His men gave a cheer, dropped their bows, and ran forward to deploy into line. This was the moment the Tokugawa left wing had anticipated, and they immediately loosed an arrow storm; a hail of shafts whistled about the riflemen, and one bolt struck Nicholas on the helmet with a force which for a moment left him dizzy. But it did not penetrate, and only a handful of the Satsuma fell. The rest were unslinging their rifles, and as they had been taught by Nicholas, they immediately formed two ranks, the front one kneeling and the second standing. But only the kneeling men presented their rifles, as the Tokugawa bowmen in turn discarded their bows and drew their swords for the charge.
‘Front rank, fire!’ Nicholas shouted, and watched almost in horror as the storm of lead, fired at point-blank range for a rifle, swept through the enemy ranks: the two thousand men dissolved as if struck by a typhoon.
‘First rank, reload, second rank, advance,’ Nicholas commanded, again taking his place at the end of the line as the standing samurai stepped past their kneeling comrades for some six feet before themselves kneeling, while the original first rank stood to reload with practised haste. ‘Second rank, fire!’
Their immediate opponents having been scattered, the rifle corps now enfiladed the Tokugawa position, and the storm of six hundred bullets swept through the centre of the Tokugawa army like a gigantic mowing machine. Armoured bodies tumbled this way and that in flying blood, and the rest of the advancing southerners stopped to gaze in wonder at the destruction being wrought before them. ‘Second rank, load,’ Nicholas commanded, his voice now hoarse. ‘First rank, advance. First rank, fire!’
Once again the hail of bullets swept into the Tokugawa ranks. The entire left and centre had by now broken up, leaving several hundred men lying on the ground; the remainder hastily retreated towards the shelter of the houses. The rest of the Tokugawas abandoned facing the oncoming spearmen to wheel their force to face the tremendous threat on their left, but the inexorable advance of the riflemen, firing volley after volley, was too much for them. They did not lack courage. A regiment of armoured warriors made another charge, swords waving, only to be mown down long before they could cover the quarter mile between themselves and the deadly rifles. Others vainly fired their arrows, and a few had sufficient presence of mind to use their own rifles, but their efforts were uncoordinated and their aim was poor. The field commanders could tell that the battle was lost and gave the orders to withdraw; the withdrawal rapidly became a rout as the samurai raced for safety. Now Saigo commanded his people to charge again, and his spearmen ran forward to complete the victory.
‘Cease firing,’ Nicholas bellowed. ‘Load.’ The samurai chattered amongst themselves as they obeyed, echoing the shouts of ‘Banzai!’ which were swelling up from the throats of the rest of the Satsuma. The conch shells wailed to recall the spearmen; the field was clear and Saigo was too good a general to wish his men to become dispersed amidst the houses. Nicholas’s horse was brought forward, and he mounted to canter across to where Shimadzu and Yoshimune waited. Saigo joined them, while the paean of victory continued to spread across the field.
‘That was well done, Barrett san,’ Shimadzu said. ‘I have never seen an army defeated so quickly, and by so few men.’
‘But what have we accomplished?’ Yoshimune asked, as gloomy as ever. ‘Keiko knows we cannot get at him inside Edo.’
‘Then we wait,’ Shimadzu said, his face gravely composed even though he must be sure his youngest son was at that moment being executed. ‘We can do nothing more until the arrival of the rest of our armies, to convince this Keiko that we are the stronger and shall gain the day. Our task now must be to prevent any messengers from leaving Edo, to summon the Tokugawa vassals to Keiko’s aid. Indeed, we must prevent word of what happened here to day from reaching the rest of Japan, until we have secured the Shōgunate.’ He frowned, as a hatamoto hurried up, to bow beside their horses.
‘My lord,’ the officer said. ‘A mighty army approaches from the west.’ They turned to stare, for winding over the coast road from Kamakura was certainly a vast force, and above them waved the emblem of the Golden Fan, together with the Rising Sun of Japan.
‘The army from Osaka,’ Saigo muttered. ‘They have followed us.’
