1843: The end of an era
State opening and Emperor's speech
The opening of the 1843 Diet was a sombre occasion: not only was Japan embroiled in two wars and contemplating a third, but Emperor Kashiwabara was unable to attend due to what would prove to be his final illness. Worryingly for the Cabinet the Crown Prince was known to be less than sympathetic to the Court Party having conceived a strong personal dislike of the prime minister. While relations between Ito and Kashiwabara had never been warm, the two understood and respected one another well enough. The hostility of the Emperor's son would threaten not only Ito's career, but call into question the whole purpose of the Court Party: if it could not be said to represent the views of the throne, what was it for?
Despite the ongoing costs of war the Finance Minister announced that the tariff would be reduced to 75% in an effort to address the widespread evasion of the duty and – happily – because even so it was bringing in more than had been predicted. With government coffers showing a surplus of almost £700,000 it was felt that some concessions should be made to those manufacturers who relied on imports.
Emperor Kashiwabara died on 21 May and was buried on 3 July. In the intervening period Japan was in mourning. The normal business of the Diet was suspended, but a special session was held on 5 June at which prime minister Ito delivered the eulogy and read out messages of condolences, including a particularly heartfelt tribute from Baron Gros, the French ambassador.
The prime minister also informed the Diet that Kashiwabara's last words were "I have fulfilled my duty to the Empire and my father to the best of my abilities and I devoutly hope that no man should think ill of me for that". Only later did the rumour that the Emperor had actually said "don't let him ruin it" gain currency. According to various interpretations the "him" in question was the Emperor's doctor, his cook or the prime minister; more popular still was the belief that Kashiwabara had referred to his son and successor.
On ascending the throne Sakuramachi III took the regnal name Kōmei - justice - and vowed to rule for the benefit of all Japanese. This has been interpreted as a slight against the Diet, which stood for the interests of the privileged members of society. Sakuramachi looked back to a time when the Emperor had held untrammelled power and could balance the interests of all groups rather than favouring one. Throughout his reign he would lend his support to the restorationists - now calling themselves loyalists - and his accession was yet another setback for the Court's plans to consolidate their position.
However, while Sakuramachi was formally able to dismiss Ito the Emperor also appreciated that the Court commanded a great deal of respect in the Diet. For now the prime minister's position was safe, but Kashiwabara's death meant that should the government show any sign of weakness it risked being replaced by a party more in keeping with the Emperor's ideals.
Unfinished business
While Kashiwabara battled his final sickness, other conflicts were coming to a happier end. At the beginning of the year the Qin army was held at bay in the south and appeared unwilling to advance even against numerically inferior Japanese forces. Seeing Qin's reluctance to come to battle the Cabinet decided to press its advantage and demanded the return of Rangoon to Burma.
A war that had proved more difficult for Japan than had been anticipated now promised to end as well as could have been hoped. Although Qin would continue to hold out for a further three months, so long as their remaining forces proved unwilling to attack the end was not in doubt.
On 20 March the negotiations were concluded and Qin was forced to submit to Japan's terms. Rangoon was handed back to Burma, restoring that state's access to the sea and strengthening the position of its new king, Handabayin; almost as an afterthought Tibet was freed from its vassalage.
That left one conflict remaining, but truth be told the surrender of Modena's northern armies at the end of 1842 had destroyed its ability to fight back. Japanese and Milanese forces had overrun the Po valley and an expedition had been dispatched to Sicily, left defenceless by the naval blockade.
Only the unwillingness of the Holy Roman Emperor to admit he was beaten prolonged Modena's suffering, but eventually even Ennio Gonzaga was forced to concede defeat. The Treaty of Parma was signed on 1 May, recognising Milanese possession of Genoa and its hinterland and reducing Modena's northern holdings to an enclave around the capital. Japan for its part asked nothing, wishing only to be given a free hand in Europe. To the north a much greater struggle was just beginning.
