Read Online Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852’1912 by Donald Keene - Free Book Online
Authors: Donald Keene
Tags: History/Asia/General
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into the clouds, composed three tanka , including
azuma ni to
As the ship hurries
isogu funaji no
Along its course to the East
nami no ue ni
How joyous it is
ureshiku miyuru
When appears over the waves
Fuji no shibayama
The wooded slopes of Fuji. 26
He scribbled three poems in pencil in a notebook, tore out the page, showed it to his chamberlain Takasaki Masakaze (1836–1912), an accomplished poet, and asked him to criticize the poems frankly. Takasaki deferentially examined them and said that the second of the three was particularly good. The emperor asked what was wrong with the other two. Takasaki replied that nothing was wrong with them, but they were not as good as the second. The emperor asked Takasaki to explain what was superior about the second poem. The conversation continued, the emperor manifesting greater and greater interest. He showed Takasaki some tanka composed earlier, and Takasaki analyzed each one carefully. The emperor finally showed him more than thirty poems. The experience helped while away the time aboard ship, but more important, this may have been the moment when the emperor, depressed by the war and apathetic, began to take new interest in life and in his duties as emperor. 27
On July 4 the gon no tenji Yanagihara Naruko put on a maternity belt. The emperor’s first three children had all died as infants, and the doctors were determined that the next child should be born in the most favorable environment. In the end, it was decided not to send Naruko to Ky ō to for the birth because of her delicate health. A son was born on September 23 at the Umegoten in T ō ky ō , 28 the day before the final action of the war in Ky ū sh ū .
Saig ō ’s last stand was at Shiroyama, where he had opened the first private school. At the end, he had only forty men left, and he was severely wounded. Kneeling in the direction of the imperial palace, he bowed his head, and his aide Beppu Shinsuke at once decapitated him. The rebellion had ended.
Chapter 32
On August 31, 1879, Meiji’s third son was born to the gon no tenji Yanagihara Naruko. The emperor and empress at once sent infant clothes and a “protective sword” to the Aoyama Lying-in Chamber, and that night the imperial birth was celebrated at a congratulatory dinner. Nakayama Tadayasu, Meiji’s grandfather, was appointed as the prince’s guardian, but because of his advanced age, Ō gimachi Sanenori was chosen to assist him. On September 6 the emperor bestowed on the prince the name Yoshihito; he would also be known as Harunomiya. 1
The birth of the prince, duly reported to the gods, was celebrated with traditional rituals and a banquet attended by members of the imperial family, cabinet ministers, councillors, palace dignitaries, and the parents of Yanagihara Naruko. No doubt the atmosphere was festive, but surely many of those present were aware that the birth had been exceedingly difficult, and everyone knew that Meiji’s first two sons had died in infancy. Perhaps that is why, breaking with precedent, the ministers did not offer congratulations.
From the day the prince was born, he suffered from a rash that covered his body. The scabs dissolved by September 23, and he was given a hip-bath, but it had an adverse effect. On the following day, spasms, starting in his abdomen, gradually spread to his chest. A mucous cough aggravated the pain. The spasms at last diminished by three in the morning, but the infant had still not recovered entirely, and there were frequent, though milder, recurrences that caused the emperor and empress great anxiety. The palace doctors tried every remedy, including acupuncture, and the aged Tadayasu spent days and nights watching over his great-grandchild. Not until December did the prince’s illness subside, and even then the attacks recurred every nine days. The baby’s mother, Yanagihara Naruko, did not recover her health after the birth, and because the quarters in the Lying-in Chamber were crowded,
azuma ni to
As the ship hurries
isogu funaji no
Along its course to the East
nami no ue ni
How joyous it is
ureshiku miyuru
When appears over the waves
Fuji no shibayama
The wooded slopes of Fuji. 26
He scribbled three poems in pencil in a notebook, tore out the page, showed it to his chamberlain Takasaki Masakaze (1836–1912), an accomplished poet, and asked him to criticize the poems frankly. Takasaki deferentially examined them and said that the second of the three was particularly good. The emperor asked what was wrong with the other two. Takasaki replied that nothing was wrong with them, but they were not as good as the second. The emperor asked Takasaki to explain what was superior about the second poem. The conversation continued, the emperor manifesting greater and greater interest. He showed Takasaki some tanka composed earlier, and Takasaki analyzed each one carefully. The emperor finally showed him more than thirty poems. The experience helped while away the time aboard ship, but more important, this may have been the moment when the emperor, depressed by the war and apathetic, began to take new interest in life and in his duties as emperor. 27
On July 4 the gon no tenji Yanagihara Naruko put on a maternity belt. The emperor’s first three children had all died as infants, and the doctors were determined that the next child should be born in the most favorable environment. In the end, it was decided not to send Naruko to Ky ō to for the birth because of her delicate health. A son was born on September 23 at the Umegoten in T ō ky ō , 28 the day before the final action of the war in Ky ū sh ū .
Saig ō ’s last stand was at Shiroyama, where he had opened the first private school. At the end, he had only forty men left, and he was severely wounded. Kneeling in the direction of the imperial palace, he bowed his head, and his aide Beppu Shinsuke at once decapitated him. The rebellion had ended.
Chapter 32
On August 31, 1879, Meiji’s third son was born to the gon no tenji Yanagihara Naruko. The emperor and empress at once sent infant clothes and a “protective sword” to the Aoyama Lying-in Chamber, and that night the imperial birth was celebrated at a congratulatory dinner. Nakayama Tadayasu, Meiji’s grandfather, was appointed as the prince’s guardian, but because of his advanced age, Ō gimachi Sanenori was chosen to assist him. On September 6 the emperor bestowed on the prince the name Yoshihito; he would also be known as Harunomiya. 1
The birth of the prince, duly reported to the gods, was celebrated with traditional rituals and a banquet attended by members of the imperial family, cabinet ministers, councillors, palace dignitaries, and the parents of Yanagihara Naruko. No doubt the atmosphere was festive, but surely many of those present were aware that the birth had been exceedingly difficult, and everyone knew that Meiji’s first two sons had died in infancy. Perhaps that is why, breaking with precedent, the ministers did not offer congratulations.
From the day the prince was born, he suffered from a rash that covered his body. The scabs dissolved by September 23, and he was given a hip-bath, but it had an adverse effect. On the following day, spasms, starting in his abdomen, gradually spread to his chest. A mucous cough aggravated the pain. The spasms at last diminished by three in the morning, but the infant had still not recovered entirely, and there were frequent, though milder, recurrences that caused the emperor and empress great anxiety. The palace doctors tried every remedy, including acupuncture, and the aged Tadayasu spent days and nights watching over his great-grandchild. Not until December did the prince’s illness subside, and even then the attacks recurred every nine days. The baby’s mother, Yanagihara Naruko, did not recover her health after the birth, and because the quarters in the Lying-in Chamber were crowded,
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