‘Why should they have done that?’ Shimadzu snapped. ‘Unless our purpose was betrayed.’ He looked left and right.
‘Look there,’ Yoshimune cried, pointing. For in the centre of the approaching mass, and somewhat out in front, was a richly caparisoned group of horsemen, riding under the national flag only, but also carrying the white banners of mourning.
Shimadzu’s eyes narrowed. ‘It cannot be,’ he muttered. ‘Saigo-no-Takamori, form up your men. Yours also, Barrett san.’
‘To give battle, my lord?’ Nicholas knew they had no hope of success against such numbers.
‘To receive them,’ Shimadzu said. ‘Those flags bear the insignia of the Mikado. But here, at Edo, and in mourning . . .’ he began to chew the ends of his moustache.
Saigo had already galloped off to call his men to order, and Nicholas followed him, aware of a curious lightness in his chest. He had never considered the possibility of defeat from the Tokugawa, but equally he had never considered having to face an army he estimated as not less than fifty thousand men – and commanded by the Mikado in person? He had been assured that could never happen.
Orders were given, and the host came to a halt some half a mile distant, banners waving in the breeze. For several seconds there was almost complete silence, save for the snorting and pawing of the horses, then a herald rode forward from the Imperial ranks. ‘Lord Shimadzu of Satsuma,’ he cried. ‘Lord Yoshimune of Cho-Shu. Advance and submit to the Son of Heaven.’
Nicholas stared at the group of horsemen. One had moved a little in front of the others, and certainly sat his horse like a king. But he was hardly more than a boy, and the Emperor was supposed to be an elderly man. Shimadzu and Yoshimune were obeying the command, slowly walking their horses forward, then bringing them to a halt a few yards in front of the mounted youth. ‘We seek the Son of Heaven, Prince Mutsuhito,’ Shimadzu said.
‘I am he, Lord Shimadzu,’ the boy said. ‘Have you not heard? My father died at the very moment you and your samurai passed by Kyoto, a fortnight ago. To war upon the Shōgun?’
Shimadzu and Yoshimune exchanged glances, and then they dismounted together and performed the kowtow, an act which was immediately copied by all their troops. We have surrendered, Nicholas thought, and thus must face seppuku. But the Emperor’s voice was soft. ‘Rise, my lords. I heard the sound of gunfire as I was on the road, and now I see the evidence of battle. Where are the Tokugawa?’
‘We dispersed them, Majesty.’
‘With so few men? Tell me of this. And justify your action, if you can.’
‘Majesty, all Japan has been betrayed by the Tokugawa.’ Shimadzu’s voice grew stronger as he realised he had not yet actually been condemned for rebellion.
Mutsuhito gazed at him for several seconds, then he said quietly, ‘I think it was the knowledge of Tokugawa trickery that drove my father into his grave. Thus I hastened east to prevent a civil war.’ He saw Shimadzu looking past him at the ranks of the Tokugawa samurai, and smiled. ‘These men march for the Mikado, for Japan, regardless of their flags. Come now, Lord Shimadzu, Lord Yoshimune, will you not do the same? The Shōgunate has served its purpose. As I am Emperor of this land, as I am Son of Heaven, as the burden of this empire and these peoples now rests on my shoulders before the gods, I have decided to resume the authority of my forebears. So I ask again, Lord Shimadzu and Lord Yoshimune, will you march for Japan, instead of merely for the Satsuma and the Cho-Shu?’
Shimadzu and Yoshimune were clearly too shocked to speak, and Nicholas understood that he was witnessing nothing less than a revolution, in thought as well as deed. Then Saigo broke the spell of indecision. He drew his long sword, pointed it at the sky, and shouted, ‘Long live the Son of Heaven, in whose name we live and breathe
and march.’ His voice echoed across the field, and was taken up by all the Satsuma and Cho-Shu troops. ‘Long live the Emperor!’
*
‘Nicholas Barrett,’ said the Emperor Mutsuhito. ‘I have heard a great deal about you. Rise Colonel Barrett.’