Saving Magdeburg
Even as the ink was still drying on the peace accord with Qin and Japanese troops were busy occupying Modena the Cabinet was preparing to embark on Japan's biggest war in a generation. Preliminary negotiations with Magdeburg had produced a joint accord which called for the immediate cessation of all hostilities in Germany. Since the Austro-Magdeburg war was the only conflict affected it was obvious to all that the initiative was aimed at thwarting the Archduke's ambitions, but it provided a diplomatic fig leaf for what was to follow.
On 27 March, following Austria's failure to respond to a Japanese ultimatum the Empire declared war. The move caught Vienna off guard and off balance: its armies were deployed to the north against Magdeburg leaving nothing in the south to defend against the Army of Italy's advance on Trent. Seeing little other option, Ferdinand ordered the raising of militia regiments, swelling his army to only two brigades shy of the Empire's 64.
Even as its troops were losing ground to Austria, Magdeburg was increasingly being recognised as the second pole of German politics, eclipsing a Bavaria whose quiescence in the present conflict had done it no favours.
An unwelcome result of this newfound status was that Magdeburg broke off negotiations with Japan, claiming that the Empire was treating them as clients rather than equals. Despite the ingratitude, Japan had got the chance it wanted to intervene against Austria. However, Magdeburg's intransigence meant that the Empire's efforts would focus on defeating the enemy rather than supporting its nominal ally.
Japan's first move in the war was the occupation of Trent. Situated on the Italian side of the Alps the province offered easier access to Imperial troops than it did to its Austrian rulers. General Oyama, the victor of Modena, was able to play to his strengths as a master of the defence and using a force of only 6,000 lured 24,000 Austrian militiamen into an ambush.
The poor training and morale of the militia brigades contrasted sharply with Oyama's veterans, who held out against Austrian forces outnumbering them by more than 10,000 until the trap could be sprung. When it was, 42,000 Japanese faced the already demoralised enemy army, which quickly surrendered.
The sweetness of triumph was somewhat lessened by the injuries sustained by General Oyama, whose horse was struck by shrapnel resulting in its rider being thrown into a ditch. The general suffered concussion and developed a severe case of pneumonia. Sent to Florence to convalesce, Oyama never again held a field command, but remained the animating genius behind Japan's Austrian campaign.
Navally the blockade of Austria was a simple affair. With few ports to cover the Japanese fleet could be concentrated to ensure that it could not be defeated in detail. While the European First Fleet blockaded the northern Adriatic, the Second Fleet was dispatched to the Baltic.
Neither Austria nor Magdeburg were natural naval powers and at the beginning of the war both had taken to using armed merchant vessels to contest control of the northern sea. Lacking in both ships and experience a decisive battle had eluded the combatants until the arrival of the Japanese navy tipped the balance decisively. Japanese ships of the line displayed their superior firepower and seamanship in clearing the enemy from the Kattegat and sealing the Baltic.
As the year ended Japanese troops had crossed the Alps and forced Austria to divert an army south to meet the incursion. Following a plan laid down by Field Marshal Oyama, General Okada was able to pin nine brigades of Austrian regulars in Innsbruck and cut their supply lines. Unusually mild weather had meant that the Brenner Pass had remained open until late in the year, and Japanese gold had ensured that there were a steady stream of suppliers ready to brave the harsh conditions to bring food and ammunition over the mountains from Italy.
As the year drew to a close, the battle of Innsbruck still raged, but the end no longer seemed in doubt, if it ever were. Some 27,000 Austrians had been cut off and faced starvation or surrender.
By 1844 Japan had made limited but steady gains in the south, but Austria had made much quicker progress against Magdeburg, whose army was down to fewer than 20,000 men even on paper. Without Japan's intervention it was impossible that Magdeburg would have survived, and even with it matters remained precarious.
Seeing victory so close at hand, Archduke Ferdinand refused all suggestions that he should come to terms with Japan. For its part the Empire began to consider widening the war to strike at Austrian possessions in Africa and the Great Eastlands.
Domestic affairs
For the vast majority of Imperial citizens and subjects 1843 was dominated by the death of Kashiwabara and the coronation of the new Emperor. The wars were distant, taxes were light and - for the Japanese at least - there was little to complain about. In February the Interior Minister was called on to intervene in a scandal in Osaka in which the local governor - a prominent supporter of the Court - was exposed as having carried on an affair with the wife of a local industrialist, who took his revenge by taking the story to the newspapers.
