Whenforeign diplomatsarrived they
would be faced immediately with an open violationof the treaties. Itwas a daring gamble
forthebakufu. Western diplomats always travelledinwarships.59
Allwoulddepend upon the temper ofthe diplomats involved. Harris hadalready proven
amenable onseveral issues.
Although Alcock hadusedgunboats togoodeffectinChina,60
London had counselledappeasement in Japan. The bakufu was to be lucky.
OnJune30th,thedaybefore tradewastobegin, theBritish diplomat finallyarrived.
Alcock hadspentsomethree weeksinNagasaki settling localmatters whichwouldbet-
terhavebeenlefttoConsul Hodgson. Itseemed reasonable enough atthetime. Nagasaki
wasexpected tocontinue as themainportofforeign tradeatleastuntiltheopening of
OsakainI862. Therewasalsoa smallBritish colony already inresidence trading under
DutchandRussian
earlier agreements whom itwasdesirable tobring underthecontrol
ofa Britishconsul.Itwasallveryunderstandable, butAlcock's latestart fromChinaand
thelostweeksatNagasaki weretohaveserious consequences atYokohama.
Harris andAlcock botharrived onJune 30th.TheAmerican stillhada fewdaysinhand
forhistrade wasnottostart untilthe4th.Unabletoseethehumour ofthis,LordElgin
hadmoved thedateforward totheIstintheBritish treaty. Confronted withthenewtown
atYokohama, Alcock hadlefthimself lessthanonedaytoarrange matters.
Harris wastheonlyforeigner whocouldreally appreciate thechange. Whenhehadleft
inJanuary, Yokohama hadbeena mudflatsupporting a fewscattered fishermen'shuts.
Whenhereturned inJune, themuddy a
beachhadbecomebustling town ofmany dozens
ofbuildings. Theairwasfilled withthebuzzofcarpenter's sawsandthecommotion of
Japanese shopkeepers unpacking andmoving into their new homes.
Fromthedeckofthe"U.S.S.Susquehanna," Harris andU.S.Consul Dorrsurveyed the
scene."I suppose theJapanese Government intend this fora second Deshima, but ofcourse
wecannot acceptthatsortofthing," saidDorr."Certainly not"replied Harris,"butthat
willbea battle you will have to since
fight you arethe consul of the Alcock
port."'61 and
BritishConsul Vysecameaboard thatdaytodiscuss thesituation whiletheforeign mer-
chants begangoing ashore to seewhat the new port offered in the way ofbusiness.

58 HarrisPapers,Book4, No. 5, toJ.G. Walsh, travelin a merchant shipas thebakufudespised

Shimoda,7 FebruaryI859. Also 7ournal,p. 520. merchants. Correspondence i, No. 2,
Politique,
59 This was not fromanydesireto intimidate toWalewski, Shanghai, ii AugustI859.
60 A. Michie, I, I3I.
theJapanese.Mermetde Cachon,the Catholic
61 Heco,I, 20I.
priestwho had assistedBaronGros to negotiate
theFrenchTreaty,warnedde Bellecourtnot to
 MCMASTER. "... ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 3I9

TheU.S.warship hadtowedHeard& Company's schooner"Wanderer" fromShanghai.

Another American firm,Walsh& Co., was represented by Dr. Hall,whileJosephHeco
andhispartner E. M. Van Reed hadcomeas passengers on thewarship hopingto start
trading ina smallway.Jardine, Matheson& Co. hadchartered theschooner "Nora"with
a mixedsamplecargooftextiles andChinesemedicines. Jardine'sgreatrivalDent& Co.,
was represented byJoseLoureiroon boardthechartered steamer "Carthage."Several
Dutchtraders hadcomeup from Nagasakitotrytheirluckinthenewport.Theirgoods
andsilverdollarstobuyproducewereon theNetherlands barques"Schiller," "Princess
Charlotte" and"Jacob& Anna."The British steamer "CountessofSeafield"completed
thelist.It wasa smallgroupbutintreasure andcargotheywerereadytobeginbusiness.
One optimistic Dutchmerchant had I o,ooo silverdollarswithwhichto buyJapanese
goods.
Joined ashoreonthe4thbytheofficers ofthe"Susquehanna," HarrisandConsulDorr
celebrated thenationalholidayinchampagne. TyinganAmerican flagto thetallesttree
in its graveyard theytransformed the HongakujiTemple62intothe U.S. consulate.
LeavingDorrto handletradingproblems, Harrisleftto establishhislegationat Edo.
Although bothHarrisandAlcockadvisedtheirnationals notto acceptthehousesand
godownsoffered at Yokohamaby thebakufu theydidnotprovideanyalternative.
RatherthansettleConsulVyseina consulate andbegintradeonJulyIst as pertreaty,
AlcockchosetotakehimtoEdo.Theretheypresented a ratified
copyofthetreaty tothe
bakufu andsoughta templeforuseas theBritish legation.Delaywas oneofthebakufu's
bestweaponsagainstforeign cannon.Alcockraninto"moretrouble ofa paralysing
kind
thanI shouldhavethoughtpossible."63 The two simpletasks,whichhadtakenpref-
erenceovertheYokohamatrade,tookthreeweeksto accomplish. Bothseemto have
beenbungled.
Although bothAmericans andDutchbegantrading immediately, Alcockwasnodoubt
formally correct ininstructinghisconsulsnottostartworkuntilhehadhandedoverhis
copyoftheTreatytothebakufu.64 Indoingthishestageda paradeofarmedsailorsthrough
thecapital.The ForeignOffice had assumedthatAlcock'sexperience in Chinawould
helphiminJapan.Thisparadewasoneresultofthatexperience. In Chinait mighthave
gainedrespect. Japanwas notChina.Edo hadthehighestproportion ofsamurai popula-
tionofanycityinJapan.This proudmilitary castejustifieditsparasitic privileges
by
claiming tobe thewarrior guardians ofthenationalsecurity.Theyhadnoequivalent in
Chinesesociety.Therecouldbe no surerwayto humiliate themthanto paradearmed
foreigners through Edo.
ForHarristhefirst fewweeksinEdo passedquietlywithout parades.He settledhap-
pilyin theZempukujiTemple,muchpleasedwiththeancienttrees,thecrepemyrtles

62 *t+ 64 Ibid.,enclosureNo. 3 in I5 JuneI859 to

63 F.O. 46, mI,to Malmesbury,
I4JulyI859. Malmesbury.
320 Monumenta XXII, 3-4
Nipponica,

inblossomandthehuge"tamegoldfish whicheatoutofmyhand."65 He was homesick

andplannedto leaveearlyin i86i.
Harrisseemstohavefeltnojealousyinrelinquishing hisuniquepositiontotheBritish
diplomat. Rather,heseemedpleased."I neednotsayhowvasta reliefit is tome,andwhat
a loadofresponsibilityit removes"66hewrotea friend in Shanghai.Alcockcorroborates
this,writingto Londonthatalthough Harriswas hisseniorin rankas wellas intimein
Japan,theAmerican "seemedwilling, ifnotdesirous, to seememovefirst."67
On thepersonal levelHarrisfound"Mr. Alcocka kindneighbour, a goodfriend;the
bestunderstanding existsbetweenus and ourwholeintercourse is cordialandagreea-
ble."68Althougha kindneighbour, Alcockwas a distantone."I amfurther fromMr.
AlcockthanI couldwish,"wroteHarris,fortheBritonhadturneddowntheproffered
locationin the centreofEdo in favourof a templeat Shinagawa,a mileand a half
away.
This toohadbeena resultofChinaexperience. Runningfortheboatswas a familiar
customwithold Chinahands,so thatAlcock'schoiceoftheShinagawasite as being
"nearertheships"69 representedgoodstrategic senseifit didnotshowmuchconfidence
inthebodyguard furnished bythebakufu. As thegrounds wereextensive andstillshared
withtheTemplepriestsit wasdifficult to defend.Worse,theTozenjiTemplestoodon
theT6kaidoinanareawhere"numerous sakehousesaboundwithyoungandimpetuous
blood"anxioustotrytheirblades.70 The Britons couldnotleavetheirfront gatewithout
encountering samurai inebriates.
Withthreeweeksofthemonthgone,AlcocksentConsulVysetoopena British con-
sulateat Kanagawa.As a salarieddiplomathe couldafford a leisurely pace. Foreign
merchants withtheirshipsoffYokohamacouldnot.71The charter ofa simplesailing
vesselcouldbe $2,500 a month.72 Day afterdaytheshipsswungidlyat anchor, cargoes
unlanded, andtheMexicansilverdollarsbrought from Chinalosinginterest.
Foritspartthebakufu did notflatlyrefuseto allowtradeat theKanagawalocation.
Itmerely delayedmatters ontheonehandwhileoffering immediate atYokohama.
facilities
The cagewasbaited,itsdoorwasopen,theforeigners walkedin.Timeis money.While
diplomats talked,moneydecidedthematter.
Withtheforeigners settledashoreit onlyremained to defeattheirdiplomats. The
matter wasspun out over many months with a finecombination ofdeceit and delaywhich

654$44. Janvierletters,New York Public 22 AugustI859.

Library,Harris to Miss Drinker,20 August, 69 F.O. 46, In, to Malmesbury,Edo, 9 July
I859. I859.
66 Harris Papers, Book 4, No. i6o to Rev. 70 . Hodgson,pp. 8o-8i.
Lyles,Edo, 22 AugustI859. 71 Hodgson, p. I4.
67 F.O. 46, III, to Malmesbury, Edo, I3 July 72 J-M & Co. Archive,Box Shanghai
I859,
i859. J. Whittallto J. Jardine,Shanghai,2I October
68 HarrisPapers,Book4, No. I 59, to A. Heard, I859.
 MCMASTER. ". .. ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 32I

lentforceto a British consul'srueful comment thattheJapanese had"evidently studied

Machiavel."73 Bakufu tacticscanbe followedinHarris'sletters.
His immediate reactionwas thatYokohama"can onlybe considered as a newDe-
shima."74 Severalweekslaterafteran interview withthebakufu foreign he
ministers,
reported thattheyhadagreedtoa Kanagawasitebutwishedtoexamine theground again
before selecting one.75A monthlaterHarriswrotethatthematter was so faradvanced
thathecouldstate"thequarter willbe ontheToKyDo,whichas youknowwasthevital
question."76
Apparently a locationwasfinally agreedforin mid-October. Harriswroteto Manabe
Akikatsu thatas thesitehadbeenselected theYokohama customs homeshouldbe moved
toKanagawa.77 EarlyinDecember hewasstilladvisingAmericans that"thebestinterests
ofallwillbe advancedbyrefusing toresideatYokohama, andI amalsooftheopinionthat
whentheJapanese see thatwe arebuildingat Kanagawatheywillrequireall foreigners
togothereas theydonotdesiretohavetwodistinct settlementsforthem. Inthemeantime
theywilldo alltheycantoinduceshort-sighted personstoprefer a residenceatYokoha-
ma."78In DecemberHarriswrotethathe hadfinally gottenthe bakufu to acceptKa-
nagawa.79 Bythenitwas toolate.The tradewasfirmly settledatYokohama.
In thewinterofi86o theforeign diplomats quietlyaccepteddefeat.Skilful diplomacy
a
in a littlelessthan yearhad undone a majoradvance oftheHarris Treaty. At Nagasaki
Japanese students toldtheirDutchinstructor thatthebakufu swelledwithconceitas it
broadcast itstriumph overthe foreigners.80
The bakufu's victory didnotalterthetaskofforeign diplomacy.It merely madeitmore
difficult.
Becauseit madehisjob moredifficult, Alcockcomplained to London.8'The Foreign
Office repliedphilosophically thatYokohamawasallrightas longas theforeigners were
notconfined there.82 In theautumnAlcockissueda circular tellingBritishsubjectsto
moveto Kanagawa.The largermerchant housessuchas Jardine, Matheson& Co. tried
tocomply byrenting lotsatbothplaces.83The bakufu acceptedapplications forKanagawa
lotsbutdidnotanswerthem.NordidBritishmerchants thinkthatitwould.84 Alcock
retained a grudgeagainstthemerchants whohadmovedintoYokohamathroughout his

73 Hodgson,p. 26. 80 J. C. VJ/f7aren

74 Harris Papers,Book 4, No. I37 to Cass,
4 JulyI859.
75 Ibid.,No. i8i to Cass,22 JulyI859.
76 Ibid.,No. I 59 to A. Heard,22 AugustI859.
77 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 227 to Manabe,
Edo, I5 OctoberI859.
78 Ibid., No. 267, to Mr. Warden, Edo, 9
DecemberI859.
79 Ibid., No. 269, to E. Rice, Edo, I9 Decem-
ber I859.
Pompe van Meerdervoort,
en7apan,
Leiden,I867, II, 57.
81 F.O. 46, III, to Malmesbury,Edo, I4 July
i859.
82 F.O. 46. II, to Alcock,London, 7 October
i859.
83 J-M& Co. Archive,Box ShanghaiI859, to
W. Keswick,20 OctoberI859.
84 J-M & Co. Archive,Box YokohamaI859,
J.BarbertoJ.Whittall,5 OctoberI859.
322 Monumenta XXII, 3-4
Nipponica,

stayinJapan.85 Thistoohadbeentypicalofhisattitude inChinawherehehadtendedto

blamemerchants forbehaving as merchants.86
Yokohamawas largerthanDeshima.In additionthewishto staywithintheletterof
thetreatywhileviolating its spiritcalledformoresophisticated measures.The object
wasthesame.The majormethodbywhichthebakufu exploiteditsadvantagewastradi-
tional.That methodwas money.Although in timetheJapanese wouldcometo use the
Mexicansilverdollarwhichfinanced mostofthetradeofAsia,Africa, andpassedforlegal
tenderinNorthAmerica, it wouldbe strange to themat first.
ThereforeHarriswrotea
simpleexchange provision intohistreaty. It hasbeenarguedabouteversince.
Reamsofdiscussion havebeenwritten onthematter, yetitwaseasyofsolution at the
time.The twoPerryexpeditions had broughtMexicansilverdollarswiththemfrom
China.Havingretained betterthanan 8o% purityformorethanthreehundred years,
thiscoinpassedcurrent nearlyeverywhere on theglobe.87 Ifyoudid notwantit as a
coin,youmeltedit up foringotsas theydidin theinterior ofChina.Howeveryouused
it,silverremained silver.WhenPerry'sofficers wentout souvenir hunting,theyfound
thatthegoodnameoftheMexicandid nothelpinJapan.Foreachdollar,thebakufu's
treasury at ShimodaandKanagawagavethemonlyoneoblongsilvercoin.This
officers
hadseveraldrawbacks. It tookthreeofthemto equal thedollarin weight,it borethe
strange sounding nameofichibu anditdidnotbuyverymuchatall.However,whenthey
steamednorthto theremoteportofHakodateall was changed.The American warship
hadoutrunthebakufu's orders, forheretherewas as yetno customshouseto exchange
monies.Whentheirdollarswereweighedin thescaleswhicheveryshopkeeper seemed
to possess,88theyweregiventhreeichibus insteadofone fortheirdollars.Priceswere
accordingly cheaper.These shopkeepers had bookswithpencilimpressions offoreign
coinsandtheirJapanese valueswritten nextto them.89 Theywerenotmuchinterested
in theAmerican golddollarswhichtheyweighed,testedforpurityandpronounced as
worthaboutI,200 oftheirsmallroundcashcoinswiththesquareholein thecentre.
By contrast thesilverdollarwas acceptedeagerly.The Americans weretoldthatits
exchange valuewas threeichibus at i,6oocasheachor4,800 cashcoinsforeachdollar.90
A fewweeksofshopping at ShimodataughtHarristhesamelesson.He begantofight for
thethree-for-one exchange, obtainedit forhimself, thenforforeign shipsbuyingprovi-
sionsandfinally wroteit intohistreaty.

85 Michie,II, I23. silverlumpsas wellas coins."ReportonWeights,

86 Ibid.,I, 249-252, also Nathan Albert Pel- Measuresand CurrencyofJapan,"Parliamentary
covits,old ChinaHands,New York, I948, p. i8, Papers,AccountsandPapers,LXIX (3 869), I867.
67. 89 H. A. Tilley,7apan,theAmoor
andthePacific,
87 JohnMcMaster,"The Use of the Mexican London, i86i, p. I33.
Dollar in Asian Trade", HistoriaMexicana,viii, 90 J.D. Morrow,A Scientist Chapel
withPerry,
No. 3,January-March I959. Hill, I947, pp. i8o-i8i.
88 Scaleswerenecessary fortheJapaneseused
 MCMASTER. ".. .ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 323

On thesurface it seemedunfair to theJapanese. At ShanghaitheMexicandollarex-

changedforI,300 or so cash.InJapanHarriswasdemanding thatit exchange for4,800
cash.His reasoning was thatthepurchasing powerofcashin Chinawas at leastthree
timesthatofJapan.91 Harrisclaimedhe couldlivemorecheaplyin Calcuttathatin Shi-
moda.92 Thisdifference betweencashcoinsinJapanandinChinahadat leasttwocauses.
CashinChinawasscarceat thetreaty ports,inJapanitwasabundant. CashinChinawas
ofbrass,its coppercontentgivingit a smallbutrealintrinsic value.Cashin Japanby
I859-60was mostlyiron.93 On assayreportswhichtookvaluesdown to 1/,oth ofan
Englishpennytheironcashis succinctly valued"nil."94
Althoughthe worthless ironcashwas thebasisforcalculating allJapanese prices95
andusefulformakingsmallchange,another andlargercoinwas in moregeneraluse.96
This was a well-made oval coinofcopperalloy.It was calledthe Tempi-Ven.97 On its
faceit boretheworthofI0o cash.In practice it shareda fatecommon to manylateTo-
kugawacoinsandactuallycirculated at aboutitsintrinsic metallicvalue.Insteadofits
one-hundred cashfacevalueit passedforabouttencash.98This discrepancy betweena
fineexterior
anda lowcontent was so striking thattheepithet"TempJ-sen" was common
slangforthosewhoseintelligence wasequallybelowpar.
In copperitsintrinsicvalueas metalwasabouttwoAmerican cents.Asitexchanged at
aboutfiftyto thedollarandseventeen to theichibu,bothJapanese copperandJapanese
silvercoinswereat roughly worldstandards in metallicvalueas wellas in purchasing
power.
Harrisproposeda simplesystemby whichfortheone yearit shouldtakeJapanese
merchants to becomeaccustomed to foreign silverdollars,thebakufu wouldexchange
money.It wouldgivetheforeigner, wishingto buyJapanese produce,threeichibu coins
foreachofhisdollars.The Japanese merchant who accepteda dollarforgoodswould
be giventhreeichibus forit. Although thedollarswererungforpuritytheywereex-
changedwithout weighing. It wasa simplesystem andshouldhavesufficed.99
Instead,thebakufu wereableto turnthisinstrument offreetradeagainstits author
withsuchgoodeffect thata British
consulcouldwrite,"Somehoworother,theJapanese
Government and theforeigners couldnotagreeat all on moneymatters:a remarkable
fact,becausetheyare theonlynationon earthwithwhomwe everhad suchdifficul-
ties."100

91 Rutherford Alcock,TheCapitaloftheTycoon, 95 Harris,7ournal, p. 343, 373. Tilley,p. I3I.

London,I863, II, 4I2, makesthesamepoint. 96 S. Wells Williams,Chinese Commercial Guide,
92 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. I93, to Ota, 8 Hong Kong,I863,
pp. 255-257.
AugustI859. 97
93 F.O. 46, m, Enclosurei in No. 2I or II 98 Neil GordonMunro,Coins of7apan,London,
August I859 to Malmesbury,also Hodgson, I905, p. I49.
XIX, 293, 42, Tilley,p. I3I. 99 Hodgson,p. 299.
94 Hodgson,p. 295. 100 Hodgson, p. i6.
324 Monumenta
Nipponica,
XXII, 3-4

