Bloody Sunrise

by Christopher Nicole

  Saigo gave a brief smile. ‘We are dealing with a god, are we not, Barrett san? He would have you in his service, also.’ Nicholas’s heart gave a great leap. If he was to remain an exile, was that not what he really wanted, to serve a man who looked only forward, instead of a family which looked only to the past? And, serving the Emperor, could he not play his part in building the new Japanese fleet. And even, perhaps, commanding it? Saigo studied his expression. ‘Of course you are pleased. And you have my permission to serve the Emperor, if that is what you really wish.’

  ‘You speak as if by doing so I will no longer be serving the Satsuma. Will I not be serving all Japan?’

  ‘The Emperor, for all his genius, is but a boy, as you have just reminded me,’ Saigo said. ‘No boy can foresee everything at once. He wishes to drive out the barbarians; this is my sole reason for living. And I agree with him when he says that to do this we must have modern weapons, and instruction in how to use them. And I accept that purchasing weapons will require money, and to create this wealth it may be necessary to exalt the merchant, and perhaps even consult him in certain matters. But His Majesty’s speech contained a suggestion that he wishes to raise all of his people to the same level, including even the eta and the honin. This is unthinkable. As for supposing that the samurai will accept equality with any of the lower classes, even the merchants, that is the most unthinkable thing of all. The samurai are the backbone of Japan. Without them, no emperor can hope to exist. And no samurai could ever permit such a state of affairs to arise.’

  ‘You realise, Saigo san, that some people might say you have just uttered treason?’

  Saigo gazed at him. ‘Will you repeat my words?’

  ‘No. But you must remember that I am about to serve the Emperor.’

  ‘But you will also always remember that your roots in Japan lie in Kagoshima.’ Saigo held out his hand.

  BOOK THE SECOND

  THE RISING SUN

  ‘Alone the sun arises, and alone Spring the great streams.’

  In Utrumque Paratus

  Matthew Arnold

  Chapter Seven – The Emperor

  ‘I dreamed that perhaps my lord would not return.’ Sumiko knelt before Nicholas and gazed at him in that unblinking fashion which was so disconcerting.

  ‘I told you that I would.’ He embraced her. ‘But now I must go again.’ Her mouth made a huge O of disappointment, and he smiled. ‘Only this time you will come with me, and the children, and Kisuda and such of our servants as we wish.’

  ‘Go where, my lord?’ Her eyes were suddenly watchful.

  ‘To Tokyo. I am to serve the Emperor.’

  ‘But you serve Lord Shimadzu,’ she protested.

  ‘He has given me his permission. To serve the Emperor must be the dream of every samurai.’

  ‘But how can I leave Bungo? It is my home. It is the home of my family.’

  ‘Sumiko, your home is where your husband is. You will have a fine house in Tokyo, and I shall be paid more than here. We will be rich. You will love Tokyo.’

  Sumiko bowed her head.

  *

  ‘Those tactics you employed outside the city, Barrett,’ Mutsuhito said. ‘I have been thinking about them a great deal, and frankly, I do not see how any army could have withstood them. How do your barbarian armies not destroy each other, totally?’

  ‘Because no barbarian army would confront its enemy in parallel lines, at a distance of no more than half a mile, Your Majesty. They used to, in the days when they were armed only with muskets, which could fetch no more than half that distance. Nowadays, battles must be fought from cover, and by manoeuvering. Despite this, however, casualties in a modern battle are often greater than ever in the past. Certainly amongst the victors.’

  Mutsuhito nodded, thoughtfully. ‘In a Japanese battle, nearly all the dead are killed in the pursuit, after one side has broken and fled. But if both sides have rifles, and they take cover and fire away at each other, how does one side ever win?’

  ‘It is not quite as simple as that, Your Majesty. The ultimate victory still rests with the side which finally charges home and drives the other army from its position, or puts it to flight. This is where the artillery and the manoeuvering comes in. The artillery is used to blast great holes in the opponents’ ranks, and thereby create a weak spot; flanking marches get round behind him, or at least threaten to do so, and thereby force him to withdraw from his prepared position. The concept of a battle being fought in the course of a few hours during a single day is gone forever. Battles now continue over several days at a time, each general manoeuvering to place his enemy at a disadvantage.’