Despite privately agreeing with the governor that such matters were no business for reputable journalists the Interior Minister felt there were no grounds on which the story could be prevented from being published. The censorship laws on the books governed state security and lese-majesty, neither of which seemed to apply to the present case. Local wags remarked that the governor would have had more luck had he been sleeping with the wife of the Emperor, although they took care not to do so in front of the police.
In October the Foreign Ministry was forced to deal with a minor crisis concerning negotiations over the repatriation of shipwrecked Japanese seamen. The issue had become particularly pressing given Japanese activities in the Baltic, but so far the Tsar and his ministers had used every trick in the book to frustrate a settlement.
Although some of the more hot-headed in the Diet viewed such provocation as a pretext for war, the truth was that Japan could ill-afford another conflict when it already had its hands full with Austria. Instead, the Japanese ambassador was instructed to break off talks in a tactful manner: a task he accomplished so adroitly that relations between the Empire and Russia thawed somewhat. Despite the lack of a formal treaty, Russia allowed Japanese sailors to leave its territory for Gotland, from where they were able to rejoin the fleet.
The repercussions of the Court's statement of principles continued to make themselves felt in 1843. The government encouraged the development of a rational paternalism, meaning that decisions would be made on people's behalf on the basis of available evidence rather than preconceptions.
However, in the hands of more mischievous philosophers, this empiricism was fashioned into an attack on religion, which was very much neither the Court's intent, nor to its liking.
End of year
The close of the year saw the Empire still embroiled in war, as it had been since 1842. Austria had been badly wounded, but still commanded a sizeable army, although the amount of troops it had to hand in Europe itself was open to question. Domestically, the new Emperor was no friend of the Court Party, and liberal sentiment continued to gain ground. The government's majority in the Diet looked less certain than ever, and it could no longer rely on Imperial goodwill to rally support.
State opening and Emperor's speech
The opening of the 1843 Diet was a sombre occasion: not only was Japan embroiled in two wars and contemplating a third, but Emperor Kashiwabara was unable to attend due to what would prove to be his final illness. Worryingly for the Cabinet the Crown Prince was known to be less than sympathetic to the Court Party having conceived a strong personal dislike of the prime minister. While relations between Ito and Kashiwabara had never been warm, the two understood and respected one another well enough. The hostility of the Emperor's son would threaten not only Ito's career, but call into question the whole purpose of the Court Party: if it could not be said to represent the views of the throne, what was it for?
Despite the ongoing costs of war the Finance Minister announced that the tariff would be reduced to 75% in an effort to address the widespread evasion of the duty and – happily – because even so it was bringing in more than had been predicted. With government coffers showing a surplus of almost £700,000 it was felt that some concessions should be made to those manufacturers who relied on imports.
Emperor Kashiwabara died on 21 May and was buried on 3 July. In the intervening period Japan was in mourning. The normal business of the Diet was suspended, but a special session was held on 5 June at which prime minister Ito delivered the eulogy and read out messages of condolences, including a particularly heartfelt tribute from Baron Gros, the French ambassador.
The prime minister also informed the Diet that Kashiwabara's last words were "I have fulfilled my duty to the Empire and my father to the best of my abilities and I devoutly hope that no man should think ill of me for that". Only later did the rumour that the Emperor had actually said "don't let him ruin it" gain currency. According to various interpretations the "him" in question was the Emperor's doctor, his cook or the prime minister; more popular still was the belief that Kashiwabara had referred to his son and successor.
On ascending the throne Sakuramachi III took the regnal name Kōmei - justice - and vowed to rule for the benefit of all Japanese. This has been interpreted as a slight against the Diet, which stood for the interests of the privileged members of society. Sakuramachi looked back to a time when the Emperor had held untrammelled power and could balance the interests of all groups rather than favouring one. Throughout his reign he would lend his support to the restorationists - now calling themselves loyalists - and his accession was yet another setback for the Court's plans to consolidate their position.