The deviceadoptedformeetingthewordingofthetreatywhileviolating its spirit

wasingenious andwvell inkeeping withthebakufu's longhistory ofcoinagemanipulation.
Whenforeigners firstwentashoreto exchangetheirdollarsforichibus at thecustoms
house,everything seemedin order.Treasury officialssatbehindtheirswordracks,the
inevitable tea cupson one side,pilesofsilvercoinon theother.Expecting threeichibu
coins,theforeigner passedoverhisdollar.He was giventwostrange newcoins.A trial
testinginthehandshowedthemas heavyas a dollarso thattheweight-for-weight word-
ingofthetreaty wasbeingmet.Thefirst attempttobuysouvenirs provided a rudeawaken-
ing.Priceshadgoneup200% ina singlenight.Tempersfrayed, arguments grewheated
and one Britonevenremembers beatinga Japanesemerchant withhis walkingcane.
Undercoverofdarkness thevictim returnedtoapologize andprovide theproper change.101
Whathadhappenedwas shrewdbutsimple.To havethesamepurchasing powerin
thecashcoinsby whichall priceswerefixed,eachofthenewcoinsshouldhavebeen
marked one-and-one-half ichibu.Insteadeachwasmarked one-halfichibu.
As a halfichibu,
eachnewcoinhadthepurchasing powerof8oocash.Two ofthem,oronedollar'sworth,
exchanged fori,6oocash.Threeoftheold ichibus, oronedollar'sworth,brought 4,800
cash.A bakufu official
had noticedthatalthoughtheHarrisTreatyprovidedforequal
weights ofsilverexchange, it hadsaidnothing aboutthepurchasing powerofthatsilver
in cash.Harrishadrelieduponthegoodintentions ofthecontemporary bakufu negotia-
tors.Thesewerelacking intheirsuccessors. Theforeigners wereneatlyduped.Overnight
Japanbecameoneofthemostexpensive countries
intheworld.Therewouldnotbe much
buyingdone.
Whatlittlewasdonewouldbeveryprofitable forthebakufu. Therewasalready a small
silverhalfichibucoinincirculation. It hadbeenassayedafter thePerryexpedition atsome
I7 U.S. cents.Thus a Japanese whoreceivedthenewheavyhalfichibu froma foreigner
hadtoturnitin at thecustoms houseforitslighter namesake.102Everytimea pairofthe
newlargecoinswasexchanged fortheold smallones,thebakufu hadboughtI00 cents
worthofWestern silverfor34cents.Eachtimea braceofthesenewcoinsmadetheround
tripfrom customs housetoforeigner toJapanese merchant andbacktothecustoms house,
thegovernment madea profit ofover6o% in puresilver.Unlikegoldorcopper,silver
wasinshortsupplyinJapan.
Thereremained anotherloopholeto be blocked.Japanesemerchants mightaccept
Western silverdollars.Thiswassimplicity itself.
Whentheybrought theirdollarstothe
customshouseto be exchanged intoJapanese cointheyweregivenone ichibu foreach
dollar.Againthebakufu receivedan ounceofsilverforone thirdofits weight.Once
burned, Japanesemerchants wouldnotacceptdollarsagain.103 "Ifthereis one money

101 Tilley,pp. I33-I35. 103 Edward Griffin,Clippers

and Consuls,
Ann
102F.O. 46, xxxix, Arbuthnotto Hammond, Arbor,I938, p. 222.
Treasury,I S JanuaryI863.
 MCMASTER. "... ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 325

forJackandanother moneyforBillandhewillnottakemineandI willnottakehis,there

is notmuchbusinesstobe done,normuchfreeintercourse either."104
"A triumph offinancial skill,"wroteAlcock,"the Treatythusinterpreted would
remaina deadletter."105 Withhiswarshipstillin harbour andsupported byHarris,he
persuaded thebakufu towithdraw thenewtradecoin.Bothmenrecorded successintheir
despatches home.The victories wereillusory. Havingknocked downoneobstacle,they
merely foundthemselves facedwithanother.
Exchangeat threeicbibus tothedollarwouldbe provided. The treatysaidthatit must
be. The treatyhoweverdid notsayhowmuchexchangemustbe provided. Jardine's,
withmoremoneytoexchange thanmost,wasabletoexchange only$s,oooofits$60,000
in eightweeks.At Yokohamatheexchangemightbe $25 a day,whileat Nagasakia
representative ofoneofthelargesthouseswasgiven$5 withwhichtotrade.106
The excuseis usuallymadethatthebakufu mintslackedthecapacitytofurnish enough
coins.It seemsdebatable.The combinedcapacityoftheEdo and Osaka silvermints
seemstohavebeenaboutninemillion a yearorsay$3,000,000.107Thiscouldhave
ichibus
financed foreign trade,particularly as foreignersthemselves furnishedthesilver.Their
needswerenotso great.Ofthetwentymerchants at Yokohamaonlyfivecanbe easily
identified,as connected withlargeChinafirms: Jardine's, Dent's,Fletcher,Sassoon's,
andWalsh,Hall & Company.Thesecouldask forand receive$ioo,oooor $I50,oooa
monthfrom China.Otherssuchas MichaelMoss,JosephHeco orhispartner G.M. Van
Reedcouldcommand nomorethantenthousand at most.Again,therewereat leastfive
months in thewinterwhenalmostno producewouldbe availableas wellas deadspots
duringthesummer. The Edo silvermintitselffollowed a simpleoperation ofpouring
meltedsilverintostrips, cuttingitintoicbibublankswithhandshearsandthenstamping
theblankswitha malletanddie. Therewas no operation whichcouldtakemorethan
twentyminutes to learn.Expanding production wouldhavebeensimple.SinceAlcock
wasoffered I6,ooo ichibusa dayin I859 andtotalproduction wasrecorded as being20,000
a dayin i866,therewas obviously notmucheffort madein thisdirection.108 The mint
wasrecorded as beinga sinecure forincompetent 109Combined
officials. witha workyear
ofonly240 days,it didnothelpproduction.
Alcockknewthefalsity oftheargument. Whenbakufu officials
explainedthattherewas
no steammachinery forthemintwhichhad to relyuponhumanlabour,the Briton
pointedoutthatthebakufu hadno difficultyin finding threeorfourthousand labourers
toerecta newfortthreatening theforeigners atYokohama."10
The pittanceofmoneyexchanged hadthedesiredeffect. Foreignersgrewboredwith

104 Hodgson, p. i5. rencyofJapan,I867.

105 F.O. 46, III, to 109 Harris,7ournal,p. 322.
Malmesbury,I3 JulyI859.
106 Hodgson, p. I3. 110 Correspondence Politique,i, No. I9, to
107 Munro,p. 220. Walewski,Edo, io DecemberI859, also No. 3I
108
Papers,Reporton the Cur- of26 DecemberI859.
Parliamentary
326 Monumenta
Nipponica,
XXII, 3-4

theiridlelife.Japanese merchants drifted

awayindisgust.AttheendofAugustthebore-
domendedsuddenly.
A Russiansquadroncarrying overonehundred cannonon nineshipsappearedinEdo
Bay.It hadcometo negotiate thenorthern boundary on Sakhalin. The bakufu mayhave
beenimpressed bythisdisplay.Certainsamurai werealsoimpressed. The fleetprovided
an opportunity bothtoembroil thebakufu witha powerful foreign nationas wellas earn
reputation andpossiblepromotion forthemselves. On theeveningofAugust26ththey
acted.
A Russianofficer and twoseamenwereashoreat Yokohamabuyingfowlsandfresh
vegetablefortheirship'smess.Burdened withpurchases theyhadjust passeda cross
streetwhentheywereattackedfrombehind.The officer anda seamanwentdownim-
mediately undera flurry ofchopping swords.The otherseamanescapedwoundedintoa
Japaneseshopwhoseownerbravely slidfastthedoorinthefacesofhispursuers.
Although a singleblowoftheJapanese swordwas usuallyfatal,thevictimshadbeen
hackedsavagelywhilelyingon theground. The officer
hadbeen"fearfully woundedby
twocutsextending overtheshoulder bladeandcrossing at thespine,so deeplyas even
to haveinjuredthelung,anothergashhad openedthe skull,whilea fourth had cut
throughthefleshy partofthethigh.. . Butiftheofficer's woundswerefearful, no words
candescribe those. . . ofthepoorsailor... hisheadwassplitintwodowntothenostrils,
hisrightshoulder cutthrough andthrough so thathisarmwas merely attachedto his
bodybya pieceofflesh. His armsandhandshadthefleshsheared offinseveralplaces...
hepresented a pictureofthemostbarbarous mutilation.""'1
The officerlivedforseveralhoursanddiedatmidnight callingforhismother. Huddled
in thelamplitroom,thelittlegroupoflistening realizedforthefirst
foreigners timethe
dangersoftheirpositioninJapan.
Thereis onlyoneexcuseforquotingyounginterpreter Cowan'sgorydespatchtoAl-
cock.Thehabitofnotmerely butofhacking
killing everybitoflifeoutofa victim,coupled
withtheterrible butchery oftheJapaneseblade,madea strongimpression uponthe
foreigners.This colouredall oftheirlateractions.112
At Yokohamatheyhad theresiliency ofyouthand thecomfort of companionship.
At Edo,an oldermancutoffby positionandpersonality fromhisfellowswas alsoim-
pressed.Anarmysurgeon intheCarlistWars,Alcockwastowritethathehadneverseen
suchhorrible woundson any battlefield as he sawinJapan.
AtYokohama, someoftheforeigners were"panicstricken ... andnottodo things by
halves,theyswaggered aboutthestreets, armedtotheteethwithswords, revolversand
otherhorrible affairs.""13
Afterseveraldaysofpainfultumblescausedby theirswords

ill F.O. 46, III, No. 23 enclosure,to Malmes- Service,London,I92I, p. 53.

bury,Edo, 3 SeptemberI859. 113 HarrisPapers,Book4, No. 250, to Heard,
112 ErnestSatow,A Diplomat in 7apan,Seeley, i NovemberI859.
 M c M A S T E R. ". .. ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 327

gettinginconsistently betweentheirlegs,theygaveit up. Harrisdid not thinkthis

displayhadcausedtheJapanese muchconcern.
Russianretaliation however didworrythem,andthebakufu suddenly becamefriendly
towards AlcockandHarris.14The former hadsuggested thatthebakufu takeinforeign
dollars,re-coin themintoichibusandreturn thema fewdayslaterto theforeigners. The
figurehe hadacceptedwas i6,oooichibus orjustover$s,oooa day.Harrisdidnotthink
thatAlcockshouldhaveagreedto anyfigure puttinga limituponexchange butsawno
reasonwhyAmericans shouldnotuse thearrangement.15 Alcockhadactuallytoldthe
bakufu thati6,oooichibusperdaywasnotenoughforevenoneforeign tradingfirm.The
figurehadonlybeenaccepteduponthebakufu promise thatitwouldrapidly increasethe
sumavailableforexchange.1"6
Jardine's,whichhadbeenabletoexchange only$s,oooallsummer quicklyexchanged
andinvested $25,000 inJapaneseproduce, andwentanother $35,ooointodebttoJapanese
dealers.Letters werehurried off
toChinaformorefunds. The summer's minute quantities
ofmushrooms, rawsilk,silkcloth,seaweed,beans,isinglass (a fishglueusedinIndiaink),
demer
be'che (sea slugsoririko),
peas,fishoil,cuttlefish,shrimps, teaandgoldcoins,now
becamerespectable shipments.
Allofthesehadbeenkepttosmallquantities bythelackofexchange. Nowas thegood
newswentout thatexchange was available,dollarsbeganto pour in from Shanghaito
meetproducecominginfrom thecountryside. BySeptember i6thJardine's agentcould
of
reportthatan unusualquantity silk had come on to the market. He contracted for
$30,000worthofit.He alsocollectedI,000 tubsofoil.Otherswerealsodoingwell.The
Dutchhadopenedthemarket at nearChinapricesforsilk.This enforced cautionupon
foreign buyers.Dent'sfeltitworthwhile tobringina silkinspector from China.Withhis
helptheybought and shippedoff"a largeparcel" of200 piculs (the piculwas I33 and1/3
lbs.).Jardine'sshippedI70 piculsofsilk,received$i5,ooofrom Shanghai, another $I0,000
fromNagasaki,spentbothand stillowed$35,000 on October24th.Afterfourmonths
at Yokohama, Jardine'sloadeditsfirstsubstantialcargofrom Japan."17
Thiswasin mid-November whenthe"Chryseis"took2,500 piculsofoil,2,000 piculs
ofseaweed,250 piculsofsilk,3,300piecesofcottoncloth,500 piecesofsilkcloth,a few
hundred piculsof"muckandtruck"isinglass, shrimp,mushrooms, etc.,a boxofbaddol-
larswhichthecustomshousehadrejected andfiveboxesofJapanese goldcoins.
As"Chryseis" wasleavingport,others wereloadingforsea.The "HenryEllis"carried
seaweedforShanghai, Dent'shadchartered the"DennisHill"totakepeastoHongKong,
theDutchbarque"Princess Charlotte" wasloadingseaweedandgeneral cargoforHong

114 Alcock, I, 247. 117 are fromthe twenty-

All tradereferences
115 HarrisPapers,Book4, No. 203, to Dorr, fourYokohamalettersof I859 in the Jardine-
I2SeptemberI859. Mathesoncollection.Dates are mentionedwhen
Correspondence
116 Politique,i, enclosurein theyseemto havesometopicalvalue.
No. i9, to Walewski,IO DecemberI859.
328 Monumenta XXII, 3-4
Nipponica,

Kong.AnotherNetherlander, the "Maria Louisa" was takingon the samecargofor

Shanghai. Withit all,KeswickofJardine's was ableto assurehissuperiors inChinathat
"no onehasgottena greater sharethanyourself."18 He wasoutofmoney, toodeeplyin
debtto go on buyingandevengivingI.O.U.'s at thecustomshouseforexportcharges.
It wasjust as well,forhe alsoregretted toinform thattheexchange was "againalmost
entirely suspended andnowonlychangeis givenforabout$25 perdiem.""119
Assurednowthattherewouldbe no immediate Russianretaliation andsurprised by
thesuddenburstofbusinessat Yokohama, thebakufu hadagaincutbacktheexchange.
The tradeslowedwithit. The excusegivenwas thatthemoneywas neededto rebuild
theshogun's palacewhichhadjustburned.120 To makethematter morecertain, itforbade
Japanese merchants tobringin morethantokenquantities ofsilk,oilorseaweed.'12
Althoughenoughmoneyfortradewas neversupplied,122 individuals couldgaina
temporary monetary advantageoverothers, through thesystem Alcockdescribed
itself.
thisas being"so entirely withoutsystemorimpartialitythatinjuryhasbeeninflicted on
individual merchants The systemcould,however,
withoutreasonorjustification."'123
be burlesqued. Exchangewas doledoutby a simplerule.You nevergotwhatyoure-
quested,butthemoreyourequested, themoreyoureceived. Ifyouaskedfor$5oworth
ofichibusyoumightget$5.Ifyouaskedfor$ioo worth, youmightget$io. Oneperceptive
foreigner noticing this,simplymultipliedhisdemandandwalkedoffwiththebulkofthe
day'slimited exchange. Therewasmuchlaughter thatnightandseveralimitators onthe
morrow. As therewas so littleavailableanyway,it did notmattermuchwho gotit.
Requestsforexchange skyrocketedpastthethousands, through themillions,up to the
billionsandonintothetrillions untilonegentleman solemnly askedfor$I,200,666,777,-
888,999,222,23 I worthofichibus.
This requestwas fora Mr.JackKetch.Foreigners haddiscovered a variationon the
joke.Chitswouldbe acceptedforpersons notphysicallypresent in
inthebuilding, Japan
orin lifeitselfAmongthoserequesting exchangewereto be foundMr. Wellerout of
Pickwick, Mr.Bonesofthethenpopularminstrel shows,theubiquitous Mr.LuckyCove,
suchBiblicalgentlemen as MosesandAaron,anda fewobscenities.124
Theseflights fancyseemmainlyto havebeenconfined
of to twomerchants, Tatham
and Eskrigge.Theyventured severalextensiveefforts.Initiator seemsto havebeena
Mr.Telgewitha simplerequestfor$250 million worthofexchange. The finaloffender,
youngJardine's clerk,Mr. Barber,requesteda merefourmillionforhimself, Jones(A

118 J-M& Co. Archive,Box YokohamaI859, toJ.Whittall,i6 NovemberI859.

to J. Whittall,Yokohama,ii NovemberI859. 122 Michie, II, 2I.
119 Ibid. 123 F.O. 46, III, enclosureNo. 2 in No. 42, to
120 Politique,i, Manabe to de
Correspondence Russell,io DecemberI859.
Bellecourt,i5 November I859. In No. i6 to 124 Parliamentary Papers,PrintedCorrespon-
Walewski,Edo, i5 NovemberI859. denceRespectingtheStoppageofTradeinJapan,
Box YokohamaI859,
121 J-M & Co. Archive, presentedto theCommons,2I Februaryi86o.
 MCMASTER. "... ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 329

Jardine's captain),Troas(hisship),and"A. Friend."As Barber'sbusinessletterswere

sovaguethathissuperiors didnotknowwhathewasdoinginthemarket,'25 hewassoon
sentbackto Chinawheretherewouldbe moreseniormenon handto supervise him.126
ThejokesofyoungmenatYokohama didnotseemveryfunny toanoldermanat Edo.
Whentheexchange supplyhehadnegotiated wascutoffby thebakufu onlysixweeks,
after
Alcocksatdownto writea despatchto London.Thereit was printed in Parliamentary
Papersandhasbecomepartofalmosteverysubsequent historyofJapan.
In commonwithall ofhisdespatches it is lengthy.Evenaftertutoring by Heusken,
bakufu translatorscouldonlywriteshortlettersin bad Dutch.Withalmostno English
whatthesemencan havemadeofAlcock'stortuous logicandfulsome Victorian style
cannothavebeenmuch.Presumably mostwentunanswered as simplybeingincompre-
hensible.127 Alcockrejecteda bakufu complaint thathisletterswerenotunderstood and
tookmanydaystotranslate,128 buthisFrench colleaguedescribedoneofAlcock's consular
notices as"a veritable
volume"whichhedidnothavetimetotranslate forhissuperiors.129
One is carriedalongona powerful flowofexcellent prosethrough whichtheunderlying
factsareseenbutdimly.Although itis anarduousbusiness theNovember iothdespatch
is worthsomeattention.130
Alcockbeginsbylooking"to theindiscreet conduct,tousethemildest term, ofmany,
ifnotalltheforeign residents."Harristhought that"a portionofthemareneither pru-
dentnordiscreet."'13 ArrivinginJapantwoorthreeyearslater,a British diplomat wrote
that"a smallminority"'132misbehaved. Given"theinnumerable anddailyrecurringcaus-
es ofdisputeandirritation betweentheJapanese officials
ofall gradesand theforeign
traders, bothas to thenatureofthetradetheyenterinto,andthemodein whichthey
conductit,openin manyinstances to graveobjection," Alcockcouldnotbutwonder
"at theexistenceofmuchill-feeling." A favourable biographer,who had also beena
Britishmerchant in ChinaandJapanduringAlcock'sservicethere,notedthatyears
before whenChineseofficials hadimpededtrade, Alcockhadnotblamedthem.Refusing
toadmitanydeeperormoregeneral causes,hehadclaimedthatrudeness orimprudence
by Britishindividuals was solelyresponsible fortreatyviolations.'33
Greaterage had
merely settledthisopinion.It wasa convenient linetotakeabsolving thediplomat from
enforcing a treaty.SomeeightdayslatertheFrenchchargementions nothing aboutthe

125 J-M & Co. Archive,Box ShanghaiI859, Walewski,3 DecemberI859.

to W. Keswick,22 OctoberI859. 130 F.O. 46, iv, No.4I, Alcockto Russell,
Edo,
126 Ibid.,toJosephJardine,28 NovemberI859. IO NovemberI859, enclosureNo. 7, Alcock to
127 For a similarsituationsee W. G. Beasley, bakufuforeignministers,8 November
I859.
"The Language Problemin the Anglo-Japanese 131 HarrisPapers,Book 5, No. 7, to Cass, i
Negotiations ofI854", Bulletin
oftheSchoolofOrien- Augusti86o.
talandAfrican Studies,xiI, part 3, I950. 132 LordRedesdale,A Tragedy inStone,
London,
128 Correspondence Politique,IV, NO. 9I, en- I9I2, p. I73.
closesAlcockto bakufu, II Julyi86i. 133 Michie, I, 253-254.
129 Correspondence Politique,I, No. 2I, to
 330 MonumentaNpponica, XX, 3-4

exchange,devotinghishomedespatchto thebakufu'sthoroughgoing restriction

oftrade.134
Writing at thesametimeas Alcock,Harrismentions no troublescausedbyforeign mer-
chants,onlythathisoldentente cordiale withthebakufu is gone,itsanimosity is nowvery
real.135
Havingchargedall theforeign residents withmisbehaviour andgoneon toclaimthat
samemisbehaviour causedJapanese animosity towards inbothofwhichopin-
foreigners,
ionshe was apparently alone,Alcockmovedon to surerground.Everyone agreedwith
himwhenhe mentioned thedrunken disorder ofsailorsashore.Burlesquing a consular
court,JapanPunchnotedthat"severalsailorswerefinedforhavingreturned to their
shipssoberinviolation ofthepractice oftheservice."136 Two months before theAlcock
despatch,theBritish consulat Nagasakihadhireda constable andpaid$io for"a pairof
handcuffs-much needed."'137InJapanese portsW.S. Gilbert'sBritishtarwasindeeda
soaringsoul,andnodoubthisfistwaseverreadyfora knock-down blow.Thatthisshould
bothertheJapanese authoritiesverymuchis doubtful. Japanese merchantsdidquitewell
doingbusinesswithsailormen. If a Japanesemerchant profited fromtheforeigners, a
bakufuofficial
shortly profitedfromthemerchant. Japanese policewereaccustomed to
dragging sword-waving samuraidrunksto the groundwithlongfirehooks.138 A for-
eigner'sfistscannothavebeenveryfrightening. Yokohama wasa kindergarten compared
to thebrothel quarters ofnearbyEdo.
AftertwofalsenotesAlcockhadstrucka trueonewithhisdrunken sailors.He went
ontoanother:"The foreigners have,without distinctionofnation,theenmity ofa large
classoffeudalprincesandtheirretainers ... thehappystateoforderandobedience on
whichKaempfer and Thunberghavebeenso eloquent... arepictures whichhavebut
littlefoundationinreality... theyneither desireourtradenorourfriendship." Leading
from thissolidground uponwhichallforeigners wereagreed, helaunches ontoa personal
opinion."All commercial and politicalrelations undersuchcircumstances mustbe in
greatdegreeunsatisfactory andunpromising forthefuture weretherenoothergrounds
ofdistrust andirritation.Butourownpeople.. . takecarethatthereshallbe nolackof
these.Utterly recklessofthefuture, intentonlyonprofiting, ifpossible,
by thepresent
momentto theutmost,regardless of Treaties or futureconsequences, theyarewholly
engagedjustnowinshipping offallthegoldcurrency ofJapan. Thiscanonlybe effected
surreptitiouslyin defianceofJapanese lawsandedictsandwithsmallregardto Treaty
objectsorobligations."
The phrase"regardless ofTreaties"is a surprising one froma diplomat. The treaty
allowedfortheexportofJapanese
specifically goldcoin.Harrishad prohibited it in his