  ‘It sounds more a game of go than a battle,’ grumbled General Oyama.

  ‘Except that it is being played with the lives of men,’ Nicholas reminded him. ‘And sometimes, even of countries.’

  ‘These Frenchmen I am employing to train my armies, they will know of such things?’ Mutsuhito asked.

  ‘The French have long been the most famous soldiers in Europe, Your Majesty. Do you know what they call your national hero Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Europe? The Japanese Napoleon.’

  ‘That is good. But for an island empire like Japan, a navy is even more important.’ Mutsuhito smiled as he watched Nicholas’s expression. ‘I see that you agree with me. Admiral Ito, please.’

  The newly created admiral, Ito Shunsake, short and inclined to plumpness as well as baldness, laid his papers on the table. ‘We have, as instructed, Your Majesty, taken over from the Shōgunate the Adzuma which we have renamed Kotetsu, which of course means, iron clad. She was built in France as a commerce raider for the Confederate States Navy, under the name CSS Stonewall, but the war ended while she was crossing the Atlantic, and so the Federal Government put her up for sale. She displaces nearly fourteen hundred tons, has twin propeller shafts, a speed of nine knots, and is armed with a three-hundred pounder Armstrong smooth-bore gun mounted in a bow casemate, and two seventy-pounder Armstrong rifled cannon mounted amidships. She has been designated the flagship of the Imperial fleet.’

  Mutsuhito looked at Nicholas, who observed, ‘She could be improved, Your Majesty, by replacing the forward gun also with a rifled cannon.’

  ‘The largest we can obtain is a nine-inch,’ Ito objected. ‘The shot weighs slightly more than three hundred pounds. Where is the advantage?’

  ‘The advantage lies in the rifling, honourable Admiral,’ Nicholas explained. ‘Which will give increased range, increased accuracy, and greater penetration.’

  ‘Then this is what we shall do,’ Mutsuhito agreed. ‘Continue, Admiral Ito.’

  ‘There is another commerce raider, built in Scotland, which Prince Hizen has bought. She was launched in 1864, but has not yet been completed. However, it is understood that she will displace more than fourteen hundred tons. She has a single-shaft, but will also be capable of nine knots, and will be armed with two six-point-five-inch and ten five-point-five-inch guns. She is what is called an armoured corvette, and is a powerful vessel.’

  ‘Which belongs to the Prince of Hizen.’

  ‘The Prince has intimated that he will make the vessel available for service with the Imperial Fleet. Then there is the screw frigate Fujiyama, bought by the Shōgun from the United States two years ago. She displaces a thousand tons, and has a single-shaft reciprocating engine, but is capable of thirteen knots. She is armed with a six-point-three-inch muzzle-loading cannon, two five-point-nine-inch, and ten smaller guns. She is made of wood. Next we have the Kasuga paddle frigate, which has been acquired by the Lord of Satsuma. She also is a wooden vessel.’

  Mutsuhito glanced at Nicholas. ‘This is the ship you personally recommended.’

  ‘It was the first that became available, Your Majesty, and Lord Shimadzu sorely wanted a warship.’

  ‘As did you, no doubt,’ Mutsuhito observed. ‘Continue.’

  ‘There is building, in Germany, commissioned by the Shōgun, a wooden-hulled screw corvette to be named Nisshin.
She will be completed next year. She will displace fifteen hundred tons, and have a single-shaft reciprocating engine which will give her eleven knots. She will be armed with an Armstrong seven-inch muzzle-loader, and six thirty-pounders. Then there are some wooden gunboats; two of these belong to the Cho-Shu clan but have been loaned to the Imperial Navy.’

  ‘That is hardly a fleet with which to oppose the barbarians,’ Mutsuhito observed. ‘Would you agree, Barrett?’

  ‘It will take many years for us to achieve that, Your Majesty.’

  ‘Still, we must make a start. Tell me what you think we need.’

