Life of Baron Ii Naosuke
"Naosuke was the fourteenth son of Baron li Kamon-no-kami Naonaka. He was born on the 29th day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of Bunkwa era (November 30,…
From: 1815 C.E. To: 1860 C.E.
Location: Hakone, Japan
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Agitated Japan: the Life of Baron Ii Kamon-No-Kami Naosuké by Shimada Saburo and Yoshimaro Satoh, 1896.
Chapter I
Parentage and Early Life
Naosuke was the fourteenth son of Baron li Kamon-no-kami Naonaka. He was born on the 29th day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of Bunkwa era (November 30, A.D. 1815). The family of li is a very old one. Its record goes as far back as the latter part of tenth century. Its ancestor Bitchiu Taro rendered meritorious service to the Emperor Ichijo (A. D. 987-1011) in subduing the rebels of Yezo. He was rewarded with the ownership of the place in which he was born, viz., Iidani (Valley of Ii) in the Province of Totomi, where he built his castle in which his descendants continued to live until the time of Naomasa.The family name of Ii was taken from that of the place where the castle stood.
It was Naomasa who first formed an intimate connection with Prince Iyeyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate under which Japan was restored after long civil wars to a universal peace which lasted for nearly three hundred years. In recognition of the faithful service rendered by Naomasa in the great work of bringing the whole land under the rule of the Shogunate, the first Tokugawa Shogun, Iyeyasu, made him Lord of the Castle of Hikone, with greatly increased territory. He also gave him the foremost rank among the Fudai or Retainer Barons. To him and his family belonged the honor of protectorship of the Imperial City of Kioto and for this reason the family of Ii was stationed in Hikone, which is within a short distance of the Imperial city.
The father of the subject of this biography was the thirteenth Lord from Naomasa. According to the usage of the Ii family, all the sons except the eldest who was the heir, were either given as adopted sons to other Barons, or were converted into retainers with a pension which was generally very small. The law of progeniture, the exceptions being in cases of insanity or bodily defect only, was enforced throughout the Empire. Naosuke being the fourteenth in order, there was little or no hope of his accession to the Lordship of the Hikone Clan. His elder brothers, except the eldest, had been adopted into other families and had thus become the lords of their respective clans.
Naosuke still lived in his father's territory. The pecuniary allowance he received from the family was so small that he must needs lead a quiet life, no better than that of an ordinary samurai. He had a small house built for himself, where he spent the whole of his time in military exercises and literary pursuits. All of his friends were of gentle, but not lordly birth. Among these he found Nagano Shuzen, who afterward became one of the two confidential assistants who helped him to steer through the boisterous seas of political factions.
Naosuke was seventeen years of age when he moved into his private residence. Four years afterward, he had to go to Yedo (the present Tokio) where the Baron of Hikone had his regular mansion within the enclosure of Yedo Castle, in a locality known as Sakurada or Cherry-field. According to the law of the Shogunate, the Daimio, besides the castles in their respective provinces, were required to have one or more mansions in Yedo. They were obliged to live every alternate year in one of the two places.
Naosuke's journey to Yedo in this case was not to meet the requirement of this law for he was as yet only a private man. In the following year, he came back to Hikone, where his time was spent in attending the academy of the clan or School of Chinese Learning which had been established by the Lord of the Castle for the military and literary education of the retainers.
By nature, Naosuke was a man of a remarkably strong will and firm decision. He was earnest and serious in anything he attempted. Whatever he did, his whole soul was in it. His qualifications for statesmanship in times of turbulance were already visible in his youth. "A military man," he used to say, "must always be prepared for emergencies," and this principle showed itself in his daily conduct. Once decided, he was as firm as a rock. No amount of difficulties would make him falter or find him irresolute. What he had aimed at he would persevere in till he would win.
His obscure private life, during which he could observe every grade of human life, was a fit preparation for the great career reserved for him. In those days it was a rare opportunity for a Baron's son to study the ways and thoughts of ordinary people, and at the same time to exercise his ability in contending against varied difficulties unknown to persons of higher birth.
Naosuke afterward came and lived in Yedo, where in 1850 he heard of the serious illness of his brother, the Baron. He immediately obtained from the Yedo government a permit to leave for Hikone. As it was against the usage of the times for any Baron to make a journey at so short a notice, his aged retainers at Hikone remonstrated against his departure from the usual custom. "What is usage," said he in one of his letters, "if an opportunity be lost thereby? Before it shall be too late, I am determined to go."
An express message again reached him in Yedo, and he immediately started for his province. Before he reached his destination, however, a report of the Baron's death was received, and he, instead of pursuing his journey, turned back and came to Yedo.
Naosuke's eldest brother who had succeeded to his father's estate, had no male issue, and Naosuke, now twenty-seven years old, was appointed the heir-apparent of the Hikone Baronetcy. This was an occurrence quite unexpected, that the fourteenth son of the late Baron, leading a common quiet life in a corner of a town on lake Biwa should be raised to the heirship of the great Baronetcy. But here it was that a way was opened for the fall play of that rare ability and that strong will which were combined in the future Baron of Hikone. Thus it was that a passage was cut for a guiding spirit which the tendency of the times needed so much. This important event of his life was in 1846.
Chapter II
Naosuke as Baron of Hikone
On the 21st day of the 11th month of the same year, (Christmas day, 1850), Naosuke was publicly authorized by the Shogunate to succeed to the Baronetcy and Baronage of Hikone and to assume the title of Kamon-no-Kami.
Here it is worthwhile to notice that, at a time when so much importance was attached to the traditional usage, Naosuke's sudden departure against the remonstrances of aged followers, and also against common custom, was no slight presage of that strength of will and keenness of foresight which afterward showed themselves in his political and diplomatic career. In an age of dangerous conservatism, these two qualities placed him beyond the clutch of the so-called customs and traditions. He rose superior to these and at the sacrifice of his life, opened for his country a way of progress and development hitherto unattained.