134 CorrespondenceCommerciale,i, Edo, 136 A magazine issuedatYokohama.

irregularly
I859-6I, No. i6, toWalewski,i8 NovemberI959. This is froman I866 issue.
135 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 257, to Cass, 137 M. Paske-Smith, p. 256.
7 NovemberI859. 138 Alcock, I, 243.
 M c M AS TE R. ". ..ForeignDiplomacy
in Bakumatsu
Japan" 33I

draftoftheproposedtreaty. It wasthebakufu itselfwhohadproposedtheexportofgold

andsilvercointo theastonished American.139
As to beingwhollyengagedin shipping offgold,thiswouldhaveleftpreciouslittle
timefortheshipment ofsilk,seaweed,tea,oil,shrimps andtherest.Manyofthesearticles
required considerablerepacking before shipment, as wellas a greatdealoftimeinweigh-
ing,passingthrough customs, loadingontolighters, andchecking ontotheship'sdeck.
Tea, forexample,arriving atYokohama injarshadtobe repacked intoteachests.Alcock
musthaveknownthis.The thingoldcoinswouldnotballast,muchlessfilla ship,and
loadedshipswereleavingYokohama.
The goldcoinsthemselves werebrought toYokohamabyJapanese andoffered to the
foreigners.The latterdid notgo out and seekthem.On NovemberI7th Keswickof
Jardine'swrotethathehadtorefuse goldcoinsas hehadnomoremoney. It wasoneofthe
fewproducts theJapanesehadtooffer, andsomesmallbusinessmen aresaidtohavegotten
theirstartbysellinggoldtoforeigners. The FrenchconsulatYokohama, JoseLoureiro,
wasalsoa merchant buyingandshipping goldcoins.He reported thattheyweresentto
Yokohamabydaimyo.The profit to thesewassupposedly about30%. After thetrouble
ofshipping andsaleat Shanghai, theforeigner earned50%.140 One saleofshirtings and
chintzesisrecordedasbeingpaidforingoldcoins,200 ofthem.141 Asthecoinswereboxed
andpassedthrough thecustoms itis doubtful thatthebakufu didnotknowwhat
officials
wasintheboxes.Whenitchosetostoptheexport itdidso,simply byitspolicepowers.142
The thingoldcoinssoldforsevenoreightichibus, say$2.30 to$2.50 toforeigners atYoko-
hama,andwereinsured forshipment at $3.50.143 As theJapanese coastwas treacherous,
andwithoutlighthouses, it maybe assumedthattheinsurance valuewasfairly closeto
thesaleprice.
That all thegoldcoinageofthecountry was shippedoffis alsounlikely. The bakufu
didnotcomplain ofit.Goldwasreported as beinginplentiful supply,whereasthesilver
whichpurchased it was scarceandwelcome.144 Goldwas simplylumpedwithall other
producebeingexported byforeigners.145
Following itstraditional
method ofmeeting financial thebakufu
difficulties, wascausing
an inflationbyincreasing thequantity ofcoinagein thecountry. Millionsin ironcash,
coppertempos, othermetalvarieties andpapermoneywerebeingissued.To thiscould
be addedthesurplus offoreign silverleftbya veryfavourable balanceoftrade.Inflation

139 Harris,7ournal,
p. 529 Yournal,p.409. The profitHarrismentionsis not
140 CorrespondenceCommerciale,
Edo, I859- onJapanesebuton foreign goldandwas owingto
6i, i, No. I2, to Walewski,
29 OctoberI859. theexchangeratesbetweenAsia,through London
141 J-M& Co. Archive,Box YokohamaI859, to America.He was not profiting at theexpense
toJ.Whittall,2I NovemberI859. ofJapanese.Cf.W. L. Neumann,p. 56.
142 Ibid.,3 DecemberI859. 145 J. McMaster,"The JapaneseGold Rush
143 Ibid.,
i5 DecemberI859. of i859", 7ournalof Asian Studies,xix, No. 3,
gold May I960.
thanmeltand use foreign
144 E. g., rather

coins,the bakufu sold themto Harrisforsilver.

MN: XXII, 3-4 F
332 MonumentaNipponica,XXI, 3-4

wasusefulas a nationaldefense measure, but as alwaystheeconomysuffered rapidly

risingprices.146Thesewereblamedupontheforeign exportofgoodsincluding gold.147
The bakufu didnotwantits goldback.Jardine's couldnotsellthemgoldbarssixmonths
later.148These barsweresucha gluton theChinamarketthatJardine's cancelledall
further shipments from SanFrancisco.149Had therebeenanyneedforgoldinJapan,the
California shipsusuallystoppedat Yokohamaand/orNagasakibeforeproceedingto
China.
IfthegoldexportwasnotactuallydoingJapanmuchdamage,Alcock'sreporting ofit
thoroughly blackenedthereputationsoftheBritish merchants inthatcountry.Itachieved
sucha successthattheSecretary oftheIndiaandChinaAssociation wrotetotheForeign
Office regrettingthattheconductofBritish merchants hadcausedtheJapanese to stop
thetrade.150 Sinceit was thestoppageoftradebythebakufu whichhadcausedthemis-
conductthiswas a tourde forceofmisrepresentation. Itsripplesspreadfarafield.The
LondonTimeseventually reachedBataviawheretheNetherlands governorgeneral wrote
to hisrepresentativeinJapannotto letDutchcitizenstakepartin therobbery.15' This
notearrived inJapanduringthesummer ofi86o somesixmonths afterthegoldexport
hadceased.
The Frenchconsulgeneralordinarily cooperated fullywithAlcock,but theattack
upontheforeign merchants wastoomuchforhim.He wrotean articleattacking Alcock
in a Parispaperand sentalongclippings fromtheChinaCoastPresspointing out that
onlysailorscausedanytrouble.152 To hissuperiors he wrotethatthepranksofsomeof
Alcock'snationals didnotinanywayjustify thebakufu treatyviolations
whichhadgiven
riseto them.153
As to theactualgoldexportfrom Japanit was solvedeasilyenough.Withthedefeat
ofitsspecialtradecoininJulythebakufu hadto thinkagainaboutitscoinage.Oneofits
foreign ministerswrotetoHarrison thesubject.
Old ideasweredyinghard.The bakufu didnotwishto giveupitstraditional profit on
coinageoperations, aboveall on silvercoins.Harrispointedout thatwhereas Japanese
silverwas at worldvalues,Japanese goldcoinswerenot.The answerhe suggested was
simple.154Gold coins were notin circulationat theirbook value ofone gold coin for

146 Paul Einzig, How Money is Managed, to theCommons,2I Februaryi86o.

Penguin,I954, p. 38, I99. 151 ConsulaatYokohama,Bundle i, Batavia,
147 E. J. Hamilton,American Treasure and the 7 May i86o to de Wit enclosingthe London
PriceRevolutioninSpain,Harvard, I934, pp. 283- articleas reprinted
in theJavascheCourant.
285 describesa similarsituationin Spain. 152 Correspondence Commerciale,i, clipping
148 J-M & Co. Archive,Box Nagasaki i86o, fromLa PatrieofI9 Februaryi86o.
toJ.Whittall,3 May i86o. 153 Correspondence
Politique,i, No. 2I, to
149 Ibid.Box Hong Kong i86o, to Parrottand Walewski,3 DecemberI859.
Co., Hong Kong,I0 Augusti86o. 154 HarrisPapers,Book4, No. I93, to Ota,
150 ParliamentaryPapers,Correspondence Res- Edo, 8 AugustI859.
pectingtheStoppageofTradeinJapan,presented
 in Bakumatsu
M CMASTER. ". ..ForeignDiplomacy Japan" 333

Rather,theywerehoardedby daimyo,upper-ranking
foursilverichibus. samuraiand
wealthy merchants.In a country whichknewnobankstheselightweight coinswerethe
bestmeansofconcentrating wealth.Ifa newgoldcoinworthintrinsically fourichibus
werestruckandissued,therewouldbe noproblem. Therewerealreadyseveralissuesof
goldcoinsofdifferent metallic valuesanddifferent agessellingfordifferent prices.The
newcoinwouldmerely filltheemptyslotat theofficial rate.As it wouldnotbe worth
exporting,Japanwouldhavea goldcurrency. The bakufu finally tookthisadvicesix
months later.The exportstopped.Whathadhappened in theinterim wasitsownfault.
AlthoughacceptingAlcock'sclaimthattheYokohamamerchants werescoundrels,
LordRussellmadethesamepointas hadHarrissomesevenmonths earlier.
The remedy
to anygoldexportlayin thehandsofthebakufu whichhadonlytoadjustits coinageto
worldvalues. Russellalsoreminded Alcockofhispowerto deportanyBritishsubject
whomisbehaved.155 As therehadbeentimeforreflection noonewasdeported.
Alcockdoesnotmention a farmoredamaging coinageexport.Thatwasintheshipment
ofold coppercashcoinsfromNagasaki.Unlikethegold,it was prohibited by treaty.
Unlikethegoldcoinswhichprobably didnotexceedIOO,OOO pieces,thecoppercashwere
exportedby themillions. In thesingleyearofi86o,93,869,900 cashwerereported as
reachingShanghai.156Againunlikethegoldwhichwaskeptinprivatehoards, thecopper
cashwas theactualcurrency ofthecountry. Its replacement by greatquantities ofiron
cashcannothavehelpedbutraisepricesforthepoor.157 As it had beenforyears,this
tradewasin Chinesehandsandremained so. Although willing, Europeanscouldnever
seemtobribetheirwayintotheoperation bywhichbakufu customs officials
andChinese
tradersdrainedJapan ofits copper cash.This happened at Nagasaki, which is perhaps
whyAlcockdoesnotmention it. Goldis moreinteresting, andin thiscaseit was only
twenty milesawayat Yokohama.
Alcockhadbuiltup a pictureofan entireforeign merchant community recklessly in-
sultingbakufu andbreakingJapanese
officials lawstoshipoffall thegoldcoinofthecountry
withno thought to thefuture andat theexpenseofalllegitimate trade.Hiscolleagues in
Japandidnotrecognise thispictureat all.
Itisonlyatitsveryendthatthemotivebehindthisblendoffact andfiction is disclosed.
Although themurderers oftheRussianswerewell-known popularheroes,158 orperhaps
becausetheywerewell-known popularheroes, thebakufu madeno arrests. The daybefore
writinghisdespatch,Alcockhadreceived wordthata Chineseservant, a British national
from HongKong,hadbeenmurdered inYokohama. Anemployee ofDent's,hehadbeen

155 Correspondence Politique,II, Cowley to thissubjectis bestinvestigated

fromJapanese
Thouvenel,Paris, 28 Februaryi86o enclosing businessrecords,personalletters,
diaries,
etc.
Russellto Alcock,London,25 Februaryi86o. The authorhopesthatJapanesescholars
willadd
156 Paske-Smith,p. 2II. tohisknowledge onthissubject.
Tokugawa recordson coinagedo
157 Official 158 Satow,p. I38.
not always coincidewith actual usage so that
334 Monumenta
Nipponi
ca, xxI, 3-4

killedon thefirm's doorstep. A lantern hadbeenthrust intohisfacetoblindoridentify

himwhilsthewasrunthrough from behind.Counting ontheprotection oftheirmasters,
theChinesemadea pointofinsulting samuraicustoms.159 OftentheyworeEuropean
clothes,so whether themanwas killedforsomemisbehaviour ofhisown,simplyas a
foreigner, ormistaken fora European, is unknown. The nightwas dark.To an isolated
manatEdoitdidnotmakemuchdifference. He hadhardly finishedreadingofthiskilling
whenhisownlifewas threatened.
Ridingforexerciseon theTakaida,onlya fewyardsfromthegateofhis legation,
a drunken samurai blockedtheway.Whenoneofthegroomstriedto stophimpushing
Alcock'shorsetowardstheroadside, heputhishandtohisswordandthreatened tocut
themandown.Armedonlywitha ridingwhip,Alcockwritesthathewasreadytointer-
pose himself betweensamuraiand groom.At thispointhis interpreter, Dan Kitchie,
pointeda pistolat thesamurai. "Butforthis,boththegroomandmyself mighthavevery
probably beenwoundedifnotmurdered bythisruffian,maddened withdrinkandarmed
to theteeth."160
In consequence whathasbeendescribed as a "trulybravedespatch"161seemstohave
beenjusttheopposite.The attackuponAlcockcomingas it doesat theendofthelong
despatchseemsto tietogether thewholelengthy skeinoftruth,half-truth
andmisinfor-
mation. Ifitis thepanicresponse ofa frightened man,thenthestorymakessense.Iflater
on,after emotions hadcooled,Alcockrealisedthathehadgonetoofar,thestoryhadbeen
giventoomuchpublicity to be retracted.
His consular circular
written at thesametimeis posedin ratherdifferent termsthan
his despatchto London.162 The Yokohamamerchants werebetterinformed thanhis
Foreign Office Themajorthemeofthisnoticeisthattheactsofanyoneforeigner
superiors.
reactuponallforeigners. Theinnocent maysuffer fortheguilty.Therehavebeenmurders
ofgreat"atrocity andvindictiveness." TheRussianswerekilledbecauseofthemisconduct
ofothersailorsashore.The Chinesewas killedbecauseofthemisconduct ofsomeother
foreign resident.
AlcockattacksKeswickofJardine's. SurelyMr.Keswickcannotmeanit as an excuse
thathisfirmmadea falseapplication to thetreasury forexchangebecauseotherswere
doingso?He cannotmeanitas a justification thathewasdefending theinterestsentrust-
ed tohiscare.He mightas wellseizethetreasury officials
by thethroatanddemandex-
change.The lastphraseis literary fancybuttheearlierattackdisplaysa curiouslackof
understanding oftheBritishtradehe was paid to promote.WhenKeswickjustified a
falseclaimat thetreasury as defending theinterests entrustedtohiscareitwasthesimple
truth.He was entrusted withinvesting otherpeople'smoneyin Japanese produce.If
159Hodgson, p. 284. 161 Lord Redesdale(Mitford),p. I73.
160F. 0. 262, III, enclosureNo. 9, Alcock to 162 Enclosed in CorrespondencePolitique,
bakufu,8 NovemberI859, in despatchNo. 37, I, No. 2I to Walewski,3 DecemberI859.
to Russell,io NovemberI859.
 M c M ASTE R. "... ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 335

theJapanese government wouldnotadhereto thetreaty theneachforeign merchant

mustdo thebesthe couldunderthecircumstances. The responsibility laywiththe
foreign diplomats toenforce thetreaty. Thenotice closeswitha statement thatitwas
better thereshould benotrade atallthana trade which includedgoldcoins. Itisa curious
statement from a diplomatsenttoenforce a commercial treaty.
Ifa combination ofignorance andfear hadcausedtheattack upontheBritish merchants,
theignorance wasgonea month later.EarlyinDecember thethree foreign diplomats
joinedtogether at Alcock'srequestagainstwhatall nowrecognized as a deliberate
bakufu campaign againstforeign trade.163 Reportsfrom Nagasaki,Hakodate andYoko-
hamaweresimilar. Theonlyexception wasthatrestrictions weremoresevere atthefirst
twoports. Fromallthree camethestory ofbakufu forbidding
officials Japanese merchants
to bringcertain goodsforsale,fixing highpriceson goodssold,allowing onlysmall
quantities tobesold,demanding squeezes fromJapanese whosoldtoforeigners andfrom
foreigners whowishedcustoms permits, cooliesor lighters.A limited exchange was
unfairly Japanese
distributed. who attacked foreignerswent free.Japanese who broke
contracts withforeigners shared their advance payment withtheofficials andbothen-
the
joyed profits ofthe theft.It was a melancholy picture.
Acting asleaderoftheforeign diplomats Alcock wrote thetwobakufu foreign ministers
foranappointment. Theanswver wasinsulting. Theydidnothaveanhourtospare, he
hadbestseetwosubordinate officials.Alcock thatasitwasa question
replied ofpeaceor
wartheyhadbestfindanhour.164 Theydid.
On December gththethreeforeign representativesjointlyaccusedtheJapanese of
deliberatelyviolating almost everyclauseofthetreaty. Theycarried ontheattack for
fourhours. Mostsevere wasHarris speaking asa manbetrayed. After warning theinter-
preters nottowater downhismeaning, Alcock carriedtheattack untilhewastootired
tospeakanylonger, uponwhichdeBellecourt tookitup.Thejointeffort wasanutter
failure.Theforeigners wereanswered withthestandard argument. Foreign tradewas
draining thecountry ofnecessities, therefore priceswererising. Risingpricescaused
sufferingandangeramong thepeople.Thisangerresulted inthemurder offoreigners.
Foreigners mustleaveEdoandYokohama andgobacktoNagasaki andHakodate. Then
theywouldbe safe.Alcock demanded theystopthemurder offoreigners. TheJapanese
replied thatthere wasnolackofyoung swordsmen inJapan anxioustodemonstrate their
courage. Through hisinterpreter, theAbbeGirard, theFrench diplomat askedifthiswas
anexcuseora threat? Thepriest replied thatitwasthelatter. Thefinal wordwasfrom
theJapanese side.Werethecannons beingsentasa gift byNapoleon III rifled?
De Bellecourt summed it up simply. "In truththe treaties
no longer exist,wemerely

163 CorrespondencePolitique,I, No. 2I, to Walewski,6 DecemberI859 enclosingbakufuto

Walewski,3 DecemberI859. Alcock,5 Decemberand hisreplyofthe6th.
164 CorrespondencePolitique, i, No. 23 to
336 Monumenta XXII,3-4
Nipponica,

playwithpromises andwords."Againstbakufu reaction thereexistednofurther weapon

exceptforce."It is thelastcardto play."165
The interview wasmuchmorethana temporary setbackfortheBritonhadfinished by
threatening thebakufu withwar.The Japanese wouldnotbe bluffed. Althoughthere
wereusuallyone or two British
warships visiting Japanese ports there was no British
squadronstationed inJapan.Havingsuffered a defeatat thehandsoftheChineseat the
Peihotheprevioussummer, Alcockknewthatnavalenergies wouldbe tiedup in China
whensummer broughtgoodsailingweatheragain.FromLondonhe earneda rebuke,
LordRussellwriting, "You shouldnothavethreatened war. . . we risk... earninga
reputationforquarrelling witheverynationin theEast."166 Worse,Alcockhadearned
thecontempt ofthebakufu forthreatening a warhe couldnotmake.167
Harrishopefully askedforanotherinterview alone.At thejointinterview he had
scornedthebakufu as notbeingtherulerofJapan as it claimedbutmerely a delegatefor
thedaimyo.Ifit continued in itspresentpath,warwouldbe inevitable. Withwarthe
bakufuwouldloseitspowerofnegotiating as thegovernment ofJapan. He developedthis
themeat hisprivateinterview on DecemberI3th,taunting themthatthedaimyo, not
thebakufu,werethe defacto government ofJapan. Ifwarcame,theforeigners wouldno
longerrecognize thebakufu butwouldnegotiate withtheMikadoatKyoto.Theselast
remarks hada profound effect.168
Whether it wasimpressed by thisthreatorwhether it trusted Harrispersonally, as a
manwhoseveracity hadbeentestedformorethanthreeyears,is uncertain. In contrastto
thegloomyreports oftheBritish andFrench,hewas abletowriteWashington that the
bakufuhadpromised tomake20,000 ichibus availablea dayfortrade,tostampforeign dol-
larswiththevalueofthreeichibus andthebakufu seal,topunishofficials interferingwith
tradeandto takehisadviceoftheprevious Augustandstrikea newgoldcoin.169
Whether ornottheofficials werepunished, somedollarswerestamped, moreexchange
wasmadeavailable,andthenewgoldcoinwasissued.Harriswhohadbeengivena de-
insulting
liberately receptionby theshogunin November was promised another with
properceremonial. Harrisassumedthathisinsistence on thishadcausedtheremoval of
ManabeAkikatsu from as
hisoffice rjffi
in charge offoreign A
affairs.170 week he
later could