However, while Sakuramachi was formally able to dismiss Ito the Emperor also appreciated that the Court commanded a great deal of respect in the Diet. For now the prime minister's position was safe, but Kashiwabara's death meant that should the government show any sign of weakness it risked being replaced by a party more in keeping with the Emperor's ideals.
Unfinished business
While Kashiwabara battled his final sickness, other conflicts were coming to a happier end. At the beginning of the year the Qin army was held at bay in the south and appeared unwilling to advance even against numerically inferior Japanese forces. Seeing Qin's reluctance to come to battle the Cabinet decided to press its advantage and demanded the return of Rangoon to Burma.
A war that had proved more difficult for Japan than had been anticipated now promised to end as well as could have been hoped. Although Qin would continue to hold out for a further three months, so long as their remaining forces proved unwilling to attack the end was not in doubt.
On 20 March the negotiations were concluded and Qin was forced to submit to Japan's terms. Rangoon was handed back to Burma, restoring that state's access to the sea and strengthening the position of its new king, Handabayin; almost as an afterthought Tibet was freed from its vassalage.
That left one conflict remaining, but truth be told the surrender of Modena's northern armies at the end of 1842 had destroyed its ability to fight back. Japanese and Milanese forces had overrun the Po valley and an expedition had been dispatched to Sicily, left defenceless by the naval blockade.
Only the unwillingness of the Holy Roman Emperor to admit he was beaten prolonged Modena's suffering, but eventually even Ennio Gonzaga was forced to concede defeat. The Treaty of Parma was signed on 1 May, recognising Milanese possession of Genoa and its hinterland and reducing Modena's northern holdings to an enclave around the capital. Japan for its part asked nothing, wishing only to be given a free hand in Europe. To the north a much greater struggle was just beginning.
Saving Magdeburg
Even as the ink was still drying on the peace accord with Qin and Japanese troops were busy occupying Modena the Cabinet was preparing to embark on Japan's biggest war in a generation. Preliminary negotiations with Magdeburg had produced a joint accord which called for the immediate cessation of all hostilities in Germany. Since the Austro-Magdeburg war was the only conflict affected it was obvious to all that the initiative was aimed at thwarting the Archduke's ambitions, but it provided a diplomatic fig leaf for what was to follow.
On 27 March, following Austria's failure to respond to a Japanese ultimatum the Empire declared war. The move caught Vienna off guard and off balance: its armies were deployed to the north against Magdeburg leaving nothing in the south to defend against the Army of Italy's advance on Trent. Seeing little other option, Ferdinand ordered the raising of militia regiments, swelling his army to only two brigades shy of the Empire's 64.
Even as its troops were losing ground to Austria, Magdeburg was increasingly being recognised as the second pole of German politics, eclipsing a Bavaria whose quiescence in the present conflict had done it no favours.
An unwelcome result of this newfound status was that Magdeburg broke off negotiations with Japan, claiming that the Empire was treating them as clients rather than equals. Despite the ingratitude, Japan had got the chance it wanted to intervene against Austria. However, Magdeburg's intransigence meant that the Empire's efforts would focus on defeating the enemy rather than supporting its nominal ally.
Japan's first move in the war was the occupation of Trent. Situated on the Italian side of the Alps the province offered easier access to Imperial troops than it did to its Austrian rulers. General Oyama, the victor of Modena, was able to play to his strengths as a master of the defence and using a force of only 6,000 lured 24,000 Austrian militiamen into an ambush.
The poor training and morale of the militia brigades contrasted sharply with Oyama's veterans, who held out against Austrian forces outnumbering them by more than 10,000 until the trap could be sprung. When it was, 42,000 Japanese faced the already demoralised enemy army, which quickly surrendered.
The sweetness of triumph was somewhat lessened by the injuries sustained by General Oyama, whose horse was struck by shrapnel resulting in its rider being thrown into a ditch. The general suffered concussion and developed a severe case of pneumonia. Sent to Florence to convalesce, Oyama never again held a field command, but remained the animating genius behind Japan's Austrian campaign.