Because of the firm stand he made against his political opponents, Naosuke has been represented as too obstinate and proud to receive advice. On the contrary, a letter which he personally wrote, in response to a representation made by one of his retainers, fully shows that he not only kept the gate wide open to any sincere advisers but also encouraged them to tender suggestions freely. The amount of confidence he placed in his two secretaries also fully indicates his capacity to avail himself of the views of others.
When once he saw his way, he was immoveable as a rock, but until then his mind was quite open to counsels and monitions from whatever source; they might come. Again in instructions which he gave to his clansmen upon his accession to the Baronetcy, there is a clause which especially sets forth the necessity of communicating popular feelings to one's Lord. He encouraged his retainers, irrespective of their class, office, or condition, to be ready to open their mind on anything of political or social importance. "Nothing," he said, "is worse than a barrier against the communication of thought. Let any and all of you be free and outspoken on matters of importance."
His succession to the Baronetcy was also marked by a liberal donation of 15,000 Rio (dollars) to his clansmen. This was no small sum in those days when money was much dearer than at present. This was the surplus amount realized during his brother's administration, and he attributed this gift not to himself, but to his deceased brother. "This gift is from my predecessor," he wrote. "He came to an untimely end before he could carry out his desire to distribute the sum among his retainers."
Naosuke also introduced several reforms in the government of his clan, among which the most conspicuous was the cancellation of an instruction by which the retainers were required to have their family treasures stored up in the public storehouses of the clan. They were dissatisfied, though silent about this and were eager to see a change; when to their joy those treasures were returned to their respective owners. He also made several trips through his territory so as to observe the actual state of affairs.
A case was once brought up before him for decision, which had stood for years unsettled. It was a dispute of a boundary line between two villages. Each party had its own reason to advance, and the case was looked up to as one of the most difficult to decide. The new Baron went to the place in dispute and finding there were natural barriers between the two villages, he gave a clear decision that those lines which nature had drawn should be the boundary from that time and forever. Owing to the complicated nature of the case, the former judges had been more or less influenced by the arguments advanced by one of the parties who would not have the natural barrier recognized as the boundary line. This cause of much trouble and great expense to the contesting parties during a long period was now so clearly removed that it left no seed of doubt or dispute.
Naosuke also encouraged the military and literary education of his clansmen. Those proficient in either of the two branches did not escape his notice and patronage. The learning and experience of Nakagawa Rokuro was highly esteemed by the new Baron. It was this man who showed the impossibility of the further exclusion of Japan from foreign intercourse. It was he who influenced the future Tairo to make a bold departure from the old traditions. It was through his careful investigations of the affairs both at home and abroad that Naosuke was led to make a firm stand against the public opinion of his time.
Yet this advanced view of Nakagawa involved him in shame, and his name, together with that of his master and of the Baron's two secretaries, was classed by the Exclusion Party with the enemies of Japan's national interests. These four men were looked down upon as betrayers of the long-sustained dignity and sacredness of the Land of the Rising Sun.
When in 1853 the question of foreign intercourse was referred to the Barons of the land, most of them were in favor of exclusion, while some of them expressed the inadvisability of seclusion at the expense of peace. But none of them proposed a scheme whereby the interest of the nation could be upheld. Naosuke's answer to this query of the Shogunate distinctly stated among other things the tendency of the times which made it difficult to adhere to the traditions of the land; and he also proposed to rescind the law issued early in the seventeenth century, prohibiting the building of large vessels suitable for foreign trade.
He again advised the Shogunate to build navies for the protection of the coasts. "Thus prepared," he writes, "the country will be free from the menaces and threatenings of foreign powers, and will be able to uphold the national principle and polity at any time." In preparing this representation to the Yedo government, the learned Nakagawa was his sole supporter among the retainers of Hikone. When Naosuke opened a conference with his followers before preparing his answer to the Shogunate, it was found that all of them except Nakagawa were for exclusion. In opposition to the united opinion of his numerous followers, Naosuke saw truth in what Nakagawa said, and with his help he prepared the document to be sent to Yedo. This paper offers important proof of his advanced views even before he became Tairo.
Personally, Naosuke shared with men of his time the feeling of hatred toward foreigners. That which constitutes the main point of difference between him and his contemporaries lies in the fact that he kept his personal feelings entirely separate from the great problem of national interest. It is not only the characteristic of the politicians of Japan at that time, but of those in all ages and countries also, that they seldom draw a distinct line of separation between personal feelings and national interest. He who can do so, certainly deserves the name of a great statesman.
The adoption of Nakagawa's view against the so-called majority, goes to prove both the strong will of Naosuke, and his clear insight into the future of his country. It also proves his bravery and the profound interest he felt for his country, for it is no easy matter in any age to go against the majority. It is only clear foresight, coupled with strong disinterested determination that enables one to act in defiance of public opinion. It is only in weaker and more selfish hands that absolute power is open to abuses.
Let it be bestowed upon a man of Naosuke's type and character, and it will not only be free from abases, but will help to open a new and decidedly profitable career, otherwise closed. However strongly one may denounce absolute power, it has often proved to be a benefit to a nation, as in the case of Ii Naosuke, where great abilities and a disinterested mind were united with clear insight into the future of the whole nation. Without him the so-called majority might have involved Japan in a policy not simply detrimental, but also dangerous to the interest and dignity of the whole empire.
Saburo, Shimada and Yoshimaro Satoh. Agitated Japan: the Life of Baron Ii Kamon-No-Kami Naosuké. D. Appleton, 1896.
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