165 Described by de Bellecourtin Corres- i6 Januaryi86o.

pondencePolitique,i, No. I9 to Walewski,io 169 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 278, to Cass,
DecemberI859. The Japanesenegotiatorswere I6January i86o.
Manabe Akikatsuand a new roji for foreign 170
l4p-4 *. Ibid.,No. 279, to Cass, i Feb-
identified
affairs as WakisakaNakatsukasa),A. ruaryi86o. De BellecourtthoughtManabe was
4 -. The lattercommentedon swordsmen. withforeigners
merelytiredofnegotiating noting
166 F.O. 46, Iv, No. 44, Russell to Alcock, that he retained his position as rnjg
fi t .
London,28 Februaryi86o. CorrespondencePolitique,Ii, No. 23, January
167 Hodgson, p. I63. i86o.
168 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 278, to Cass,
 McMAsTER. ".. .ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 337

writethathisrelations withthenewministry wereso pleasantas to remindhimofhis

visitto Edo in i857.171
first
Whether itwastheforce ofHarris'argument, theembassy leavingfortheUnitedStates
inFebruary, orthefeeling itmighthavegonetoofarforthemoment, thebakufu didrelax
itsrestrictions.
Writing Washington ofhissuccess,Harrisbeggedindulgence fortheJapanese govern-
mentowingto its longexclusionandignorance ofcommerce. He answered its fearof
exportscausinghardship by offering to prohibitanyexportwhichit couldprovewas
causingsuffering to theJapanese people.172Thisofferwasneveraccepted.
AlcockshowedtheDutchconsulfrom Yokohamathegovernment's letterannouncing
thatdollarswouldpassat threeforoneandthatthisnoticewouldbe postedthroughout
thecountry. VanPoelsbroek thought thatrelationsbetweenbakufu anddiplomats were
better.In spiteofthis,Alcocktoldhimheloathedthebakufu forallthedifficultiesit had
made.BecauseofthemJapanmustbe madetorepentherdeeds.At thismoment, Harris
cametocallanddefended thebakufu. ResentfullyAlcocksaid"Harris,youalwaysexcuse
Japanese misdeeds."173
A smallopeningcrackhadbeguntoappearbetweenthetwomenwhohadpreviously
workedso welltogether. The immediate reasonforAlcock'sfeelings seemstohavebeen
another murder, to whichhisreaction cannothavesuitedHarris very well.
Alcock'sJapanese interpreter hadbeena commonfisherman. As a castawayworking
on American shipshe had learnedspokenEnglish.Now under theprotection ofthe
foreigners he swaggered aboutwearingWesternclothesand carrying a Colt revolver.
Whenoutridingwith hisforeign employers he returnedsamurai insults Bypoint-
freely.
inghisrevolver andthreatening to shoothemayhavesavedAlcock'slifein November,
I859. The presence of thisman at negotiationsmusthaveinfuriated bakufu officials.
Morepractically heis saidto haveinterfered in theprofits oftheJapanese guarding the
Britishlegation.These samurai marked up the priceofall suppliesentering the legation,
thedifference augmenting theirownmeagresalaries.
The bakufu warnedAlcockoftheman'sdanger.Neitherthewarning norDan Kitchie's
Coltdidhimanygood.Whiletalkingtosomechildren hewasrunthrough from behind
infulldaylight.Atleasta dozenpeoplesawthemurderer. Dan was notonlyfiguratively
undertheprotection
but literally oftheUnionJack.He was leaninguponthelegation
at thetime.Withdeathat hisowngateAlcockhadreasonfornerves.Whenthe
flagstaff
governors ofYokohama refusedtoattendthefuneral ofthecommoner, Alcockthreatened
tolandtheentirecrewof"H.M.S. Roebuck,"sendto Chinafora fleet174 andevenquit

171 Ibid., sulaatYokohama,Bundlei, No. 22, 2I February

No. 280, to Cass, 6 Februaryi86o.
172 i86o to de Wit.
HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 278, to Cass,
i6January i86o. 174 CorrespondencePolitique,ii, No. 28, to
173 AlgemeenRijksarchief,
the Hague, Con- Walewski,4 Februaryi86o.
338 Monumenta XXII, 3-4
Ni.pponica,

Edo to liveon boardthewarshipat Yokohama.175 This lastmusthavebeena blowfor

Harris.The Edo residence hadonlybeensecured withthegreatest difficulty.
The threat
workedthefirst time.The officialsattended thefuneral. Presumably theinterview was
written downforconsideration at a higherlevel.It was customary.176A fortnight later
Alcockwastoldthatthe"Roebuck"shouldleave.Herpresence was"exciting thepopu-
lace."177
A weekafter writing ofhisinterview wvithAlcocktheDutchconsulhadburialsofhis
ownto thinkabout.On theeveningofFebruary 26th,twoDutchsea captainsfinished
theirmealattheYokohamaHotel andwalkedoutintothemoonlit street.Onewasmiddle-
aged,theothersixty, neitherwerearmed.Theyweregoingtobuysomesoysaucetoliven
up shipboard meals.Ten minutes latertheywerebothdead.Attacked from behind,both
hadbeenhackedtobitsin themainstreetofthelittlesettlement. Eachhadbeenslashed
morethana dozentimes,theheadofonehavingbeendeliberately severedwithmany
cuts.Fingers, hands,an armlayaboutthebodies.Nothingwasstolen,onestillhadone
hundred in hispocket.Watchesandringshadnotbeentouched.
ichibus As inmostJapa-
nesetowns, everystreetwasclosedandgatedintheevening andeverygatehaditswatch-
man.Thesegateshadbeenclosedatthetimeofthemurders. Thewatchmen wereonduty
buttheassailants wereneverfound.
Therewas no needforAlcockto threaten a retreat
to compelJapanese attendance at
thefuneral. The captainofa Prussian warship in portsimply informed thetwoJapanese
governors ofYokohamathatiftheydidnotattendhewouldsendmarines tobringthem.
Theyattended. ThePrussians werejoined byRussianmarines, British theconsuls
sailors,
andthesmallforeign community in theirtripto thelittleforeigncemetery whichwas
growing steadilylarger.Therehadnowbeensixkillingswithouttheefficient Japanese
policehavingfounda singlekiller.As fiveofthemurders had beenat Yokohama,Ii
Naosuke'sclaimthatthelocationwasfortheprotection offoreignersno longerseemed
veryvalid.
The foreignersbeganto providetheirownprotection. At nighta squadofRussian
marines patrolledthestreets,a dutytheylateralternated withothernavalvessels.The
Netherlands stationeda warshipat Yokohama,foreigners worea revolver all dayand
putitbeneaththepillowat night.The clumsyrevolvers werenotmuchuseas weapons.
It tooka trainedmantousethemaccurately, theywereslowfiring andalmostuselessat
night.Againsttheusualambushfrom behindtheyweretotally without value.Butthey
a
didhave deterrent effect.
Therewereno morekillings insideYokohama.
Twentymilesawayat Edo lifewas notso safe.To thebakufu Harriswrotethatthe
sixkillingsin six monthswithoutan arrestwas theconductofcannibals in theSouth

175 ConsulaatYokohama,Bundle i, No. 177 CorrespondenceCommerciale,No.

22, 56,
2I Februaryi86o to de Wit. includedin PolitiqueIa,23 Februaryi86o.
176 Hodgson,pp. 46, 48-49.
 inBakumatsu
MCMASTER. ".. .ForeignDiplomacy Japan" 339

Seas excitingtheindignation ofthewholecivilizedworld.Continued, it mustbring

war and thesubversion ofIi Naosuke'sgovernment.178 The daimyooftheMito fief,
whoseadoptedson,Hitotsubashi, hadbeenpassedoverfortheshogunate,' was said to
haveordered thekillingsto bringa foreignwarwhichmightmeanhisownrestoration
to power.179
Whatever thetruthofthat,therewereMitomeninvolvedin thenextkilling.This
timeit was theregent, Ii Naosukehimself, whofellto theswords.As Marchendedin a
dayofrainand snow,theregent'scortegeapproached theshogun'scastle.The body-
guardin strawraincapeshadtheirswordhiltswrappedforprotection, headsbentlow
intothestorm.Theirmasterwas shutintohispalanquin.A suddenrush,theslashof
swords,and a bodytumbledfroma shattered carriage.An attackerrushedaway,the
severedheadofIi Naosukegrippedbyits hair.
Fighting brokeoutintheMitofief, theJapanese guardsfurnished bythebakufu tothe
foreignlegationsweredoubledand a generalcivilwarseemedimminent. Although Ii
Naosukehad beentheauthoroftheirmisfortunes, hisdemisedid theforeigners little
good.Probably theonlymanin thebakufu withtheresolution to reallygovern, hisloss
was a seriousblow.He hadbeentoo conservative to encourage foreign tradeand gain
thereby theallianceofthosedaimyowhoprofited fromit,yetbyallowinga minimum of
tradehe hadlefthimself opento thechargeofbeingpro-foreign. Thus a sordidpolitical
murder becamea deedofhighpatriotism.
Although Alcock'sdiplomacy he hadbeenabletoimprove
hadbeena failure, hisown
positionconsiderably.AlcockhadcometoJapanas consulgeneral. Harrishadjustbeen
promoted to minister.The American suggested Alcock ask forthe samerankto help
himnegotiate withthebakufu. withmembers
It meta consulgeneral ofitssecondcouncil,
whereasa minister coulddeal directly withtheGorogio's twoministers forforeign af-
UsingHarrisas a reference,
fairs.180 Alcockpromoted himselfandaskedLondonto ap-
prove the move. This was done. News ofhis promotion arrivedin thewinterofi86o.
Withpromotion camea riseinsalaryfrom/i,8ooto?3,ooo a year.AsJuneendedAlcock
founda meansto add almostone thirdagainto thisfigure.
AfterJunei 86o,thebakufu wasno longerboundby treatytoprovideforeigners with
Japanese money."On theissuemustwhollydependwhatanswercanbe giventheques-
tionoftradeorno trade,"Alcockwroteoftheexchange.181 OddlyhisFrenchcolleague
complained thatin practicetheBritish ministerwasindifferentLothematter.182 What-
everthecase,theforeign merchants wereabandoned tothebakufu. The dollarwhichhad

178 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 293, to bakufuused the same argument to achievehis own
foreignministers,27 Februaryi86o. promotion. Sadlyitwasmerely honorary.
179 Ibid.,
No. 302, to Cass, I0 Marchi86o. 181 F.O. 39I, I, toHammond,3 Augusti86o.
180 CorrespondencePolitique, i, No. 4, to 182 Correspondence No. 86, to
commerciale,
Walewski, I0 SeptemberI859. De Bellecourt Thouvenel, 6 Marchi86i.
340 Monumenta XXII,3-4
Nipponica,

begunto circulate freely at threeichibus was nowcutsuddenly to twoanda quarter.183

Alcockdidnotjoinhiscountrymen in thisfinancial loss.Ratherhe accepteda proposal
whichthebakufu hadbeenmaking forsome time.184This wastocontinue theoldexchange
forhimself, hissubordinates andall armyandnavypersonnel.
The arrangement fitted withsamurai
in ideasthattheofficial class,evenifforeigners,
shouldbe privileged. The bakufu apparently regarded thisnewspecialexchange foroffi-
cialsas a bribe. Although it cost the government money the bakufu refused to giveit up
whenaskedtodo so bythePrussians. It admitted thatthreeforonewascorrect butsaid
then that its currency needed reform. This would take time.185 In the interim thediplo-
matswouldgettherightexchange. The assumption apparently beingthatJapanese and
Englishofficials shouldnotbotherthemselves aboutmonetarv lossesby commonmer-
chants.186 Alcockdid notpressthe bakufu againon theexchangequestion.Whether
through honestignorance ordeliberate intent, bothbakufu andBritish diplomat profited
by thearrangement. The bakufu, exchanging dollarsatjustovertwoichibus, pocketeda
profitofabout30centsworthofsilveroneverydollar.Alcockandotherforeign officials,
givenichibus at threeperdollar,soldthosetheydid notwantto foreign merchants and
pocketedtheprofit. ErnestSatow,thena youngstudent interpreter, was ashamedofthe
business.187
Whenthebakufu proposedthesamesystemat Nagasaki,theAmerican and French
consuls joinedtheNetherlands consulgeneral inrefusing it.It couldonly toillfeeling
lead
betweendiplomat andmerchant as wellas beingopentomisconstructions. Although, as
merchants, itwouldhavegiventhema distinct business advantage, itwas thetwo trading
consuls,Walshand Mackenzie, whosuggestedtherefusal. The threeagreedto go on
fighting fortheoldexchange forall.188
FouryearslatertheForeignOffice reachedthesameconclusion. It did notlikethe
printed remarks aboutbribery in China Coast papers.189 It had taken fouryearsandas
manyinvestigations atLondontoclearupthequestion. ForAlcockinJapan theyhadbeen
profitable years.190
Whenhe hadfirst arrived inJapan, Alcockhadtoldthebakufu thattheForeignOffice
hada strictrule that its servants should accept no presents from a foreign government.
The newspecialexchangeposeda question:how to explainto one's superiors thata
sizeableincrement toone'ssalaryis ineffect beingpaidbya foreign government?

183 Correspondence Politique,i, No. 68,-this 186 Robert Fortune,Edo and Peking, London,
is a commercialdespatchincludedin a political I863, p. 295.
volume-to Thouvenel, I9 August i86o. In 187 Satow,p. 26.
Capitalof the Tycoon,II, 422, Alcock gives the 188 ConsulaatYokohama.Bundle I, No. 2I3

impression thathe suggestedtheexchange. de Wit to Walsh,Deshima,II JulyI86o.

184 Ibid.Correspondence Politique. 189 Alcock,II, 433. F.O. 46, XLIX, Treasury
185 F.O. 262, CDLXXX, to Alcock, Edo, 27 to ForeignOffice, 9 JulyI864.
Octoberi864. 190 Satow,p. 26.
 MCMASTER. "... ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 34I

It was doneby claimingthatforeign merchants wouldcheatBritishdiplomats in

exchanging theirsalaries.
It wasa matter ofsimplejustice nottoleavethediplomat atthe
mercyoftheYokohamamerchant. 191DuringthegoldexportdaysAlcockhadwritten a
NorthChinapapercallingthemerchants scum.Itwouldnodoubtbeembarrassing toask
bankingservices fromthesesamemen.That theywouldcheathimis,on thefaceofit,
ridiculous.AlcockhadthepowertofineanddeportthemfromJapan. Theycompeted with
eachotherforbanking businessandtheylookedto theBritish ministertoassistthemin
theirclaimsagainsttheJapanese. Refusing an offer
to waivethecommission Harrisex-
changedhissalaryatYokohama. The changewasonepercent.192 Alcockmadetheclaim
anyway, andhisNovember goldexportdespatchhelpedlendauthenticity toit.
Alcockdid notactuallymeantheclaimthatforeign merchants at Yokohamawould
cheatthediplomats.193 This was onlyforpublicconsumption. At theForeignOffice
he tolda different story."Sir R. Alcockalwaysusedto admitthattheprivilege-viz.
a premium on theexchange ofsomething like33% wasindefensible inprinciple,
onlyhe
saidifyoutakeit awayyoumustraiseoursalaries."194 Whya lowlypaidstudent inter-
preterfoundhimself drinking champagne andrunning a ponyon ?200 a yearwhilethe
Britishminister complained ofhardship on ?3,000takesa littleexplaining.A partofthe
answeris simplythatAlcockwas a careful manwhowasputtingas muchasidetowards
retirement as possible.Another elementalsoentersthepicture.At Yokohamapricesof
foodstuffswerehighbutit wasa relatively freemarket as so muchcameinbyshipfrom
China,Europe and North America.At Edo all suppliesforthelegationshad to pass
through thehandsoftheirsamuraiguards.On oneoccasiontheFrenchinterpreter, the
AbbeGirard,slippedawayfromhisescortandfoundthatnormal Japanesepriceswere
200% lessthanwhatthediplomats hadbeenforced topay.195
Iftheforeign diplomats werethevictims ofanextortion racketatEdo thenthisshould
havebeenadmitted.Ifnothing couldhavebeendoneaboutit thena specialallowance
couldhavebeenmadelimited totheEdolegations. A moredeviouspathhadbeenchosen.
Havingmadea falseclaiminsupport oftheofficialexchange Alcockhadstilltoexplain
whyit was rightfordiplomats butwrongformerchants. This he didby attackingthe
HarrisTreaty.It was "erroneous and viciousand thesoonerit is departedfromthe
better."196Othersfollowed hislead.Itwasa "monstrous stipulation"197
andan"extraor-
dinary"monetary article.198It seemsodd thata merchant bytrainingshouldhavegone
so farwrong.In facthe hadnot.Eventually thetreasuryin LondondecidedHarrishad

191 Alcock,II, 422. io June I863.

192 Harris Papers, Book 4, No. I44, to J.
Loureiro,Edo, 3 AugustI859.
193 Alcock,II, 422.
194 F.O. 46, xxxix, memo Arbuthnotat
Treasuryto Hammondat ForeignOfficein re
195 Correspondence Politique,ii, No. 48, to
Thouvenel,25 Septemberi86o.
196 Alcock,II, 4I4-4i6.
197 Michie,ii, I8.
198 Paske-Smith,p. 2I3.

Prussianrequest to drop the special exchange,

 MonumentaNiiirnnica-
XXTT. --A

beenrightandAlcockwrong.It recommended thattheForeignOffice droptheAlcock

exchange, whichit didin I864.
Forthemerchants inJulyi86o thebakufu begandepreciating thedollar,givingfewer
andfewer ichibusforit at thecustomshouse.Thingsneverwentbackto theyearbefore
whenat theopeningoftradetwohalfichibu coinsworth35 centsorso hadpurchased a
silverdollar.Tradehadnowbuilta flooring underthevalueofthedollar,forifit felltoo
lowJapanese merchants would not bring itto thecustoms houseatall.Insteadtheywould
buyWestern imports, usuallycottonorwoollencloth,tosellin theinterior. Therethus
sprangup a freeexchange independent ofthegovernment customs housewhichnowhad
to competewithJapanesemerchants to buy dollars.Sometimes fallingas low as two
often
ichibus, between 220 and240, theexchange stillleftthebakufua profit
onbuyingand
melting silverdollars.199
Tradein generalslumped.The smaller merchants whohadto turnovertheircapital
quicklyandalmostconstantly to stayin businessbeganto be forced out.200The larger
Westernfirms whocouldrideouta bad seasonor twopersevered, forthereweresome
bright spots.Japanwasbeginning todevelopa demandforimported textiles
whichhelped
workoffsurplusstocksfromthedepressed tradein China.Shipscouldnowtakesome
cargoinsteadofgoingtoJapanin ballast.The tradein foodstuffs to Chinahadbeena
temporary thing.In i86o,an Anglo-French forcefought itswaytoPeking.As a resultof
thisvictory, newriverandcoastalportswereopened.These,ratherthanJapan,fedthe
populations ofShanghai andHongKong.
Copper,theoldmoney-maker oftheDutchtrade,wasseldomallowedforexport bythe
bakufu.Whenitwas,thoseshipments whichdidgooutoften proveddisappointing against
thenewIndianindustry at Calcutta.Japanteawas notpopularin Britainbutbeganto
sellinNorthAmerica. Itsexportincreased steadilyat a pacewhichallowedfortheplant-
ingofthequicklymaturing shrubsandtheharvesting ofpreviously unpicked leaves.
Anotherproductwitha surplusforexportwas silk.Unliketea,its exportboomed
withamazingspeed.It quicklybecamethelife-blood ofJapan'sforeigntrade,a position
it heldwellintothepresent century. Mulberry plantings tookmoretimetoexpandthan
teabushesbutapparently therewereunusedtreesavailableas wellas newplantations.
Japan'sopeningcoincided withthesilkworm diseasewhichdecimated European produc-
tionforthedecadeofthesixties.By thetimethatPasteurdiscovered its curein I870,
Japanese silkhadbecomeestablished in theEuropeanmarket. As Europeansilkproduc-
tionfell,pricesboomedinAsia.Asexport pricessoaredinJapan, domestic pricesincreased
apace.Roughlytenpercentofthepopulation weresamurai Manyofthesesuf-
families.
feredfromthepricerise.True,theycouldhaveworncottonsorwoolens,butwearing
silkwas one oftheprivileges whichset theirclassapartfromthecommoners. Not all

199Consulaat Yokohama, Bundle 4, P. F. 6 June i86i.