  Nicholas had to pick his way between possibility and desire. ‘A battle squadron, Your Majesty. Four iron-clad battleships, displacing around six thousand tons, and armed with ten rifled heavy guns, at least nine-inch, and eight cruisers, again iron-clad, and again armed with rifled cannon.’

  ‘That will be very expensive,’ Ito said.

  ‘Nevertheless, we must see what can be done,’ Mutsuhito said. ‘Will the Royal Navy sell us such ships?’

  ‘No, Your Majesty,’ Nicholas said. ‘But there is no reason why we should not place orders with British shipyards to have them built. This will enable us to modify the designs, where necessary, to incorporate the latest improvements in machinery, guns, and armour.’

  ‘Will you be able to make these modifications?’

  ‘As regards the guns, yes, Your Majesty. For the rest, it would be best to utilise the experience of the British officers you are planning to employ. They will have more up-to-date knowledge than I.’

  ‘But will they serve me as whole-heartedly and loyally as yourself?’ Mutsuhito said, and then smiled. ‘Now tell me, Barrett, are you settled in Tokyo? Is your wife happy with your new home?’

  ‘I am sure she will be, Your Majesty,’ Nicholas said. ‘Given time.’

  *

  How much time? he wondered. All Japan was changing, rapidly, but Tokyo was changing more rapidly than anywhere else. One saw as many silk hats and frock coats on the streets as kimonos, at least amongst the men. The women were far more conservative, but even amongst them, western-style dresses, complete with bustles, were creeping in. This trend was encouraged by the Empress, to whom Mutsuhito was married on 9 February 1869, and who was no doubt instructed by her husband to wear western clothes. But the Empress herself was an object of whispered criticism. Her name was Ichijo Haruko, Haruko meaning Child of Spring, and quite apart from coming from a family which, if noble enough, was not of princely derivation, she was two years older than her husband. This was almost unheard of.

  Certainly Sumiko disapproved of her. But then, Sumiko disapproved of all Tokyo, steadfastly refused to discard her kimono for a gown. Indeed, she seldom went out, busying herself with her duties as manager of Nicholas’s household and mother, which meant educator, of his two children. Nicholas was disappointed in her attitude, but maintained a policy of patience, in the belief that she would eventually come round. Although he could see a crisis looming as Takamori grew up. In 1875 the boy was ten years old, and had already begun his induction as a samurai. Sumiko was all in favour of that, but it was Nicholas’s intention to send his son, as soon as he was old enough, for naval training in England – Togo Heihachiro had been one of the first to put his name down for this service and be accepted, and had departed in great hopes. Nicholas wasn’t sure how Sumiko was going to react to her son being sent away.

  He was distressed by his sense of loneliness. This would have happened anyway, after Tom’s tragedy. But he had had Japanese friends, only now they were far apart. Togo was in England, following a career which should have been his, and Saigo was down in Kagoshima; the general seldom came to Tokyo. And now there was this steady awareness that he and Sumiko were growing apart. Even their sex entirely lacked the excited awareness of their early days, at least partly because she was so clearly performing a duty rather than a pleasure. And because he supported the Emperor in everything he was trying to achieve, and felt obliged to continue doing so both by personal conviction and his desire for advancement, that gulf could only be narrowed were Sumiko to change her attitude.

  Domestic disappointments apart, he had nothing to complain about. In the seven years since Mutsuhito had come to power, a great deal had been achieved. On the legal front there was still much to do, and even more to have the new laws understood and accepted by all the people in the Empire. The creation of an army had made a false start. Within a year of the French officers arriving to take over its training, France, reputedly the foremost military power in the world, had been resoundingly defeated by Prussia. Whereupon Mutsuhito, with his invariable ruthless pragmatism, had promptly dismissed his French instructors and employed Prussians instead. This had meant an entirely new drill system, and an entirely new strategical and tactical concept. Above all, it had brought to Japan the idea of the military state, dominated by the General Staff of the Army. Nicholas, having all an Englishman’s innate distrust of an overpowerful army, was not at all sure this was a good thing, but as long as the country lay in the iron grip of its youthful emperor, there seemed little risk of the Army ever getting out of hand.