Navally the blockade of Austria was a simple affair. With few ports to cover the Japanese fleet could be concentrated to ensure that it could not be defeated in detail. While the European First Fleet blockaded the northern Adriatic, the Second Fleet was dispatched to the Baltic.
Neither Austria nor Magdeburg were natural naval powers and at the beginning of the war both had taken to using armed merchant vessels to contest control of the northern sea. Lacking in both ships and experience a decisive battle had eluded the combatants until the arrival of the Japanese navy tipped the balance decisively. Japanese ships of the line displayed their superior firepower and seamanship in clearing the enemy from the Kattegat and sealing the Baltic.
As the year ended Japanese troops had crossed the Alps and forced Austria to divert an army south to meet the incursion. Following a plan laid down by Field Marshal Oyama, General Okada was able to pin nine brigades of Austrian regulars in Innsbruck and cut their supply lines. Unusually mild weather had meant that the Brenner Pass had remained open until late in the year, and Japanese gold had ensured that there were a steady stream of suppliers ready to brave the harsh conditions to bring food and ammunition over the mountains from Italy.
As the year drew to a close, the battle of Innsbruck still raged, but the end no longer seemed in doubt, if it ever were. Some 27,000 Austrians had been cut off and faced starvation or surrender.
By 1844 Japan had made limited but steady gains in the south, but Austria had made much quicker progress against Magdeburg, whose army was down to fewer than 20,000 men even on paper. Without Japan's intervention it was impossible that Magdeburg would have survived, and even with it matters remained precarious.
Seeing victory so close at hand, Archduke Ferdinand refused all suggestions that he should come to terms with Japan. For its part the Empire began to consider widening the war to strike at Austrian possessions in Africa and the Great Eastlands.
Domestic affairs
For the vast majority of Imperial citizens and subjects 1843 was dominated by the death of Kashiwabara and the coronation of the new Emperor. The wars were distant, taxes were light and - for the Japanese at least - there was little to complain about. In February the Interior Minister was called on to intervene in a scandal in Osaka in which the local governor - a prominent supporter of the Court - was exposed as having carried on an affair with the wife of a local industrialist, who took his revenge by taking the story to the newspapers.
Despite privately agreeing with the governor that such matters were no business for reputable journalists the Interior Minister felt there were no grounds on which the story could be prevented from being published. The censorship laws on the books governed state security and lese-majesty, neither of which seemed to apply to the present case. Local wags remarked that the governor would have had more luck had he been sleeping with the wife of the Emperor, although they took care not to do so in front of the police.
In October the Foreign Ministry was forced to deal with a minor crisis concerning negotiations over the repatriation of shipwrecked Japanese seamen. The issue had become particularly pressing given Japanese activities in the Baltic, but so far the Tsar and his ministers had used every trick in the book to frustrate a settlement.
Although some of the more hot-headed in the Diet viewed such provocation as a pretext for war, the truth was that Japan could ill-afford another conflict when it already had its hands full with Austria. Instead, the Japanese ambassador was instructed to break off talks in a tactful manner: a task he accomplished so adroitly that relations between the Empire and Russia thawed somewhat. Despite the lack of a formal treaty, Russia allowed Japanese sailors to leave its territory for Gotland, from where they were able to rejoin the fleet.
The repercussions of the Court's statement of principles continued to make themselves felt in 1843. The government encouraged the development of a rational paternalism, meaning that decisions would be made on people's behalf on the basis of available evidence rather than preconceptions.
However, in the hands of more mischievous philosophers, this empiricism was fashioned into an attack on religion, which was very much neither the Court's intent, nor to its liking.
End of year
The close of the year saw the Empire still embroiled in war, as it had been since 1842. Austria had been badly wounded, but still commanded a sizeable army, although the amount of troops it had to hand in Europe itself was open to question. Domestically, the new Emperor was no friend of the Court Party, and liberal sentiment continued to gain ground. The government's majority in the Diet looked less certain than ever, and it could no longer rely on Imperial goodwill to rally support.