Von Sieboldto MinisterofColonies,Yokohama, 200 J.Heco, I, 277-278.
 M c M A ST E R. inBakumatsu
Diplomacy
". .. Foreign Japan" 343

samuraisuffered. Withagentsat bothNagasakiandYokohama, thedaimyoweredoing

welloutofforeign Their
trade.201 profits, however, were going into theirowncoffers and
notintoincreasing thestipends oftheirdependent samurai. The risein silkpriceswas
certainly to be blamed upon the foreigners. Other things had alsoincreased, including
rice,whichWesterners did notexport.Foreigners wereblamedforeverything. As the
lower-ranking samurai were almost the only group in Japanese societywho were not
benefiting fromforeign trade,it was thesemenwho had been striking at foreigners.
Although their motives were often those of personal advancement, the pricerisewas a
realenoughgrievance. Blameforit wasanother matter.
As the price risewas one of the excuses for killingforeigners Alcockwasworried. His
promotion andthespecialexchangeratewouldbe oflittleuse to himifhe werekilled.
A year's home leavewasalsoowingtohimifhecouldremain aliveuntilI862. His panic-
borndespatch ofNovember wasnota passingthing.As thenewyearbegandeBellecourt
wroteParisthatAlcockwas deeplyworriedby theinsecurity oftheirpositionat Edo.
He enclosed Alcock'slettertoLordRussell.202 "Witha perpetual menaceofassassination
on theonehandandofincendiarism on theother,whileearthquakes almosteveryweek
shakethehousesto theirfoundations, I cannotsaythepostofdiplomatic agentinEdo is
tobe recommended fornervous people."203 Hearinga rumour inMaythata newFrench
diplomat wastobe senttoEdofrom Shanghai, hewrotetheForeignOffice totryandstop
it. The manwas so devoidofdiscretion "it mightcostus all ourlives."204 Alcockwas
suffering as wellfromhisself-imposed solitude."You littleknowat theForeignOffice
what a lifethisistolead-awayfrom allcivilizinginfluences ... nomancanbearitformany
yearswithout deterioration....I amutterly usedup andall thesprings oflifeso spoiled
andweakenedthatlifeanywhere willbe withoutsavourorvalue."205
Thatsamesummer Harrisdidsomeshopping forthewidowofCommodore Perry-she
wantedJapanese vases-sentoffhissubscriptions to theEveningMail,Punch,andIn-
dependence Belge,joineda Frenchscientific societysendingthemsomeJapanese seeds,
askedtheU.S. consulat Singapore tosendhimsomeuplandriceseedsas thesewouldbe
"a greatboon"totheJapanese, hada properly ceremonial reception bytheshogun, wrote
happilyofthegoodreception giventheJapanese embassy inAmerica andofthegrowing
foreign trade. As the yearended finding Alcock utterly used up, Harriswrotethatthe
cordiality ofthebakufu leftnothing tobe desired.206
ForAlcock therewas no such contentment. Autumn was thehunting seasonandthis
hunting brought himagainintoconflict withhisfellow Britons atYokohama. Thesehad

201 CharlesDavid Sheldon,RiseoftheMerchant 7 Januaryi86o.

204 F.O. 39I, I, to Hammond;5 May i86o.
Classin Tokugawa 7apan,New York,I958, p. I62.
Hodgson, p. I99. 205 Ibid.,i September i86o.
202 Correspondence ii, No. 23, to
Politique, 206 Harris Papers,Book 5, to W. Russell at

Walewski,7 Januaryi86o. Shanghai,Edo, ii Decemberi86o.

203 Enclosurein above, Alcock to Russell,
344 Monumenta ca, XXII, 3-4
Nipponi

preciouslittleavailableby way ofrecreation, norverymuchvarietyto theirdiet.In

consequence theyhunted.It wasnotforbidden bytreaty butitwassaidtobe a violation
ofaJapanese edict-therewasnocodified law-whichforbade theuseoffire-arms within
twenty-five milesofEdo.Asthetwoplaceswereonlyabouttwenty milesapart,foreigners
whowereallowedtotravelabouttwenty-five milesfromYokohama wereboundto clash
withthisdomestic edict.Aftertheaccidental wounding ofa Japanese in Hakodatethe
matter hadbeensettledsimply. Anyshooting in thetown,exceptin self-defence,would
be punished. Huntingoutsidethetownwouldbe allowed.At Yokohamait was notso
simple.Ridinghorseback and carrying weaponsweresamuraiprivileges forbiddento
commoners. InJapanese societythemerchant themostdespisedsection
classwasofficially
ofthecommonpeople.Samuraiwhomighthaveallowedforeign officialstheprivilege
wereinfuriated to seeforeign merchants ridingandshooting. Theymayhavefeared the
examplemightspreadtotheirownpeople.207 As samuraithemselves demanded fire-arms
ofeveryEuropeanat Yokohama, theydidnotobjectto theweaponsas such,so longas
theykepta monopoly oftheiruse.208
As thefirst hunting seasonopenedat Yokohama, oneofitsgovernors approached the
foreign consulsaskingthemto forbid shooting. Apparently theyall didso. The notices
didnotcarry muchforce. Therewasnopenalty sothatmanyBritons
attached, andAmer-
icanshunteddaily.
In Octoberofthefollowing yeara Yokohamagovernor saidthata Japanese woman
hadbeenaccidentally shotbya foreign hunter. Wouldtheconsulsagainforbid hunting?
The Dutchconsulatleastdidso,thistimeaddinga $200fine.He reports thathiscountry-
menlosttheirloveofthesport.Otherforeigners didnot.Led bytheFrenchconsuland
theinterpreter from theBritish consulatemanystilltookthefield.The governor became
angryandordered hispolicetotakethemin.209 Thiswasunknown totheforeigners who
hadassumedfrom watching theirownoffiicalsshootthatthenoticeswould haveno more
force thantheprevious year.As therewereonlysomeforty orsoforeigners atYokohama,
it was simpleenoughto reportthemto theirconsulsforpunishment. The governor
seemsto havepreferred seizingtheforeigners victimmusthavebeena
bodily.The first
welcomecatch.He was a GermannamedTelge,livingunderBritish protection.To the
rudeness ofcustomsofficials he alwaysrepliedbybeingat leastequallyrudehimself.
Seizedin thefield,tiedandhiddenwithina sedanchairhewasbeingcarried toYoko-
hamawhena passinggroupofBritish hunters noticedhisbootshangingoutofthecar-
riage.Onepresented a revolveratthepoliceandTelgewasfreed. Two dayslater,a Briton
was deprived ofhisgameandhisweaponby thepolice,butotherwise untouched. The
following daya smalltrader namedMichaelMossshota goose,hireda Japanese tocarry
itforhimandturnedhomewards toYokohama. At theKanagawaferry a groupofpolice

207 Hodgson, pp. 209 ConsulaatYokohama,Bundle i, No. I74,

37I-374.
208 Alcock, I,
330. to de Wit,30 Novemberi86o.
 MCMASTER. "...ForeignDiplomacy
inBakumatsu
Japan" 345

seizedthegooseand advanceduponMoss. Whether deliberately or accidentally,

his
shotgun wentoffin theensuingscuffle andwoundedoneofthepoliceseriously, butnot
as it wasfeared, fatally.
The policetiedup Moss,tookhimtoa Japanese jail andgavehima beatingwiththeir
ironpolicestaves.Beatenandbound,hewasleftina cell.The foreign consuls,uponhear-
ingofthematter, wenttothegovernor. He saidthemanwasa Netherlander. The Dutch
consulsaid to keephimovernight and he wouldpickhimup in themorning. British
consulVysewas thereat thetimeand advisedthegovernor to treatBritonsthesame
way.
The twomenthenwentto havedinnertogether. As theywereeating,theFrench
minister de Bellecourtcamein.Anexcitable man,hedeclaimed heatedly thatpolicehad
no rightto beatthemanMosswithironstaves.Polsbroek toldtheFrenchman thatno
one shouldshootpoliceofficers, afterwhichtheypartedwitha certaincoolness.Vyse,
nowrealizing itwasa Britoninjail,didnotknowwhatlinetotake.Polsbroek reminded
himofhispromise tothegovernor to leavethemanovernight injail,butheleftthehotel
in an excitedframe ofmind.210
ConsulVysereversed hispreviousdecision.The onlywarshipin portwas Prussian.
He contacted hercommander. Thelatter landeda squadofarmed sailors.
Atmidnight they
freedMossandtookhimto theBritish consulate. Polsbroek wrotedisgustedly thatthe
Britishofficialsthoughttheircountrymen weretoogoodtobetouched byJapanese police.
As he also mentions a groupofsomethirty armedmerchants whowerepreparing to
freeMossbyforce, Vysewasprobably wiseto gettherefirst witha disciplined andsober
group.As thePrussians hadnotyetnegotiated a treaty, theyhardly hadtherighttobe
sendingarmedmenashoreto breakintoa Japanese jail, butit was probablythebest
courseat thetime.211
Vyse,whowas on hisfirst consularpost,212 quicklypassedtheproblemto Alcockat
Edo.Writing toLondononJanuary Ist,Alcockbeginshisletterbysayingheis luckyto
bealivetoseea newyear.The samurai assassinis a typeof"bravo"unknown tohisChina
experience. The Britishmerchants are "a lawlessclassoffilibusters." Evidenceofthis
wasthecaseofMoss; notonlya merchant butdoublydamnedas "ofJewish connection."
Alcockapparently sharedthe anti-Semitism whichstartedwith the Sovereignand
permeated muchoftherulingclassofVictorian England."I felttheabsolutenecessity of
makinga severeexample."The reasonforthisnecessity emerges, forhisletterendsas
it began.It is rumoured thatMitoroninplantomassacre allforeigners at Yokohamaand
at Edo where"we areundera perpetual menaceofmassacre."'213
210 Ibid. competent.As Vyse was dismissedfromthe
211 Hodgson,p. i88. consularservicein i868 forbunglinga consular
212 ConsulaatYokohama, Bundlei, to de Wit, courtcase theDutchmanwas probablyright.
I7 Februaryi86o, recordsthattheBritishagent 213 *-P tA. F.O. 39I, I, to Hammond, i
of the P and 0 SteamshipCompanyasked the January i86i.
Dutchconsulto handlehisaffairs
as Vysewas not
346 Monumenta ca, xxI, 3-4
Nipponi

Spurred bythisfeartheoldermanbungledthejob. He first ordered thatin violation

oftreatyMosswouldnotbe triedbya British consular courtbutwouldbe turned overto
theJapanese courts.In thesetherewas no codified law,torture was standard practice,
theevidencegivenwas unreliable and theaccusedwas notallowedto questionhisac-
cusers.214
Mosswroteto hisfriends "to sendmemypistolsas I haddetermined notto go into
Japanesehandsoncemore. "215Theyhadas littleconfidence inbakufu jailsas Moss.Almost
theentirecommunity, somethirty men,turned outwithrevolvers andsporting gunsat
theBritish consulate.FourofthemsawAlcockpersonally. Theytoldhimthatifhe did
notkeepMossinBritish custodytheywouldtakehimbyforceandstandtheblameas a
community. Alcockgaveway.The incident is notmentioned inhisdespatches home,but
perhapsexplainstheterm"filibusters."
Alcock'snextmovewithMosswasequallyunfortunate. He hadthemantriedon the
chargeofdeliberately shootinga Japanese policeman in thecourseofhisduty.As the
Japanese evidenceon thispointwas contradictory, somesayingMoss aimedthegun,
othersthatit wentoffwhenit fellstriking theground, andoneshopkeeper evensaying
it wasin thehandsofoneofthepolicewhenit wentoff,216 it wasimpossible to prove.
Nevertheless ConsulVysefoundhimguiltyand sentenced himon twocounts.
Alcockfeltthiswasinadequateandaddeda third.FromdistantNagasakia merchant
wroteto HongKong,"Matterscontinue in an unsatisfactory stateas a Japanese officer
hasbeenaccidentally shotbya British merchant, a Mr. Moss; thatgentleman hadbeen
triedand acquittedby threeassessorscalledin by H.M. Consulbut Mr. Alcockhad
sentenced himto deportation, thepaymentofa fineof$i,ooo and threemonths'im-
prisonment in Hong Kong gaol!"217 Alcock'sadditional jail sentenceshowedhowhe
feltaboutBritishmerchants. Mackenzie'sexclamation pointwas nearerto thegeneral
consensus.All threepenaltieswererevokedby theForeignOfficein Londonwhich
orderedAlcockto returnthe $i,ooo fineto theYokohamamerchants who had sub-
scribedit forMoss.Additionally, theForeignOfficehad to pay Moss $2,000 damages
awardedbya HongKongcourtfortheprisonsentence.
The Mosscaseseemstohavebeenbungledbecauseit wasnottriedonitsownmerits.
Rather,it wasdecidedbyfear.The previous winter,all threeWestern diplomats atEdo
hadbelievedinthedangerofattacksbyfanatics.218 Alcockwasafraid thatthewounding
ofthe samuraipoliceofficer wouldprovokea retaliatory attackupontheforeigners.
IsolatedinhisEdo legation, hewouldbe a primetarget.Therefore a sternexamplemust

214 F.C. Jones,pp. 79, I04. 217 J-M & Co. Archive,Box Nagasaki i86I,
215 F.O. 46, xxx, to D. Moss, Yokohama,3 Kenneth Mackenzie to Jardine's,Nagasaki, 4
Decemberi86i. Related by Moss in a letterto Januaryi86i.
hisfather,forwarded to theForeignOffice. 218 CorrespondenceCommerciale,i, No. 6o,
216 Ibid, transcriptof the trial. to Thouvenel,29 Marchi86o.
 MCMASTER. "...ForeignDiplomacy
inBakumatsu
Japan" 347

be made.It wasthesamemotive whichhadinspired hisgoldexportdespatch a year

earlier.
Harriswasconsidering thissameproblem ofsamurai butfrom
killers a lesspersonal
angle.BytreatythecityofEdowastobeopened forresidence
andtradebyforeign mer-
chantsinJanuaryI862. Onthis subject
thethreeforeign
diplomats
wholivedthere were
unitedwiththebakufu inopposing thetreaty.
Eighteenmonths'residence hadshown
Harristhatthisprovision ofhistreatymightseriously
damage relations
between Japan
andtheWestwithout doingforeignmerchantsmuchfinancial
good.Edowasnota pro-
duction buta retailing
center one,importingitsneedsandexportingnothing. LikeAl-
cock,Harriswasafraid ofthesamuraiswordsmen. "Theaggregatenumber ofthesere-
tainersandfollowers, all ofwhomarearmed,is verygreat-itis saidto be over300,000
men-thecharacter ofthisclassis animportant theyleada lifeofidleness
consideration;
andmanyofthemareexceedingly dissolute;towardsthosewhomtheyregardas being
their theyarearrogant
inferiors, andaggressive, theyhauntthestreets ingreatnumbers-
frequently in a stateofintoxication-and beingalwaysarmedarenotonlypromptin
takingoffence, butreadyto seekit."3219
Harriswasnotpersonally afraid."I haveno causeforcomplaint formyself butwhen-
everI leavemyresidence I amattended bya retinuethatcommands andin ad-
respect,
ditionto thismy official is
position wellknown. But themerchant couldhaveno such
protection. He couldnotafford to supportsuchan escort,andevenifhe didretainone,
hissocialpositionwoulddeprivehimofnearlyall thebenefit ofit."220
He didnotfindtheentiremerchant group"filibusters"butdidnotethat"a portion
ofthemareneither prudent nordiscreet" which, combined withthepugnacity ofthe
samurai,couldleadtomurder. Admitting hehadbeenwrongtoincludethisinhistreaty,
he joinedwithAlcockand de Bellecourt in askinghis homegovernment to postpone
openingEdo to commerce.
Harris'sestimateof thedangersofEdo was cruellydemonstrated in Januaryi86i
whentheAmerican losthisoldestcompanion inJapan.To helpthePrussians negotiate
a treatywithJapan,Harrishad loanedthemthe servicesof his interpreter, Henry
Heusken.Although warnedbyHarrisnottoexposehimselfat night, Heuskenwasyoung
andenchanted withthenightlifeofthecity.Bakufu officials
hadremonstrated withhim
forendangering foreigners at nightbytakingsomePrussians towatcha fire.221 Heusken
hadtakenlittlenoticeandfallenintothehabitofvisitingthePrussianlegationalmost
nightly, returning betweeneightand elevenwithonlytwoJapanese mountedguards
anda lantern bearer.The nightofJanuary isthwas rainyanddark.Passinga sidestreet
he was ambushed by a groupofaboutsevenswordsmen. As was theusualcustom,his

219HarrisPapers,Book 5, No. 7 to Cass, i 221 ConsulaatYokohama,Bundle5, to de Wit,

Augusti86o. [8 AprilI862.
220 Ibid.

MN: XXII, 3-4 G

348 Monumenta XXII, 3-4
Nipponica,

bakufu guardsdeserted thescene.Armedonlywitha ridingcrop,Heuskenwhippedhis

frightened horsethrough thecircleofattackers butshortly fellto theground.He was
brought intotheAmerican legationat nine-thirty wherehe laydyingforthreehours.
The middle-aged American andtheyoungDutchmanhadbeentogether formorethan
fiveyears.As suitedtheirgenerations Harrishad sometimes complained thatHeusken
had carelessly let thestovego out or spentan amountoftimewithteahousegirlsat
Shimnoda thatwas notbefitting theconsular service,but"ourrelations wereratherthat
offatherandsonthanchiefandemployee."222
A bakufu official had demandedHeuskenkeepoffthestreetsat night.Heuskenhad
repliedwithspirit,rudenesses had beenexchanged on bothsides.Whenhis superiors
refusedhisrequestforpolicepowersagainstforeigners inthestreets atnight,themanhad
committed suicide.Hisfollowers weresuspected ofdoingthekilling. No proofwasforth-
coming.Harristookthemoresensibleview.Whenfirstcomingto Edo he had been
warnedbybakufu officials
thattheyneverwentoutat nightunlessabsolutely necessary
andthenonlywitha largeescortandmanylanterns.223 Heusken'sroutine ofthis
flouting
cautionhadmadehimaneasytarget.Harriswaswarnedbya bakufu official
nottoattend
thefuneral as hemightalsobe assassinated. "I answered thatI shoulddo soregardlessof
anydanger."224 De Bellecourtwasfurious thatthebakufu hadthegalltoutterthisthreat.
Allforeigners attended. Allcarriedloadedweapons.225
Heuskenhadbeenpersonally popularwithall ranksofJapanese. As a diplomat,the
tofalltotheassassins,
first therewerenoproblems ofsocialrankconnected withattend-
inghisfuneral. OguriTadamasa226 andfourotherdaimyoledthefuneral with
procession
theirescorts.Theywerefollowed bythemassedforeign flags,an honourguardofPrus-
sianmarines, thebandfrom thePrussian frigate, a secondguardofPrussian andNether-
landsMarines, thediplomatic andconsular officersandtheofficers oftheNetherlands and
Prussianwarships.
Harriserecteda memorial, surrounding thegravewithhisownfavourite camelia
japo-
nica,andarranged forflowersat Christmas, NewYear's,AllSouls'Day andtheanniver-
saryofhisdeath.227 Heusken'sdiamondsnuff boxfromQueenVictoria, hisgoldwatch
andchainfromLordElgin,his seal ring,a lock of hair and two photographs weresent
hometoAmsterdam. The youngman'spicturehadbeentakenon thedayofhisdeath.
The littleforeign cemetery hadnowclaimedsevenvictimsofmurder. No onehadyet
been punished.228
Harrishad losthisonlyWesterncompanion. He was now completely aloneat the

Harris Papers,Book 5, No. 88, to Cass,

222 226 T tq
2I Januaryi86i. 227 HarrisPapers,Book 5, No. i86, to Mrs.
223 Ibid. r. T. Heusken, 2I December i86i and ibid.,
224 Ibid. No.I39, 23 Julyi86i.
225 CorrespondencePolitique, III, No. 66, 228 Ibid.,No. 89, to Cass,23 Januaryi86i.
to Thouvenel,25 Januaryi86i.
 MCMASTER. " ...ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 349