  While for the Navy, every direction pointed upwards and outwards. The officers who duly arrived from Britain to teach the Japanese the art of naval warfare were somewhat taken aback to find that they were required to work with, and indeed be shown the ropes by, the erstwhile Lieutenant Barrett. He was still regarded in the Royal Navy as a renegade traitor, but now possessed the rank of captain in the embryo Imperial navy. One or two, indeed, refused to work with him, and had to be sent home. But enough remained to begin the metamorphosis of a people brought up on inshore fishing into offshore seafarers.

  The prospect of a real Imperial Navy was coming closer. On the stocks in England by the end of 1875 was a central battery iron-clad, which would be called Fuso. Designed by the Englishman Sir Edward Reed, she was based on the British iron-clad Iron Duke, and would displace more than three thousand seven hundred tons, and be powered by a twin-shaft horizontal compound engine capable of nearly four thousand induced horse power, which would enable her to steam at thirteen knots, or so it was claimed. With four to nine-inch armour on her main belt, seven inches on her bulkheads, and eight round her batteries, she could take a pounding. But Nicholas was most interested in her guns. To his delight these were to be four nine-point-four-inch mounted in a central battery. They were to be Krupps, and he would have preferred Armstrongs, but he recognised this as mere chauvinism. There were also to be two six-point-seven-inch, and six three-inch. With a complement of two hundred and fifty men, she would be Japan’s first ocean-going man-of-war capable of fighting an action with a comparable European vessel. Of course she alone was a long way from the battle squadron of which Nicholas dreamed, but she was a nucleus, and also under construction in England were two armoured corvettes to lend her support.

  Fuso would not be completed for another three years, and as yet there had been no decision as to who would captain her, but Nicholas could not suppress a private dream. Hitherto, as the emperor’s tame naval expert, he had been refused a sea-going post. But he had served his purpose in that direction, and in 1878 he would be thirty-nine, and in every way suitable to take on such a responsibility.

  *

  It was only a few days after he had learned that the warship had actually been laid down that Nicholas returned to his home from the office, where he and Ito spent most of their time pouring over plans, to find Sumiko in a thoroughly bad humour.

  ‘We are invited to a ball,’ she told him. ‘No, we are commanded, by His Majesty.’

  ‘That should be interesting. I didn’t know they had balls, in Japan.’

  ‘They do not,’ Sumiko said. ‘It is another of the Emperor’s reforms.’

  ‘And sounds an excellent one. You will enjoy a ball.’

  Sumiko handed him the printed invitation; to leave no one in any doubt what was involved, it was illustrated, with line drawings of me
n and women, apparently waltzing together, and wearing European tail suits and long dresses, with extreme decolletages. ‘It is obscene,’ she commented. ‘Are all of those people who are touching each other so intimately married?’

  ‘I doubt it. But it really is, perfectly proper.’

  ‘And those clothes!’

  ‘They are called ball gowns. We will have to have one made for you.’

  Sumiko’s head came up. ‘I could never so expose myself.’

  ‘Well, the gown needn’t be as deep cut as those.’

  ‘What of my neck and shoulders?’

  Nicholas scratched his head. ‘I suppose it is possible to wear a high-necked and shouldered gown, but very unusual.’

  ‘Do you suppose the Empress will so expose herself?’

  ‘I am certain of it.’

  ‘I shall not go,’ Sumiko announced. ‘Such a thing is an insult to every decent woman in Japan. What is His Majesty trying to do, turn us all into geisha?’

  ‘His Majesty is trying to turn Japan into a modern country,’ Nicholas said patiently. ‘And you have to go. As you have just said, this is less an invitation than a command.’

  ‘I shall not go,’ Sumiko repeated.

  *

  Nicholas supposed she would change her mind, but she did not. So he went alone, wearing a new dress uniform he had made for the occasion, his mind teeming with acceptable excuses. He was angry, because if the Emperor was offended, the career which was appearing so glitteringly before him could be irreparably damaged, and he could not help but feel that Sumiko’s conservatism was overdone. But he could not drag her there by force, and although he knew most Japanese husbands would have beaten her into submission, that kind of thing simply wasn’t him.