Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852’1912 Read Online Free PDF

percent announced by the emperor was presumably a compromise.
    On January 4 the emperor rode horseback. This normally would need no comment, but from this day on, riding became a mania with him. He rode almost every day from two in the afternoon until sundown. He continued his intense riding practice not only in T ō ky ō but after he went to Ky ō to later that month.
    The emperor left T ō ky ō for Ky ō to on January 24. The announced reason for the journey was the emperor’s desire to worship at the tomb of Emperor Jimmu at Mount Unebi and of Emperor K ō mei at the Senny ū -ji in Ky ō to on the tenth anniversary of K ō mei’s death. He was also planning to visit tombs of other emperors in the region of Ky ō to and Nara, 17 traveling to and from K ō be by sea. The emperor, no doubt remembering the rough voyage on his return from Hokkaid ō , was unenthusiastic about making two sea voyages and attempted to persuade his advisers to allow him at least to return by land. But they informed him that he would be urgently needed back in T ō ky ō and begged him to return by sea because it was quicker than land travel. 18 The emperor eventually yielded, but (as we can tell from the poems composed at this time) he was still apprehensive about the rough seas. The first tanka was composed on January 21, the day before the scheduled sailing, although stormy winds in fact caused a postponement:
     
hageshiku mo
I can hear the roar
fukikuru kaze no
Of the wind blowing this way
oto su nari
With violent force;
ao unabara ni
How the waves will be rising
nami ya tatsuran
In the blue expanse of sea.
     
    The second tanka seems to have been composed aboard ship:
     
kin ō ky ō
In the fierceness of
umi fuku kaze no
The wind blowing over the sea
hageshisa ni
Yesterday and today
kogiiden fune mo
Ships that were being rowed away
shibashi todemetsu
Have had to be stopped a while. 19
     
    On the morning of January 24, the emperor and his suite traveled by train to Yokohama, where he boarded the Takao maru . The ship, escorted by two warships (the Kasuga and the Seiki ), sailed the same morning. That day he composed the following tanka :
     
nami kaze no
Not dismayed even
tatsu mo itowazu
By the rising wind and waves,
unabara ni
How the ship races
keburi wo tatete
Over the plains of the sea
hashiru fune kana
Raising a column of smoke. 20
     
    The poem confirms the emperor’s confidence in the ship, regardless of the weather, but the sea was rougher than he had expected. The waves rose, whipped by a fierce northeasterly wind and by rain, and the ship rocked so badly it was decided to anchor at Toba until the storm abated. The emperor described his feeling in these words:
     
fuku kaze ni
Having been battered
arasoitateru
By the rough waves mustered up
aranami ni
By the blowing winds.
kokoro narazu mo
We have had to row the ship back
kogikaeshikeri
Quite against our own wishes. 21
     
    The storm continued for several days. Not until January 27 were the ships able to resume the voyage, reaching K ō be the next day. The emperor landed and, after a brief rest at the post office, went by horseback through the city to the railway station, acclaimed by crowds that lined the streets. He traveled by train from K ō be to Ky ō to, where he was again greeted by crowds as he proceeded from Higashi Hongan-ji (where he briefly rested) to the Gosho. He was no doubt moved to return to the scenes of his childhood, but the only surviving expression of his pleasure is found in this tanka :
     
suminareshi
How delightful to think
hana no miyako no
That this year I shall see
hatsuyuki wo
The first fall of snow
kotoshi wa min to
In the flowery capital
omou tanoshisa
Where I lived so many years. 22
     
    Arriving at the palace, he was welcomed by the empress and the empress dowager. Later that day he granted an audience to members of the imperial family. On January 29 the emperor received members of the nobility in his study. He distributed gifts to various