American legation.
Yetit wasnotHarriswhobrokeunderthestrainbutAlcock.As the
yearbeganhehadspokenofgoingonboarda British warshipifEdo becametoodanger-
ous.229At theend ofthefirstweekinJanuary bakufu warnings ofa roninattackupon
foreignershadupsethimvisibly.230 Although livingat thewater'sedgesurrounded by
theyoungDutchman's
hisstaff, deathprovedtoomuchfortheelderly Briton.
ThreedaysafterHeusken'smurder Alcockcalleda meeting ofthefiveforeign diplo-
mats:Harris,de Bellecourt,
Eulenberg, thenewPrussian minister andde Wit,whowas
makingoneofhisperiodic visitsfrom Nagasaki.As doyen ofthediplomatic corpsit was
Harriswhoshouldhaveactedwhenthegroupapproached thebakufu in a jointeffort.231
EversinceJulyofI859 Harrishadvoluntarily allowedAlcockto takethelead.232 When
thethreemenhadjoinedrankstothreaten thebakufu inDecember ofthatyearithadbeen
doneonAlcock'sinitiativeandwithfullsupport from Harris.As a courteous recognition
ofnavalpowerintheChinaSeastheAmerican
oftherealities hadallowedAlcockleader-
shipofthegroup.The factremained thatitwasnota position towhichtheBritish diplo-
matwasentitled butmerely a courtesy from Harris.
It was Alcockwhofelta jointactionwas necessary and calleda meeting. The five
menmetat theBritish legationonJanuary igth.Describing themeeting de Bellecourt
madethenaturalmistakeofreferring to Alcockas "doyen du corpsdiplomatique."233
The Britonbeganbystating hisviewofthesituation. The foreigndiplomats atEdowere
inimminent dangeroftheirlives.A foreign representativewasnotjustified insubmitting
"forthesteriledutyofdyingat hispost."234
to terrorism
In ordertoforcethebakufu toprotectthemat Edo theyshouldjointlyretiretoYoko-
a
hama.It was curiousstrategy. Two weeksearlier Alcockhadwritten Londonthatthe
bakufuwantedthediplomats to leaveEdo.235Now in orderto bringpressure uponthe
bakufu,he proposedthatthediplomatsleaveEdo. All agreedexceptHarris.Having
cooperated withhiscolleaguesforeighteenmonths, he nowbrokeranks.It was very
wrote
regrettable, de Bellecourt, becausewithout him theactionwouldlosemuchofits
force.236
In the26-pagesummary ofthemeeting AlcockdevotesthefirstI4 pagesto putting
hisviewofthecase.The remaining pagescontaintheviewsoftheotherfourmen.The
opinionofHarriswasgivenroughly threequarters ofonepage.Thiswasnotnecessarily

229 Correspondence Politique,III, No. 63, to 'doyen'orlongest

resident."
Thouvenel,3 Januaryi86i. 232 F.O. 46, III, to Malmesbury, I3 JulyI859.
230 Same,No.
65, io Januaryi86i, "a frappe 233 Correspondence Politique,iII, No. 68, to
assezvivement". Thouvenel,Yokohama,30Januaryi86i.
231 HarrisPapers,Book 4, No. 323, to Rice, 234 Compte-rendu ofmeetingbyAlcockenclosed
Edo, 23 Julyi86o. To consul Rice he explains in above despatch.
thatAlcockas "Ministerplenipotentiary" has a 235 F.O. 39I, I, to Hammond,i Januaryi86i.

higherrankthanhimselfas "Ministerresident" 236Correspondence Politique, III, No. 66, 25

but"ifwe desiredto speakto or receivefromthe Januaryi86i.
Tycoonforthecorps I shoulddo so as
diplomatique
350 NipponicaXII, 3-4
Monumenta

discrimination.Harrisalwaysspokeshortly and to thepoint.237 The foreignersshould

uniteat Edo againsttheverybad situation whichexistedat presentratherthanrun
awayinfearofa future calamity. IftheyleftEdo theymightnotbe abletoreturn. Ifthey
landedtroopsto protectthemselves at YokohamatheJapanese mightconsiderthisan
attempt at colonizationandgo towar.238
The fourotherministers quitEdo withfullceremony. Alcockhada guardofBritish
sailors,
de BellecourtborroNved onefrom thePrussians.AtYokohamathediplomats were
giventwenty-one gun salutesas theywenton boardthewarships.The nextday de
Bellecourtwentashoretoliveat a Dutchhotelwhichalsohousedthetwelvemenofthe
BritishConsulateat Kanagawawhohadjust movedtheshortdistanceintoYokohama
forsafety.The hotelwas guardedby armedBritishsailors.
Writing toParis,deBellecourt explainedtheirplans.Troopswouldbe landedtodefend
YokohamafromtheTakaidajunctionto thesea-front. Those samuraiattachedto the
governors wouldbe theonlyonesallowedtowearswordsin thetownandtheirnumber
wouldbe keptto a minimum. The surrounding hillswouldbe garrisoned. The bakufu
wouldpay damagesforanyforeign property thatburned.The dollarwouldcirculate
at threeichibus.All foreign merchants wouldbe takenon theshipsat thefirstalarm.
The bakufu wouldpayforallensuingbusinesslosses.Finally,as in China,theforeigners
wouldtakeoverall customsreceiptsat Yokohama.239 Harrishad struckverycloseto
Alcock'sintent.Had theBriton's planbeencarriedoutYokohamawouldhavebeenlittle
differentfroma foreign colony.
Harrisdid notwritea dissenting opinionnorwouldhe signthecompte-rendu Alcock
hadwritten evenas a witnessthatit was a truestatement. Partlythiswas becauseit
contained materialfrom a secondconference onJanuary25sthatwhichHarrishadnotbeen
present.The American excusedhiscolleagues ofanydeliberate attempt toexcludehim.
His understanding hadbeenthatthesecondmeeting wouldnotdiscusspolicybutmerely
Alcock'scompte-rendu
ratify as a truestatement. As he hadgivenhisopinionandhadan
appointment withthebakufu topushthesearchforHeusken'skillers, Harrisdidnotat-
tend.He wroteAlcockthathe assumedthedecisionto go aheadwiththediscussion,
whichendedin theflight fromEdo,hadbeentakenon thespurofthemoment rather
thanas a deliberateslighttohimself.
The American had otherand morepersonal reasonsfornotsigningthecompte-rendu.
He doesnotmention theminhisownletters butthesituation is describedin theFrench
archives.
Duringthefirst meeting afterHarrishadgivenhisreasonsforopposingtheflight to
Yokohama, thePrussian minister hadcharitably notedthatperhapstheAmerican could
beexcusedas heenjoyedbetter relations
withthebakufu andhadsuffered fewer indignities

237 p.J. Treat, p.88. Yokohama,30Januaryi86i.

238 CorrespondencePolitique, III, No. 68, 239 Ibid.
 M c M A S T E R. "... ForeignDiplomacy Japan"
inBakumatsu 35I

at Japanesehands.To thisAlcockcountered thathe wouldpass overthePrussian's

remark insilence.Ifheincluded itinhiscompte-renduhewouldalsofeelobligedtoinclude
hisownopinionofHarris.ThiswasthattheAmerican attributedtohimself a specialrole
inJapanmerely becausehe hadbeentherefirst, thathe was no differentfromtheother
diplomats in hisrelations withthebakufu, thathis treatywas gainedsolelybyAnglo-
Frenchvictories inChinaandthatHarris'sfalseviewofhisowninfluence withthebakufu
couldbe flattered ifthesituation werenotso important. WithpainHarrisnotedthe
omission ofthispersonalattackfromAlcock'ssummary ofthemeetingandrefused to
signthedocument as correct.240
Asidefromthelackofdiplomatic courtesy involvedthispersonalattackuponHarris
is a curiousone.The American hadneverconcealedthefactthathistreaty wasowingto
Anglo-French victories in China.Whether Harrisfelthimself tohavea specialinfluence
withthebakufu to say.241He didnotconcealthehumiliating
is difficult reception hehad
beengivenbytheshoguninNovember I859from WhentheNetherlands
hiscolleagues.
minister wroteHarrisforhelpin obtaining a treatyforDenmarkin thespringofi86i,
theAmerican repliedthathe woulddo all thathe couldbut thathe no longerhad as
muchinfluence withthebakufu as whenthePrussiantreatyhadbeennegotiated.242 As
toa specialposition inJapanhe hadquitesimplybeendealingwithbakufu forat
officials
leastthreeyearslongerthananyoftheothers. The good relationsthePrussian mentioned
seemtohavesprung from togooutatnightorinthedaytime
Harris'srefusal without his
escort.The Frenchminister hadwritten that the diplomats'habitofriding out without
a largeescortmadethemappearridiculous to samurai.
toall,particularly The insults,
thestonesandthethreats arose from thishabit.243 There seemsno way to explain such
a gratuitous attackexceptthestateofAlcock'snerves.He was undoubtedly annoyed
at the American's opposition. He may also have consideredthe American, a former
merchant, as beingbeneathhimsocially, he mayhavebeenjealousas well,buttheout-
burst itselfdoes not speak wellfor theself-controloftheBritishambassador at thetime.
Therehadbeenno pointuponwhichHarrishadhadto fightharderthanto gainthe
Edo residence.244 Whenhisfourcolleagues quitthesceneonJanuary 25th,theAmerican
remained. AtYokohama, KeswickofJardine's wrotethatAlcock"hadstruckhisflagbut
nothavingvouchsafed to furnishthecommunity withanyinformation on thesubject,
I amunabletogiveyouanyfurther particulars."245The retirementfrom Edo "hasbeena
petschemeoftheJapanese oflate,"commented theChinaRecord,"andhavingsucceed-
edinalltheirotherlittlegamestheywereconfident inthesuccessofthisonealso,andthey
wereright."Tongueincheek,thenewspaper wentontoconclude thatthe"muchabused

240 Ibid. Walewski,I NovemberI859.

241 244 Quotedin Heco, I, 274.
See Beasley,SelectDocuments,pp. 204-205.
242 ConsulaatYokohama,Bundle 3, No. 38, 245 J-M & Co. Archive,Box Yokohamai86i,

Harristo de Wit,Edo, 29 AprilI86I. to A. Percival,26 Januaryi86i.

243 Correspondence Politique,i, No. I2, to
352 Monumenta
Nipponica
XXII,3-4

(swamp'" and " 'secondDeshima'" ofAlcock'sdiplomatic despatcheshad becomea

"sanctuary forfugitiveambassadors."246Writing laterthatyearon "themodern tactics
ofdeserting legationsand givingup consulates," ConsulHodgsonnoted"wherethe
flagis,orwheretherewasa Consul,I everthought thathe shouldhavebeenthelastto
runaway."247 Fromhiscabinaboard"H.M.S. Encounter" Alcockwroteto theBritish
merchants ashore"I didnotruntoYokohama formyownsafety butforyourbenefit."248
To hisowngovernment hewrotethatHarriswasplayingtheoldAmerican gameofpeace
at anyprice,thatifthebakufu couldnotbe forced to protectlifetheforeignershadbest
leave.He alsoaddstherumour thatHarriswas drinking againandevensuffering from
delirium tremens.249
No oneelsementions Harrisas drinking
butitmayhavebeentrue.He washeartbroken
overtheAmerican CivilWar."I cannotbeartowriteaboutit.I canonlyprayGodinHis
Mercytobringthisawfulcontest toanend."250 Drinking ornot,theAmerican remained
aloneat Edo negotiatingwiththebakufu overHeusken'sdeathandkeepingup a regular
correspondence.
To thenewsecretary ofStatehewrote,"The murder ofMr. Heusken. .. produced a
panicterror amongmycolleagues, whoallleftthiscity... theEnglishandFrenchRep-
resentativesarebothextremely nervousmenandforthelastsixteenmonthstheyhave
beenina chronic stateofexcitement andalarm.Shouldtheysucceedinimpressing their
respectivegovernments withtheirpeculiarviewsofaffairs here,I do notseehowa war
withthiscountry canbe avoided."3251
FromYokohamaAlcockbeganwriting to Harris.The firstletteraskedHarristo ap-
provetheactiontakenas a resultoftheJanuary 25thmeeting. Harrisrefused.He hadnot
attendedthemeeting andhe didnotapproveofitsconclusions.
OnceagainHarrisstatedhisposition. Bakufu officials
hadwarnedforeign diplomatsto
takethesameprecautions as theydidthemselves.The retirement toYokohamarelieved
thebakufu ofresponsibilityandexpense.Finally,Japanwas nota civilizedbuta semi-
civilizedcountry.To holda government responsible fortheactsofindividuals was un-
knownin international law and not even practicedby the mostadvancedWestern
nations.
He concluded upona sadnote."The peopleofJapan
cannotberaisedtoourstandard
of
by thestrokeofa diplomatic
civilization not if
pen, even theyhave50,000soldiersfor
It is onlytime,
theirschoolmasters. andforbearance,
patience, thatcanproducethedesired
246 F.O. 46, xxx, News
clippingdated Hong HarrisLetters,Book5, No. IO9, to Seward,
251

Kong,2 Februaryi86i. I3 February i86i. In Consulaat Yokohama,

247 Hodgson, p. i65. Bundle4, Bataviato de Wit, 9 Novemberi86i.
248 Alcock,II, 455. The governoroftheNetherlands Indiescounsels
249 F.O. 39I, I, to Hammond, "H.M.S. de Wit to use his influence
upon his Britishand
Encounter",26 Januaryi86i. Frenchcolleaguesto calm themand encourage
250 JanvierLettersto Miss Drinker,Edo, i6 themtowardsa peacefulpolicy "vredelievend
Septemberi86i. staatkunde."
 Japan"
inBakumatsu
M c M A S T E R. "... ForeignDiplomacy 353

result.I hadhopedthatthepageoffuture mightrecordthegreatfactthatinone

history
spotin theEasternworld,theadventofChristian did notbringwithit its
civilization
usualattendants ofrapineandbloodshed. This fondhopeI fearis to be disappointed.I
wouldsoonerseeall thetreaties withthiscountry tornup andJapanreturned toitsold
stateofisolationthanwitnessthehorrors ofwarinflicted uponthispeaceful peopleand
happyland."252
Livingin securityaboard"H.M.S. Encounter," theBritishminister beganto realize
from theattitude ofthenavalofficers andthecivilians ashorethathehadbeenhasty.At
Yokohamamencarriedrevolvers and werepreparedto taketheirchances.The mere
presence ofthesolitary American at Edo,whileAlcockhadfledwithall hisstaff, was a
tacitreproach.Although Harrishadmadenopersonal accusationsAlcockwrotehimthat
hewasnota cowardbuthadonlyleftEdo as hisdeathwouldinvolvehiscountry inwar.
It was a thirty-threepage letter.253
The answerwasshorter. Harrisdisclaimed"anyintention tocastanyaspersions onthe
actionsofmycolleagues, ortocastanyaspersionsontheirmotives."254The charged
Briton
Harriswiththreatening theJapanesewithwar in DecemberI859. Harrisanswered
thatallthreehaddonesoandanywarwasanactionreserved totheU.S. Congress.Alcock
thenchargedtheAmerican withexactingundueceremony fromthebakufu. Againall
threehadagreeduponthis.Alcockhadpostponed hisownreception bytheshogununtil
Harrishadbeenreceivedwithpropercourtesy.255 It was a smallbutconstant battleto
preventthebakufu from returning to thehumiliatingconditions it hadforcedupon the
Dutch.
Alcockthencameto themainissue,thesafety ofdiplomats at Edo. "Have notyou
yourself beenassaulted byoneofthese two-sworded retainersinyourowncourtyard and
of
placedin bodilyfear yourlife? Were you notwarned by the government thatifyou
prosecuted yourassailantyouwouldbeindangerofavendetta from hiscompanions which
wouldverylikelycostyouyourlife?"
To thistheAmerican repliedthathe hadbeenjostledby a drunken samurai"andit
wasnodoubta technical assaultforwhicha juryinmycountry wouldhaveawardedme
a farthing damageshadI appliedtothem.To admitthata maninthelaststageofintoxi-
cationputme'in bodilyfearofmylife'wouldbe to impeachmyownmanhood."The
"warning oftheGovernment" was merelythevoluntary adviceofan interpreter.The
offender wasarrested andpunished.
Harrisendedhisletter:"I havereadwithgreatsurprise anddeepregret yourdeclara-
tionthatyoufeelauthorized to makeuse ofmyprivateconversation withyoubecause

HarrisPapers,Book 5, No. 94, to Alcock,

252 254 HarrisPapers,Book5, No. 96, to Alcock,
I2 Februaryi86i, quotedin Heco, pp. 275-276. 23 Februaryi86i.
253 CorrespondencePolitique,III, No. 76, Io 255 CorrespondencePolitique,I, Nos. iS & i6
Marchi86i enclosedAlcocktoHarris,Yokohama of9 & I5 November I859 and II, No. 42, 30
i6 February i86i. Augusti86o.
354 Monumenta
Nipponica
XXI, 3-4

youwerenotplacedunderthesealofsecrecy. I mustdeclinetofollow yourexample believ-

ingas I do thatit is calculatedto destroy all confidence betweenmanandmanand to
makesocialintercourse impossible. I amfainto believethattheexpression escapedyou
ina moment ofexcitement, andthatcoolreflection willcauseyounotonlytoregret but
toretract it."
To Washington Harriswrotethathewouldnotallowhimself tobedrawnintoanangry
correspondence withAlcock.256 Although he refused to meettheBriton, Harriswrote
agreeing tojoinhiscolleagues in any"well-considered measures thatmaybe calculated
toimprove thestateofourrelations withtheJapanese Government."257
The relationship whichhadstartedsosunnily inJuly I859 wasfinished.Forthefifteen
monthsremaining untilbothmenleftJapantheydid notspeak.Alcockhad takenthe
quarreldeeplyto heart,theFrenchminister couldnotpersuadehimto a reconciliation
withHarris.258
Threeweeksafter theflighttoYokohama, Alcockhadalsorealized howfutile theaction
hadbeen.The bakufu wasnotat allimpressed. It hadnotcontacted himin theinterim.
He proposedwriting toChinafortheBritish fleet. De Bellecourt
advisedhimnottoappear
tooanxious.The betterplanwas to writethebakufu announcing a tripintheinterior.259
It wasverysensitive on thispoint.Alcockagreed.
Therewaslittlechoice.British admiralHopehadrejected Alcock'splanforgarrisoning
Yokohamaandtakingoveritscustoms house.Writing toLondon, Jardine'sHongKong
officegave themercantile opinion."We understand thatAdmiral Hopein theabsence
ofinstructions from theHomeGovernment declines making anydemonstration insupport
ofMr. Alcock'spretentions, so thatwhether thelatterreturnsto Yedo or remainsat
Yokohama, it cannowonlybe at somesacrifice ofprestige."260In Edo,Harrisurgedthe
bakufutoasktheBritish andtheFrenchback.Whether thissucceeded,as he thought,or
whether theFrenchsuggestion oftravelin theinterior hadthedesiredresult,thetwo
diplomats wereaskedtoreturn.
Theirreplyto theinvitation was lengthy. One sectiondemandedtheremovalofall
traderestrictions at Yokohama. The other,whichranto twelvepages,concerned their
ownsecurity at Edo.Newpolicestations mustbe built,nodaimyotroopswereto guard
foreigners but onlytheshogun'smountedescort,thesemustimmediately arrestany
Japanese showing insultorviolencetowards a foreigner,allwhohaveattacked foreigners
mustbe arrested, andanybakufu guardwhoextorted moneyfrom Japanese tradesmen
supplying foreigners mustbe dismissed.
"Finally,as it is generallyknownthattheRepresentatives aforesaid leftYedo under

256 HarrisPapers,Book 5; No. iii, to Seward, tellement a coeurla lutte."

Edo. 25 Februaryi86i. 259 Same,No. 7I, i6 February i86i.
257 Ibid.,
No. I52; to Seward,3IJuly i86i. 260 J-M& Co. Archive, Box Hong Kong i86i,
258 Correspondence Politique,iii, No. 77, to to Mathesonand Co., 2 Marchi86I.
Thouvenel,I2 March i86I, "parait avoir pris
 M CMASTER. "... ForeignDiplomacy
in Bakumatsu
Japan" 355

menacesofassassination,
derogatoryto theirposition,
andtheirdeparture
hasfurther
tended
tounsettlethepublicmind,"
itwasessential backwithdue
thattheybereceived
ceremonial
andpublicity.
Thisincluded thattheybe metat theboatlandingbythe
foreign
ministers
ofthebakufuandescortedtotheir A twenty-one
legations. gunsalute
wastobe fired
foreachandthebakufu wastowritea letterhumbly beggingthemto
return.261
replywasshort.
The bakufu's Onepageannounced thatthediplomatswereinvited
backandthatitwouldcomplywiththeconditions. conditions
Readingofthese inEngland
a former
British
consulinJapandidnotthink theywouldbehonoured bythebakufu.262
He wasright.Bymid-summer theyhadallbeenbroken.263 Howmuchceremonial was
giventhetwoforeigners
isunknown.De Bellecourt
wrotea colleague
"Wehavereturned
withthehonoursofwar."264Neither
henorAlcock stayedverylong.TheFrenchminis-
terrenteda houseatYokohama andbecame a permanent resident onlycoming
there,
toEdo on "flying visits"whileAlcockwentoffto Chinaforthreemonths.265 The Moss
Case demanded hispresencein HongKong.Thisfurther loweredhisstanding withthe
bakufuwhichcouldnotunderstand whyanofficial shouldhavetodefend himself incourt
againsta common merchant.266The Netherlands consulgeneralhadlongsincereturned
to hisheadquarters at DeshimawhilethePrussianminister had goneoffto negotiate a
treatywithChina."My lifeis almostas isolatedas it was at Shimoda",wroteHarris,
addingthattheweather wascharming andthecropsgood.267
Bysplitting theforeigndiplomats andremaining at Edo,Harrisbelievedhehadmade
hostilities
almostimpossible.268 He had certainly weakenedAlcock'sposition,which
hingedupontheclaimthatEdo wasunsafe fordiplomats. Ifthiscouldnotbe guaranteed
thentheforeign nationsshouldwithdraw fromJapan.269It wasa curiousclaimtomakeas
theforeign presence inJapanwasnotto providea secureambience fordiplomats at Edo
butto providea tradeat theports.ForbetterorforworsetheAmerican's lonelyactof
couragehadforced hiscolleaguesto a peacefulcompromise withthebakufu.
The nextthreat ofwarcamenotfrom theactionsofAlcockandde Bellecourt butfrom
Harris'sownsuperiors inWashington. In thatcityhisDemocratic partyhadbeenreplaced
by a newpoliticalgroupheadedby an unknownpresident namedAbrahamLincoln.
In contrastto thecustomofthetimewhichhandedoutalldiplomatic poststoloyalsup-
portersofthewinning party,HarriswasaskedtostayoninJapan.The newadministra-

261 ConsulaatYokohama,Bundle3, to de Wit, 265 JanvierLetters,to Miss Drinker,Edo, i

Yokohama,7 Marchi86i enclosesAlcockand de Julyi86i.
Bellecourt'sdemandsupon the bakufu.
"Nederig 266 Correspondence Politique, i, No. 8i, to
zou verzoeken"is thephraseusedin Dutch. Thouvenel, i8 April i86i.
262 Hodgson,
p. I87 footnote. 267 Harris Papers, Book 5, No. I32 to Eulen-
263 CorrespondenceCommerciale,i, No. 94, berg,Edo, 2 Julyi86i.
to Thouvenel,i6 Augusti86i. 268 HarrisPapers,Book 5, No. II2, to Seward,
264 ConsulaatYokohama,Bundle3, to de Wit, 6 Marchi86i.