Nicholas slowly raised himself from the kowtow, and then, at another movement from the young man’s hand, stood, aware that every eye in the vast audience chamber of the Tokugawa Shōgunate was upon him. He had penetrated into the very heart of the Japanese government, passing over the famous singing floors installed by Tokugawa Iyeyasu two and a half centuries before; the loosely fastened timbers sagged with each footfall, and in so doing scraped against nails set in the joists to set up a hum, so that no man could approach the Tokugawa council chamber undetected. The Tokugawa were here today, dressed in their finery, even if their faces were at once grim and confused. They had clung to power for so long at least partly because they had been unable to conceive of a way they could give up that power without at the same time losing their lands and their lives. But here was a seventeen-year-old boy deposing them by a mere word, and at the same time forbidding them to consider seppuku.
Mutsuhito had a backbone so many of his ancestors had lacked, and at the very moment of the death of his father he had also had the power, in the presence of the Satsuma and Cho-Shu armies – for the main force had recently arrived – to establish himself. Yet the courage and determination to act, while still in mourning for his father, when, indeed, he had succeeded but a matter of hours, indicated the character he had somehow inherited from a line of puppets. It was there in his strangely old face for so young a man; the wisps of moustache and beard which he was obviously trying to grow clung oddly. But of his determination and purpose there could be no doubt. For this occasion, to which not only the daimyo and their generals had been summoned, but also the representatives of the foreign powers which maintained embassies or consulates in Edo, he had discarded the kimono and wore a perfectly tailored western-style uniform of blue tunic and white trousers, which made him look the least regal man in the room, from a distance. Only the eye, and the voice, and the manner, indicated the born ruler of men.
Nicholas glanced at the British and American consuls-general, heads close together as they whispered; could they identify the big man in the green armour with the shaven head, for all the paleness of his skin? ‘That you speak to me at all is sufficient honour, Your Majesty,’ he said.
‘You are both soldier and sailor, I am told, who has learned to be a Japanese. By choice, or necessity?’
‘By necessity, Your Majesty.’
‘We shall see what can be done about this necessity, Colonel Barrett. Unless you would choose to remain in Japan.’ Nicholas drew a long breath. But even if the Emperor could secure him a pardon from the British Government, he knew he could never now return to the English way of life. Mutsuhito smiled at his confusion. ‘Be sure, Colonel, that you would be welcome here. I would hear an account of this battle you have won for your lord, from your own lips. I will send for you.’ His head inclined, and Nicholas understood that his audience was at an end.
‘The mark of greatness is upon you, Barrett san,’ Saigo told him. ‘Upon us all. This day Japan has awakened from a long sleep, ready to face the future. With a boy like this to lead us with his energy and determination and courage, we shall show the barbarians that unless they would be our friends, and learn to respect our ways and our customs, we shall seize our own destiny.’
Nicholas believed him, and accepted too that his future was probably brighter than at any moment since he had joined the Navy. But then, so was Tom’s; he was surprised that his friend had not come into the city, and made his way to the Satsuma encampment beyond the walls. Here he found Togo. ‘Where is Ebury san?’ he inquired.
Togo looked grave. ‘Ebury san has been arrested, and returned to Kagoshima.’
‘Arrested? Why was I not informed?’
‘It happened but a few hours ago, Barrett san, and it was known that you were in audience with the Emperor.’
‘Then at least tell me what the charge is against my friend.’
‘A grave one,’ Togo said. ‘That of adultery.’
*
Nicholas could not believe his ears, even as his thoughts flew to Sumiko. ‘Tell me of this,’ he begged.
‘Why, it is a simple and sorry tale, Barrett san,’ Togo said. ‘It seems that Ebury san has conceived an illicit and criminal passion for the Lady Ozawa Suiko, daughter of Ise Kazuo and wife of Ozawa Keisuke.’ Nicholas’s heart gave a great lurch. ‘It seems that they have met several times, even after the Lady Ozawa’s marriage. Then, when Ozawa was summoned away with Lord Shimadzu’s bodyguard, and Ebury san was left in Kagoshima for several days before it was time for him to depart, he entered the house of Ozawa, and there had his way with the Lady Suiko.’