2I Marchi86i. 269 F.O. 39I, I, to Hammond,26January i86i.

 MonumentaNipponicaXXII, 3-4

contactwithJapanarosewiththebakufu's
tion'sfirst "twocities,twoports,"lettertoall
theforeignpowersaskingthattheopening ofthecitiesofEdoandOsaka,andtheharbours
ofHyogoandNiigata bepostponed. It arrivedinWashington inmid-July.Theotherplaces
couldwaitbutEdo hadtobe decidedbefore thetreaty dateforitsopeningnextJanuary.
AtfirstHarris'ssuggestion that it remain closedhad been received favourably. Thenthe
newsofHeusken'smurder arrived.
SecretaryofState Seward consulted withPresident LincolnandthenwrotetheBritish,
Netherlands andFrenchambassadors inWashington askingfora jointnavaldemonstra-
tionagainstJapan. Seward'sargument was that togive wayontheEdoquestion following
the murderof Heuskenwould merelyencouragethe anti-foreign elementsin Japan
a
towardscivil war duringwhich all the ground gained by the treatieswouldbelost.270
As thebakufu hadan excellent policeforceit wasonlynecessary to makea showofforce
toencourage itsusefortheprotection offoreigners.271Undertheproposedconvention,
eachtreatynationwouldsendsteamwarships toEdoBay.Ajointnotewouldbepresented
demanding theexecution ofeverytreaty provision. Atimelimitwouldbe set,thewarships
wouldreturn to theirnormaldutiescomingbackto Edo on thedateset.Ifthebakufu's
answerwas evasiveor negativetheforeign diplomats wereto be removedfromEdo.
The navalcommanders werethentocommence hostilities.
Foreignjealousiesintervened in favourofthebakufu. The Netherlands Ambassador
inWashington wrotethattheproposed convention shouldtakeplaceattheHague,where
allofthelongDutchexperience inJapancouldbe utilized, andnotatWashington witha
newanduntried government. Sewardhadunfortunately tiedtheconvention to approval
by theU.S. Senateso thatall ofthepowersmighthaveagreed,onlyto havetheplan
rejectedbythatbody.
Seward'sinitiative faredno betterat London.Alcockwas toldthat"Lord Russell
hasnointention ofpostponing theopeningoftheports,"andfurther advisednotto let
theAmericans use himas "a catspaw"in negotiating Heusken'smurder.272 Theyhad
triedin Washington andbeenrejected.Therewas a note of in
satisfaction the closing
sentence thatLincolnhadtroubles enoughat home,hisarmyhavingjustbeendefeated
at BullRun.The Palmerston-Russell government inBritain wason thesideoftherebels
inAmerica.273
Fortunately forSeward,he was able to retreatgracefully. Beforehe had beencom-
pletelyrejected bytheotherpowers, Harris'sletterofMay8tharrived, advising thatEdo
be keptclosed. In explanation he pointed out that thesudden priceriseoffrom IOO to300
percentsincetheopeningoftradewas falling heavilyupon"all official personsoffixed
andlimited incomes, and it is from thisclass that theloudest complaintsareheardand

272 F.O. 39I, I, to Alcock,London,25 August

270 ConsulaatYokohama,Bundle4, Sewardto
Roest van Limburg, Washington,I4 May i86i. i86i.
271 Ibid.,Roest van Limburgto van Zuijlen 273 See Chapterx, TheEducationofHenryAdams.
van Nijevelt,Washington, 22 May i86i.
 Japan"
in Bakumatsu
M CMASTER. ".. .ForeignDiplomacy 357

thesecomplaintswillcontinue whiletheyareina transition statetowards a highersal-

ary."274 alsoputhisfinger
Harris upontheculprits. "TheDimios receivea largeportion
oftheirrevenuesinkindandas theydispose ofalltheir theyfindtheir
surplus, incomes
greatly Theeffect
increased. ofthisisclearly
shown bythefactthatwhenI first cameto
YedoinNovember I857 onlythirteen oftheDimiosoutofsomethree hundred werein
favourofopening thecountry whileat thepresent timeaboutonehalfofthemarein
favouroftheneworder ofthings." Harrisclosedbyasking fordiscretionarypowerto
onthespot.Seward
settlematters withdrew hisproposed demonstrationadmitting his
lackofknowledge andthedifficultyofoperatingatsucha distance.Inclosing hewarned
Harrisaboutthediplomatic residenceatEdo."Theprinciple however seemstous too
importanttobeabandoned. Ifthewestern statescankeeptheir representatives in
safely
Japantheycanperhaps waitforthefacilitiesstipulated;butiftheirministers shallbe
obligedbyforceorterror towithdraw, allwillbe lostthathasat suchgreatcostbeen
gained."275
deathwaslefttoHarris
Heusken's forsettlement
inJapan. withAndaNobu-
Meeting
masaandKuzeHirochika,276 in chargeofforeign
thetworojZu Harrisdidthebest
affairs,
hecould.Demanding a salute,
as hadtheBritishandFrench upontheir returntoEdo,
wasuseless.
Theharbour forts
werepracticefiringalldaylong.Nooneinthecitywould
thattwenty-one
realize shotsfiredatintervals
representedanapology fromtheirgovern-
menttotheforeigners.
Morepracticalwouldbe thepunishment ofthemurderers. Andaanswered thatthis
wouldbedonebut"Whether itcouldbedoneina month ora yearwasmore thanhecould
The bakufu
foresee."277 hadfound unwise
itpolitically eventoarrest thoseinvolvedin
ofitsregent
thekilling theprevious March.WhatelsedidtheAmerican want?Harris
thenexplainedthatHeusken hadbeenthesolesupport ofhiswidowed mother. The
bakufuagreedtopay$io,ooOtopurchase anannuity forMrs.Heusken. Beyondassuring
themthathewasnotselling Heusken's bloodandthattheymustcontinue thesearch
forthemurderers,therewaslittleelseHarriscoulddo.The mounted guardswhohad
desertedHeuskenweredismissed fromtheirpositions. The fourstreetwatchmen
involvedwerepunished.278
Harrishadusedhisinfluencetoprevent a clashwithJapan. In theNetherlands,the
government wasgladthattheWashington negotiationshadfallenthroughbutthought
theplanofan armed demonstration worth pursuing.Consulgeneral de Withadsug-
gestedthesamethingevenbefore Heusken's death.279
It seemed thatappeasementhad

274 HarrisPapers,Book 5, No. I21, to Seward, Edo, 27 November i86i.

8 May i86i. 278 Same,No. I24, to Seward,7 Julyi86i.
275 HarrisPapers,Loose LetterBox, No. I29, 279 ConsulaatYokohama,Bundle 4, No. 26,

to Harris,Washington,i Augusti86i. Van Zuijlenvan Nijeveltto Ministerof Colonies,

276 fl, The Hague, 5 Junei86i.
277 HarrisPapers,Book
5, No. I24, to Seward,
358 Monumenta
Nipponica
XXII, 3-4

beenthewisestcourse.NeitherLordRussellnortheFrenchwantedwar.Sincethe
Western powershadbeengivinggroundeversincetheopeningit didnotseemwiseto
suddenly takethedrasticmovesuggested inWashington.280
It was onlyfromEuropethatJapaneseaffairs seemedquiet.In thatcountryLord
Russell'speaceful intentions
werereceiving a severetrial.Afterthreemonthsspentin
China,Alcockreturned to Japan.Insteadofcomingdirectly to Yokohamaby sea,he
choseto makethetripoverland fromNagasaki.A British warshipcarriedhimthrough
theInlandSea toOsaka.It wasa usefulthingtoexercise thetreatyrighttotravel.It was
alsoa bravethingtodo.Although samurai wasconcentrating
hostility atEdo,Alcockand
hiscompanion, theNetherlands consulgeneral, mighthavebeenattacked upontheway.
A yearearlier theRussianenvoy,M. Gaskevitch, hadthought nothing oftravellingover-
landfrom Edo to hispostat HakodatebutthentheRussianswerewidelyrespected in
Japan.281
Alcockarrived backat theBritishlegation inEdoonthesthofJuly. It wasa finenight.
The littlegroupofBritonsstayedoutsideuntillatewatching a cometand singingthe
songsofhome.Theydidnotretire untilafter midnight andwerenotyetasleepwhenthe
soundsofa scuffle andthebarking ofa petdogalertedthem.Emerging from theirrooms
intothedarkened corridortheywereslashedat by swordsmen in maskedhelmetsand
armour. Two werewounded. Expecting discovery anddeathatanymoment theeightmen
coweredbehinda screenin thediningroomlistening to thesmashofglass,theslashing
ofpartitions andtheripping ofbedclothesas theirassailants flailedaboutseekingthem
in thedarkness. TheirJapanese bodyguard thencounterattacked and droveofftheas-
sailants.Stillin hisnightdressoneofthemremembers thebodyofoneoftheattackers
uponthediningroomfloorandstepping barefootedupona humaneye.It wasenoughto
shakethestrongest nerves.282
Alcockhadbeenveryclosetodeath.After bandaging Morrison andOliphant, hewrote
toLondon."We areallresting onourarms;andotherwise quiet,withbeaconfires, watch
lightsandpatrolsmuchlikea besiegedplace.... IfI cansecuretheAdmiral's support
andsomematerial meansofprotection I amloathtoabandonthefield;sincebyso doing
H.M.'s Government willbe moreorlesscommitted to a decidedcourseofaction.What
a triumphant vindicationoftheviewI tookinJanuary ofthereality ofthedanger!Even
Harrisseemsconvinced."283
This lastwas notquitetrue.HarriswroteAlcockin sympathy expressing hishorror
at theattack,hisgladnessat Alcock'strulyprovidential escapeandoffering hisappoint-
mentwiththebakufu to theBritonso thathe couldcomplain immediately. Alcockap-
parently tookthisas a complete surrender byHarris,so thattheAmerican hadtowrite

280 Ibid.,P.V.C. Maesende Sombreff

to Mi- 282 L. Oliphant,"The Attackon the British

nisterforForeignAffairs,
22, Julyi86i. Legation", BlackwoodsMagazine, CXLI, No.
281 CorrespondencePolitique,ii, No. 3I, to DCCCLV, JanuaryI887, pp. 45-57.
Thouvenel,i Marchi86o. 283 F.O. 39I, I, to Hammond,6Julyi86i.
 inBakumatsu
MCMASTER. "...ForeignDiplomacy Japan" 359

a secondlettersaying"You misconstrue mymeaning," he hadnotgivenup hopethat

thebakufu wouldprotectforeigners andwouldabidethefuture.284
Althougha guardofarmedBritishsailorswas sentto protecttheBritishlegation,
Alcockdidnotthinkthemsufficient in numberandretired toYokohamaforthesecond
time.285Remaining inJapanuntiltheendofI864 he neveragainlivedat Edo. Neither
didde Bellecourt."We havedriventheMinisters from Edo," thebakufu is supposedto
haveboasted.286
Writing tode Witthedayfollowing theattackAlcocknoted,"Sucha deedofatrocity
perpetrated in thecapitalofa Government to whichForeignRepresentatives are ac-
creditedbytheWestern Powersneedsnocomment. Whatmeasures it maybe expedient
to adoptforthefuture securityofthis,andtheotherLegationsin Yedo; and themain-
tenanceofthoseInternational rightsandimmunities, so grievously attacked, becomesa
It was thesametonetowhichHarrishadobjectedat thetime
seriousconsideration."287
ofHeusken'skilling. Alcockwas againholdingthebakufu to standards achievedonlyin
a fewofthemostadvancedEuropeanstates.
Harrismayhavebeenconvinced ofdangerbuthe remained aloneat Edo trusting to
hisbakufuguardforprotection. His trustwasvindicated forwhentheAmerican legation
was attackedthefollowing monththeassailants weredrivenoff.288
To Washington, Harriswrotethathe hadinterviewed thebakufl foreign ministers to
impresstheseriousness oftheBritishattackuponthem.Theycomplained thatAlcock
had notlet themposttheguardas theywished.This was partlytrue.Becausethese
bodyguards normally actedas spiesupontheforeigners alltheWestern diplomats refused
tohavethemsharethe same The
building. temple sitewhich Alcock had in
chosen, place
oftheoneselected bythebakufu, hadspaciousgrounds andmanybuildings. Someofthese
werestilloccupiedbythepriests. It wasnotan easyspottodefend. Harrisreported the
bakufuopinionthattheattackhadbeenan effort toembroil it in a warwithBritain.289
AtYokohama British
merchants tookthesameposition as Harris."Everything is going
prettyquietlyhereat present, butourofficialshavebeenmuchdisturbed by an attack
thatwasmadeon theBritish legationa fewnightsago.... He (Alcock)was successfully
protected,however, by hisnativeguard,and theGovernment havetakenmeasures to
ensurehissafety."290
The attackupontheBritishlegationhad severalresults.British warships werenow
stationedat Yokohamainsteadofmaking regularvisitsas heretofore. an armedguardof

284 Correspondence Iv, No. 9I, I9

Politique, 6 Julyi86i.
July i86i encloses copies of the two Harris 288 Correspondence Politique, Iv, No. ioo,
letters. to Thouvenel,I9 Augusti86i.
285 Same,No. 96, 8 Augusti86i. 289 HarrisPapers,Book 5, No. I42, to Seward,
286 J.C. Pompevan Meerdervoort,
Vyf7aren, Edo, 9 Julyi86i.
290 J-M & Co. Archive,Box Yokohamai86i,
II, 35.
287 ConsulaatYokohama,Bundle4, to de Wit, to A. Percival,I2 JUlyi86i.
 t6o Mnnumentd XXTL I-A
Mibbonirc4

sailorsandmarines protected Alcockashoreat YokohamaandAlcockwroteto London

thatthebakufu shouldbe heldto allitstreaty obligations.
The timelagofat leastfourmonths inwhichit tooka lettertoreachEuropeandthe
answertoreturn toJapan, couldhaveitshumorous aspects.Alcock'sdespatch describing
thelegation attackanddemanding thebakufu nowbeheldtoitstreaty obligationscrossed
theForeignOffice's letternotingwithsatisfaction thatPresident Lincoln'sproposalto
holdthebakufu to itstreatyobligations hadbeenrefused. New orderstellingAlcockto
concedenothing arrived inJapanthatautumn. Alcock'semotions hadcooledandhenow
hadtoexplainto hissuperiors why he was conceding theEdo residence forforeign mer-
chants.Harriswas amused.291 All thepowersagreedto keepforeign merchants outof
Edo. Harrisremained itsonlyforeign resident.
As thenewyearbeganAlcockwrotetheForeignOffice thathewasgladtostillbealive.
He hadalsostarted writing a book to make the British
publicrealizethenecessity ofusing
forceinJapan.292
Havinggivenup theEdo location in spiteofhisorderstobe strict, Alcocknowwrote
hisFrenchandNetherlands colleaguesthathe intendedto takea stronglinewiththe
bakufu.In a secretmemorandum tothemhesummarized hisorders from London.He was
to makeno concessions withoutequivalents, he was to do nothingthatwouldcurtail
tradeandhe was to upholdthehonouroftheBritish name.As HyogoandOsakawere
veryimportant to tradetheiropeningcouldnotbe postponed as thiswas verymucha
curtailment oftrade.AfterseeingOsaka,Alcockhad toldde Bellecourt thatit was the
centerofJapan's economy. "Ourtrademustbe there."293 As tothehonouroftheBritish
nameandthefurnishing ofnoconcessions withoutequivalents, Alcockthought thatEdo
andNiigata-a westcoastportwhichhadbeensurveyed bytheNetherlands brig"Balli"
andgivena negativereportowingto itspoorharbour-should be exchanged fora port
ontheislandofTsushima andthejapanese-garrisoned harbourinKorea(probably Pusan).
Thisdisgusted hisFrenchandhisNetherlands bothofwhomwishedtodiscuss
colleagues,
portsofcommercial advantage withthebakufu. De BellecourtnotedthatAlcockdidnot
bothertodisguisehispurelypoliticalmotives, refusingevento discussotherportswith
hisFrenchcolleague.294 The threediplomats addressedajointnotetothebakufu insisting
thatOsakabe openedon schedule.
As analternative to theserearrangements oftheexistingtreaties Alcockthought that
theforeigners mightgo directlyto Kyotoand negotiateforthe Mikado'sapproval.
Harrishadbeenwarning thebakufu thatthismighthappeneversinceDecemberI859.
Alcockclosedhismemorandum notingthatbakufu promises wereworthless, thatany
delaygrantedto thembefore openingthenewportswouldonlybe usedto preparere-

291 HarrisPapers,Book S, No. 59, to Seward, 293 CorrespondencePolitique, Iv, No. 88,
Edo, 30 Decemberi86i. to Thouvenel,4 Julyi 86i.
292 F.O. 39I, I, to Hammond,iO January and 294 Same,v,No. I4o-bis,26 FebruaryI862.
7 FebruaryI862.
 M c M ASTE R. "... ForeignDiplomacyin BakumatsuJapan" 36I

sistance.295Indeedanyconcession wouldencourage resistance.

"Mightnoteverything
be gainedpeaceably byfirmness anddetermination inourdealingswiththegovernment
at thismoment? That seemspossible,probableeven."296 Russianbehaviour, he added,
seemedtoprovethepoint.
All threemenagreedthatbakufu promises wereuseless.Indeedin a privateinterview
theJapanese ministers
hadadmitted as muchtoAlcocktelling himtheycouldnotpromise
anyfuture improvement butcouldonlyhope.297 Theywereoptimistic thattheKazu-
nomiya298 weddingwouldslowlyimprove conditions. Foreignersfearedthata condition
oftheweddinghadbeenthatthenewportsremain closed.299De Witthought thatOsaka
andHyogomustbe opened.As toequivalents forEdo andNiigatahewantedeithermore
portsorthattheexisting onesbe madefreeportson theexampleofSingapore andHong
Kong.Enclosingthe Britishand Netherlands opinionsto his homegovernment, de
Bellecourt addedthatHarriswasleavingthematter forhissuccessor.300
Thelatterarrived
withinstructions to cooperatewiththeBritishandFrench.301 Therewas no hopethat
AlcockcouldnegotiatethematterinJapanbeforegoinghomeas thebakufu expected
to getmuchbetterresults fromtheembassy it thenhadinEurope.De Bellecourt closed
hisdespatchon thesamenoteas Alcockhadtakeninhismemorandum. So manyforeign
complaints had goneunanswered thatifforeigners did notput on thebrakenow,the
bakufu wouldgo toofar.302
The foreign diplomats mustuse stronglanguage,continued de Bellecourt.This was
precisely thepointuponwhichAlcockwavered.Whenever foreignersdemandedthe
treatiesbe upheld,thebakufu repliedthattodo so wouldmeancivilwar.At Cantonthe
sameargument hadbeenmetandfoundtobe false.Foreignpolicywasmerely themost
convenient weapontohandwithwhichitsopponents couldattackthebakufu.303Opening
newportswouldprovidebakufu opponents withadditional material
fortheirpropaganda
campaign. Iftheportswerekeptclosedtheattackuponthegovernment as thefriendof
theforeigners wouldnotstop.As longas Yokohamaremained itcouldcontinue inuse.
Openingnewportswouldbringtheprofits offoreign tradeto a greaternumberof
daimyo.Someofthesealready profited fromforeigntradeon theonehandwhileverbally
attacking foreignersupontheother.As in Chinathedangerofcivilwarwouldremain
whether theforeign treaties
wereenforced ornot.
Havingbeenconsulat CantonAlcockknewthishistory. Allofhisexperience inJapan
brought himtothesamebelief as hisFrenchandDutchcolleagues. The bakufuwouldgive

295 Same,No. I40, 26 FebruaryI862. 300 Ibid.,v, No. I40,26 FebruaryI 862 encloses
296 Ibid. Also in Beasley,SelectDocuments,
p. Alcock's memorandum of I4 February.Also in
2II. Beasley,SelectDocuments, p. 2II.
297 Correspondence Politique,Iv, No. 99, to 301 Ibid.,v, No. I53, 8 May I862.
Thouvenel,i6 Augusti86i. 302 Ibid.,v,No. I40, 26 FebruaryI862.
298
jat. Cf. pp. 290-304 above. 303 F.O. 39I, I, Alcock to Hammond, I9
299 Ibid.,v, No. I36, 2 February I862. Augusti86i.
362 Monumenta XXII,3-4
Nipponica

waybefore firm pressure.It alwayshad.Yetontheothersidelaytheprivatethemewhich

setAlcockapartfrom hiscolleagues, thefearofmassacre. As inhiswriting at thetimeof
thegoldexportor theMoss Case it is thisthemeofdangeruponwhichhe closeshis
memorandum ofFebruary I4th.Firmness withthebakufu involvedsuchperilofwarthat
in
it mustbe decided London.He wouldnot attempt it in Japan.
In mid-March Alcockwrotehislastletterto thebakufu before goinghomeonleave.It
accusedtheJapanese ofviolating thetreaty forthreeyears,offollowing a policymarked
bybadfaith andofmaking thefalseclaimthattheJapanese peoplewerehostileto foreign-
ers.Populardiscontent was"purelyofa factious origintraceable to thosewhoseekfrom
personalmotivetoembarrass theTycoon'sgovernment oroverthrow it."304Concessions
wrestedfrom foreigners wouldmerely whettheirappetite,leavingbothforeigners and
bakufu worseoff.
Havingstatedthisopinionofconcessions theBritishminister did an about-face and
finishedhisletterby tellingthebakufu he wouldhelpit get the Osaka concession in
London.The bravewordsofFebruary wereforgotten inMarch.Therewasnomoretalk
aboutequivalents, thehonouroftheBritish nameor theimportance ofOsaka.This re-
versalhasneverbeenclearlyunderstood unlesstheattackuponandwounding ofAndo
Nobumasawas thefinalactofterrorism neededtobreakAlcock'sresolve.
AndoNobumasawasoneofa groupofrelatively low-ranking officialswhoseabilityin
dealingwiththetroubled timeshadbroughtthemrapidpromotion. His risehadbeen
so rapidthathisoldnickname of"Bimbo Anda"305 (PoorAnda)stillclungtohim.Inmid-
February hisescorthadbeenattacked inEdo. Scrambling from hiscarriage anddrawing
swordhehadhelpedhisbodyguard driveofftheattackers. He hadbeenseriously wound-
ed. The affairworried Alcockas firearms hadbeenusedby theattackers. As Andahad
previously warnedAlcockthatall publicmen,Japanese orforeign, mustexpectattack,
hisownfatelentcredence to thealreadyconsiderable anxiety oftheBritish diplomat.
Whether it was Anda'swoundingcoupledwithtwomeetings withKuze Hirochika
duringwhichthebakufu minister dweltuponthedomestic difficulties ofhisgovernment
or whether Alcockmerelycontinued his opinionafterthelegationattackof thepre-
vioussummer thatenforcing thetreatiesmeantwar,is unknown.306 Ifthelatter,then
thejointfront ofFebruary waspersiflage tosatisfyhissuperiors thathewascarrying out
theirorders to be firm and his colleaguesthat hewas not selling out the foreignposition
inJapan.IneithercasetheBriton wasalready wellalongtheroadtobelieving thebakufu's
argument ofdanger.
AlcockleftJapaninMaytogohomeforoneyear'sleave.His lastletters homecontinue
earlierthemes. Harris comes under pretty steadyattack. He is "likea badgerinhishole,"
onlymakingoccasional visitsto Yokohama.307 HarrishasgottenHeusken'sindemnity
304 F.O. 262, CDLXX, mini-
to bakufuforeign 306F.O. 39I, I, to Hammond,I9 Augusti86i.
sters,i5 MarchI862. 307F.O. 39I, I, to Hammond,Yokohama,27
305 _;I@,g FebruaryI862.
 M c M AS TE R. ". . ForeignDiplomacy
in Bakumatsu
Japan" 363

at thepriceof"the unlimited concessions" his government is nowreadyto make.308

AlcockalsosenttheForeignOffice a clippingfrom a SanFrancisco papertowhichU.S.
merchants hadwritten complaining thatHarriswas allowingthebakufu to conduct"a
systemofswindling andextortion unparallelled in thehistory ofnations."309 It was a
strangepointtomaketoone'ssuperiors. Britishmerchants at Yokohamasuffered under
thesamesystem.
FromMalta,AlcockwrotetheForeignOffice to givewayto bakufu demandsas Kuze
Hirochika hadpointedout"howsmallourcommercial interests Laterhe
reallyare."'310
wrotethattheyweresmallbecauseofbakufu restriction.311 Theywouldremainsmall
untilsomething wasdoneaboutthatrestriction.
At Paris,Alcockcontinued thesameargument, tellingtheFrenchforeign minister
thatto demandenforcement ofthetreaties wouldmeana longandcostlywar.312 This
advicewasrepeated toLordRussell.The resultwastheLondonProtocol ofJune 6, I 862.
Thisdocument agreedto a five-year delayin return fortheremoval ofallrestrictions to
tradeandsocialcontact betweenJapanese andforeigners. Asitnoted,thiswasnolessthan
whatthebakufu was alreadyboundto do by theI858 treaties. Twelvedaysafterthe
Protocol,Alcockwasmadea KnightCommander oftheOrderoftheBath.
Whennewsoftheprotocol reachedEdo thebakufu ministers, although pleasedbythe
victory,toldtheFrenchminister thatthepromised improvements wouldtakemuchtime.
Popularopinionwasagainstforeigners. Tryingtochangeit waslikethrowing oilupona
AlcockhadnottoldBritishmerchants
fire.313 at YokohamathatOsakamightbe kept
closed.Theyonlydiscovered it afterheleft.Theirletterofprotest doesnotseemtohave
reachedLondonin timeforthenegotiations. Ifit did,it didnotinfluence them.InJapan,
Osakamerchants werereported as eagerforforeign trade.TheybelievedthatifBritain
insistedHyogowouldbe opened.A Dutchconsulreported thatthebakufu had already
appointed a governorforHyago.314A FrenchNavalofficer summed upAlcock'sprotocol
simply;"l'inanitede ces concessions."'315 Entering a horsein thefirstYokohamarace
meeting thatsummer, a Britishmerchant listedhimas"ShutUp,formerly namedOsaka."
In Europe,theNetherlands ColonialMinister talkedto thebakufu embassyaboutthe
LondonProtocol. Theywerenotsincere, washissimple judgement. Enforcing thetreaty
willbe moredifficult
infiveyears.316
Seenthrough TheCapitaloftheTycoon ortheeditedselection ofhisdespatches published
inParliamentary Papers,Alcock'sviewofJapanese is a reasonable
affairs one.Setintothe

308 Ibid.,28 November i86i. hama,22 AugustI862.

309 Ibid.,Io JanuaryI862. 314 Ibid.,vi, No. i6i, ii JuneI862.
310 Ibid.,Valetta,22 May I862. 315 AndreRoussin, UneCampagne surles cotes
311 Alcock, I, 3 5.I du 7apon,Paris,i866, p. 48.
316 Consulaat Yokohama, Bundle
312 Correspondence
Politique,v, Thouvenel 5, p.v.d.
to Flahault(in London),Paris,27 May 62. Maesen de Sombreff to de Wit, the Hague, 24
313 Ibid.,vi, No. I84, to Thouvenel,Yoko- OctoberI862.
MN: XXII, 3-4 H
364 XXII, 3-4
Nipponica
Monumenta

matrix ofBritish businessletters, thepersonal papersofTownsendHarrisortheFrench

andNetherlands diplomatic correspondence, a different pictureemerges.
It is thepicture of a frightened man. "We areunder a perpetual menaceofmassacre"317
typified manyofhisdespatches. No oneelsebelievedthis.318 Harrisandde Bellecourt
thought theywereindividually in danger fromfanaticsbut neithermentioned anygeneral
massacre. Indeed,de Bellecourt assumedthatrumours ofitweredeliberately usedbythe
bakufu to frighten foreign diplomats intogiving up Edo. Ifso,Alcock took the bait.Even
sucha commonplace eventas theabsconding oftwoJapanese servantscausedhimtowrite
thebakufu demanding toknowiftherewasa plotagainsthislife.319
Secondary characteristics werealsoinvolved. Boredorhumiliated bytheroleofa simple
commercial agent,Alcockseemsto havewishedto cuta figure on thepoliticalstageby
countering thesouthward expansion oftheRussianEmpire ontheAsianmainland. When
he writesofgoingto theMikadoit maybe thathe wasjealousofHarris.A newtreaty
negotiated at Kyotobyhimself wouldundoubtedly providemorepersonal renownthan
themereenforcement oftheexisting WhereasHarrishadwantedonlyone
tradetreaties.
warship, Alcockfoundthatthreewerenotenoughto protecthim.320 It was partlyfear
perhaps, andpartlythedesiretobeincommand oflargefleets andarmiesnatural enough
to an ambitious manin a minordiplomatic post.Finallytherewas thequestionofthe
careerdiplomat. The drawback ofthiswasthatitsmembers wereloathetosacrifice their
careersfortheinterests oftheirnationalsabroad.It was onlyhumanforAlcockto let
Britishmerchants lose moneyratherthanriskthedispleasure ofhis superiors. If the
postponement oftheopeningofOsakameantgreater fleetsand armiesin I867, it also
meantgreater importance forthediplomat involved.IfAlcockstayedin thegoodgraces
oftheForeignOffice fora fewyearsmorehe wouldhavea respectable pension.Twenty
yearsofservice wasnottoberiskedlightly andLordRusselldidnotwantwarwithJapan.
TownsendHarrisalsowenthomein thespringofI862. He hadhopedto leavea year
earlier.He had beeninJapanforfive-and-one-half yearswithone month'svacationin
China."Yourlongresidence heremustbe wearisome" saidtheshogunat theAmerican's
lastaudience.321 The Portuguese consulat Yokohamawas an American. As he thought
olivetreesmightbe usefulinJapan one ofHarris'slast acts
official was to writeto San
Francisco forsaplings. It wasa typicalaction.As usualtherewasnoAmerican warship in
portso thatHarris left on a Jardine'ssteamer.The bakufu refusedto fire the customary
salutetoa merchant ship.Withcommendable decency, deBellecourt ordered theFrench
"Le
warship Monge" to firethe salutefor The
Harris. bakufuwas forced to returnthe
compliment. It was all over.

317 F.O. 39I, I, to Hammond,i Januaryi86i-. 320 CorrespondencePolitique,iv, Nos. 95-96,

318 F. V. Dickens, Life of Sir HarryParkes, to Thouvenel,4 & 8 Augusti86i.
London,I894, II, 34. 321 HarrisPapers,Book 5, No. 2I3 to Seward,
319 F.O. 262, CDLXX, to bakufu, 3 February Edo,26 AprilI862.
I862.
 MCMASTER. " ... Foreign inBakumatsu
Diplomacy Japan" 365

At homein New York,Harriswasswallowed up bytheexcitement oftheCivilWar.

No onewantedtolistentoanoldmanreminisce aboutJapan. A youngmanjustbackfrom
TokyowenttoseeHarrisin I 874.He foundhimina corner at theUnionClub.As always
hewasalone.Harris'sfirst question summed uphiseffortsinJapan; "WhatdotheJapanese
thinkofme?",he asked.322
In theirlivesthetwomenepitomized foreigndiplomacy inJapan.It cannotbe claimed
thatHarriswasa greatdiplomat. His sinshowever, areattractiveones.He wastoofriend-
lytowards thebakufu foritsowngood.He wastoowillingtotrusttothegoodintentions
ofmenwhodidnotpossessthem.He wastoopatient, tooforbearing. He didnotexcuse
theshadydealingofindividual Western merchants buthewasnottooproudtorepresent
merchants. He was nota pacifist buthe onlywantedonewarshiptoapplylimited pres-
sure.He refused a fleet.Beingdeniedthatoneshipthrough theexigencies ofcivilwarat
homehewasalsodeniedanyrealchanceto takeanindependent roleindealingwiththe
bakufu.323As Alcocktoldthebakufu, theAmericans coulddo nothing inJapan.324 Pushed
backuponhisownpersonal resources Harrisdidthebesthecould.He insisted onproper
ceremonial andfrequent meetings withthebakufu foreignministers.On theoneoccasion
whenhisownpersonal couragecouldkeepthebakufu toitstreaty obligations heremain-
ed aloneinEdo,theonlyforeigner inwhatallagreedwasa dangerous city.Throughout
heencouraged thebakufu alongthepathtowards itsownsurvival, butexampleandper-
suasionhad theirlimits.
In histaskHarrisoftenadmitted ignorance ofthecomplexities ofJapanese No
politics.
one willeverknowhow muchofhis successwas owingto the linguistic abilitiesof
HendrikHeusken.It musthavebeenconsiderable. Untiltheyoungman'sdeathHarris
was thebestinformed ofalltheWestern diplomats. The Dutchconsulat Yokohamawas
alsoa businessmananddoesnotseemtohavereadJapanese although, incommon withthe
Western merchants, he was a masterofthatamazingdialect,"theYokohamapidgin."
The French werebetterserved.Theirarchives arecorrespondingly morereliable thanthe
Britishfortheseyears.The AbbeGirardspoke,butdidnotreadorwriteJapanese, buta
youngNetherlander, Bleckman, seemsto havebeenfairly proficientas a translatorfor
theFrenchlegationafteri86o.Additionally theFrenchminister keptopenalltheYoko-
hamasourcesofintelligence whichAlcockhaddeniedhisnationbyattacking themer-
chantsinhisgoldexportdespatch. AtYokohama theWestern merchants wereinconstant
contactwithJapanese traderscomingin fromthecountry andwithbakufu customsof-
The Frenchalsoutilizedseveral
ficials. Japaneseofficials
andat leastoneBuddhist priest
as anintelligence source.The British hadtodependuponwhattheycouldpickup from
otherdiplomats untilthespring ofI 862 whenyoungSieboldbegantoachieveproficiency.

322 W. E. Griffis,
"TownsendHarris,Centreof 7apan Puarterly,I958 v, No. 3.
JapaneseDrama", New TorkTimesMagazine,28 324 Correspondence Politique,v, No. I46 to
DecemberI919, p. 26. Thouvenel,22 MarchI862.
323 H. Kublin,"A SalutetoTownsendHarris,"
266 MonumentaNiPPonicaXXTT.I-it

Harris'spolicyofsomeconcessions butofclinging to theessentials ofthetreaty bya

limited showofforce offered theonlyalternative toBritish policy.The Netherlands start-
ed out sidingwith Britain. After the fiascoof the retreat from Edo they switched to
Harris.325TheFrench werecommitted inadvancetosupportBritish The
policyregardless.
Prussians came,made a treaty, and thenwent offtoChina to make another. Foreignpolicy
towards Japanhadto be British policy.Beforethetelegraph camein,a nationwas very
muchrepresented byanindividual sothatforeign policywas,ineffect, RutherfordAlcock.
Whereas Harrislackedneitherjudgement norcourage, Alcockseemstohavelackedboth.
Although lessnoisythangunboatdiplomacy, appeasement is alsoa policy.Beguiledby
Alcock'slackofdetermination duringthoseearlyyearsthebakufu misjudged re-
foreign
solution tostayinjapan.It badlyweakened itsownposition thereby. ToldbyAlcockthat
hewouldsupport itsclaimtokeepOsakaclosedforanother fiveyears,in thesummer of
I862 thebakufu gavewaytoitsKyotoopponents. The shogunpromised to go toKyoto
anddo homage.Newofficials werenamedtohighpositions inthegovernment.326
Thesenewmenknewlittleor nothing aboutforeign affairs. In theautumntheyac-
complished thedownfall ofthe bakufu by abolishing its lasteffective controloverthe
daimyo,thesankin kJtai327 hostagesystem.
Havingseentheforeigners retreatsteadilyunderpressure formorethanthreeyears,
thebakufu undoubtedly feltit easiertopushtheforeigners thantodiscipline itsowndo-
mesticdissidents. The chancethattheforeigners mightretaliatewitha forcegreater
thanitcouldmatchmusthaveseemedveryslight. After London,theforeigners musthave
seemedverypliablematerial indeed.
Yet thisis whathappened.Withitspowermuchdiminished, thebakufu was slowly
forcedto giveup itsefforts againstforeigners andattemptto reassert controloverthe
daimyo.In thisit failed.Havingshownsuchastutediplomacy againsttheforeigners,
whyhadthebakufu madethismiscalculation?
A possibleansweris Rutherford Alcock.It canbe arguedthattheactionsofthisone
manunwittingly did muchto engineer thedownfall ofthebakufu. Whentradebeganin
I859, it wasfeelingitswayin a newsituation. Itspolicyofchipping awayat theHarris
Treaty,up to,butnotpast,thepoint ofwar depended heavily upon foreign responses.
Ifforeignersmeteachprobing operationwitha firm butlimited response, thenthebakufu
wouldhavebeen forced to accept most ofthe treatyand turn to increasingitsdomestic
power.NeithertheregentIi NaosukenortherJjiAndaNobumasawereafraidto use
theirpolicepowerstopurgepolitical opponents. Givenforeign pressure thatpolicepower
couldhavebeenusedtoenforce thetreaties.
The history ofJapan duringthefirst yearsofforeign residence shouldnotbe discussed

325 CorrespondencePolitique,Iv, No. 95, to i64 ofJune ii & JuneI5, i862. Also Beasley,
Thouvenel,4 Augusti86i. Modern p. 82,SelectDocuments,
History, p. 60.
326 CorrespondencePolitique,vi, Nos. i6i & 327
 inBakumatsu
MCMASTER. "... ForeignDiplomacy Japan" 367

merely interms ofa tightrope performance inwhichthebakufu tradedoffpoliticalconces-

sionstoa stillnebulous groupatKyotoagainstconcrete concessionsbytheforeign powers.
ThisbalancedidnotdependuponKyotoagitation orbakufu diplomaticskill.It couldonly
existifoneman,representing theWest,allowedit.
The extentto whichRutherford Alcockenforced thetreatydetermined thepressure
thebakufu mustputuponitsopponents. The enforcement ofthecommercial treatyhad
beenthesinglemajorinstruction givenAlcockbyhishomegovernment. Ratherthancon-
centrate uponhisassignedmission, hechoseto followa phantom searchforpersonal se-
curity whichinvolvedhimina complete breakwiththemerchants whoseinterest hewas
paidto serve.The merchants themselves boughtrevolvers andwenton doingbusiness.
Thereare limitsto theextentanynationcan interfere in thedomesticpoliticsof
another. In theinterests ofhisownpresent security andthefuture interests ofhisdiplo-
maticcareer,Alcockchosenotto explorethem.Therewas almostalwaysat leastone
RoyalNavyshipat Yokohama.WhileNaval commanders balkedat grandiose actions
without authority from home,theygenerally werewillingtolanda fewsquadsofsailors.
Othernations, including theRussians,alsocooperated in defendingwhatwasprimarily
a British AlcockinChinawasa different
interest. manfrom AlcockinJapan.The samurai
assassinhadnotexistedin China.
The continuing appeasement in whichAlcock'shadbeenthedecidingvoiceleftthe
foreigners withnoalternative buthostilities. Western diplomacy hadthusfailed. Whether
ornotthishadtobe so willalwaysbe a matter forconjecture.
Duringthelastcentury theBritish ForeignOffice waschronically shortofcompetent
mentohandleitsexpanding responsibilities.The field of choicewas limited
further bythe
British classsystem. The largenumber offormer armyofficers intheforeign serviceoften
give it the appearance of a dumping ground for out-of-work gentlemen. The distant
postsinAsiaweretheleastdesirable in theservice.Theyinvolvedlittlepoliticalability,
being almost purely commercial in importance.328 It is tobe doubtedthatthebestmen
weresenttoAsia.AllthreeofAlcock's consulsinJapan lefttheserviceundera cloud,while
Alcock'schargeduringhishomeleavewasbitterly complained Although
against.329 the
lastcentury didnotdemandthespecialization ofthepresent one,itis notunfair toques-
tionwhether Alcock'straining asa surgeon fitted himfordiplomacy.
In a sensehe is a sad figure.Nervousandself-isolated, he wasexperienced enoughto
knowhewasdoingthewrongthinginJapan, butafraid forlifeandcareertodootherwise.
He hadhopedthatLondonwouldbackhimup witha strongpolicyanda strongfleet.
LordRusselllefthimtofighthisbattlealone.He couldnotfaceit. It was notthefirst
northelasttimethatthecourseofJapanese historywasdetermined byassassins.

328 N. Pelcovits,p. 58. 7apan,London,i88o, I, I4I.

329 F. Jones,pp. 49-50.JohnR. Black, roung