Nicholas was aghast. ‘You mean it was rape?’
‘Not so. The lady has confessed her crime, and that she welcomed Ebury san’s embrace. But he was seized by Ozawa’s servants when he attempted to leave.’
Nicholas remembered the assortment of weapons in his own porch, waiting to deal with an intruder. ‘My God! That crazy fool! What will happen to them?
‘They will be executed.’
‘But I was told, in the instance of some people I saw condemned in Bungo, that the death penalty was for causing an affray, not the crime of adultery.’
‘Those were common people, Barrett san. We are speaking here of samurai.’
*
Nicholas hurried off to seek Saigo, and went with him to Shimadzu. The daimyo had in fact just received an account of the scandal, and was looking grave. ‘The law is the law, Barrett san. What is most serious is that the stigma of the crime will extend even to you and your family, as you are regarded as Ebury’s family as well.’
‘There is but one solution, Barrett,’ Saigo said. ‘Ebury has broken the laws of bushido, and is dishonoured. If he dies dishonoured, then, as Lord Shimadzu has said, his disgrace will involve all those held to be his relatives; even your own bright future will be compromised. But he retains the privilege of regaining his honour and protecting his family.’
‘You are asking me to command my friend to commit seppuku? I have explained that such a thing is not acceptable in the West.’
‘But you are living in Japan, Barrett san,’ Shimadzu said, more gently than Nicholas had ever heard him speak. ‘I will give you leave to return to Kagoshima, to witness your friend’s death. Whether it is an honourable or a dishonourable death, is up to him.’
*
Togo went with him, and they rode like the wind, accompanied only by a platoon of men. No one troubled them: the entire country remained in a turmoil over the re-emergence of the Mikado as a political power after so many centuries lying hidden away. It seemed natural for a man to be in a hurry. But Nicholas’s brain was in a turmoil. It was not enough that the only English friend he had left in the world must die; he must also be asked to die in a manner which was wholly repulsive to Christian thought. And all because he had fallen in love. Was he, then, acting a traitorous part? But how could he do otherwise? It was not merely the brightness of his own future; it was also the futures of Sumiko and the children. And, he reminded himself, had they remained in the Navy and Tom been found guilty of misconduct with a brother officer’s wife, he would certainly have been cashiered. Many a man would blow his brains out following such a disgrace.
They entered Kagoshima just after midnight, long before any word of their coming could have been sent, and went first of all to Nicholas’s house. There his servants performed the kowtow, and Sumiko peered at him, all long black hair and slender pale flesh. ‘Oh, my lord,’ she said. ‘I knew not what to do.’
He embraced her, and then hugged his children. ‘There was nothing you could do,’ he told her, and went to see Ise Kazuo.
‘This is a great disgrace your friend has brought upon my family,’ the old samurai said
.
‘Is it not possible to save your honour?’ Nicholas asked.
‘Ha! Ebury san is a barbarian.’
‘He is a samurai,’ Nicholas said. ‘If he behaves honourably, will you be satisfied?’
Ise inclined his head.
*
Tom looked up eagerly as Nicholas entered the cell in which he was confined. ‘Nick! I knew you’d come in time.’
Nicholas sat beside him. ‘How are you?’
‘Oh, I have not been ill-treated. They reckon they’re going to chop me into little pieces. They’re not impatient. But it’s not the best hotel in the world. Have you secured my release?’
‘Tom, I have never had anything quite so difficult to say,’ Nicholas confessed.
Tom frowned at him. ‘You mean your friend Shimadzu won’t intercede?’
‘He cannot. This is a matter of the law. Shimadzu cannot break the law. He is the law in Kyushu.’
Tom’s face was pale. ‘Saigo saved us from execution.’
‘He could do so, because it was not a legal matter between samurai.’
‘Bah! He wanted your expertise. No one wants mine.’ Tom pointed. ‘But I saved your life, from Kuper.’
Nicholas’s shoulders were hunched. ‘And I shall carry that debt to my grave, Tom. I said, I have never had a more difficult task to perform.’
Bloody Sunrise Page 16
