cent they might have appeared to the Americans. Moreover, although
there was no reason to doubt the account the two Japanese gave of themselves,"
it was possible they were influenced by other and less worthy motives
than those they professed. I t might have been a stratagem to test American
honor, and some believed it so to be. The Commodore, by his careful
efforts to impress upon the authorities how trifling he esteemed the offence,
hoped to mitigate the punishment to which it was amenable. The event
was full of interest, as indicative of the intense desire for information on
the part of two educated Japanese, who were ready to brave the rigid laws
of the country, and to risk even death for the sake of adding to their
knowledge. The Japanese are undoubtedly an inquiring people, and would
gladly welcome an opportunity for the expansion of their moral and intellectual
faculties. The conduct of the unfortunate two was, it is believed,
characteristic of their countrymen, and nothing can better represent the intense
curiosity of the people, while its exercise is only prevented by the
most rigid laws and ceaseless watchfulness lest they should be disobeyed.
In this disposition of the people of Japan, what a field of speculation, and,
it may be added, what a prospect full of hope opens for the future of that
interesting country!
Some days subsequently, as a party of officers were strolling in the
suburbs, they came upon the prison of the town, where they recognized the
two unfortunate Japanese immured in one of the usual places of confinement,
a kind of cage, barred in front and very restricted in dimensions. The
poor fellows had been immediately pursued upon its being discovered that
they had visited the ships, and after a few days they were pounced upon
and lodged in prison. They seemed to bear their misfortune with great
equanimity, and were greatly pleased apparently with the visit of the American
officers, in whose eyes they evidently were desirous of appearing to advantage.
On one of the visitors approaching the cage, the Japanese wrote
on a piece of board that was handed to them the following, which, as a
remarkable specimen of philosophical resignation under circumstances which
would have tried the stoicism of Cato, deserves a record:
“ When a hero fails in his purpose, his acts are then regarded as those
of a villain and a robber. In public have we been seized and pinioned and
caged for many days. The village elders and head men treat us disdainfully,
their oppressions being grievous indeed. Therefore, looking up while
yet we have nothing wherewith to reproach ourselves, it must now be seen
whether a hero will prove himself to be one indeed. Regarding the liberty
of going through the sixty States as not enough for our desires, we wished
to make the circuit of the five great continents. This was our hearts’ wish
for a long time. Suddenly our plans are defeated, and we find ourselves in
a half-sized house, where eating, resting, sitting, and sleeping are difficult;
how can we find our exit from this place? Weeping, we seem as fools;
laughing, as rogues. Alas ! for us; silent we can only be.
“ ISAGI KOODA,
“ KWANSUCHI MANJI.”
The Commodore, on being informed of the imprisonment of the two
Japanese, sent his flag-lieutenant on shore to ascertain unofficially whether
they were the same who had visited the ships. The cage was found as described,
but empty, and the guards of the prison declared that the men had
been sent that morning to Tedo, in obedience to an order from the capital.
They had been confined, it was stated, for going off to the American ships,
and as the prefect had no authority to act in the matter, he had at once reported
the ease to the imperial government, which had sent for the prisoners,
and then held them under its jurisdiction. The fate of the poor fellows was
never ascertained, but it is hoped that the authorities were more merciful
than to have awarded the severest penalty, which was the loss of their
heads, for what appears to us only liberal and highly commendable curiosity,
however great the crime according to the eccentric and sanguinary code of
Japanese law. I t is a comfort to be able to add, that the Commodore
received an assurance from the authorities, upon questioning them, that he
need not apprehend a serious termination.
The large Buddhist temple, the Rio-shen-zhi, or great peace monastery,
was the place appropriated by the authorities, in accordance with the
demands of the Commodore, for his use and that of his officers. Most of the
Japanese temples have apartments separate from the ecclesiastical part of
the establishment, which are used for lodging and entertaining strangers and
distinguished visitors. They are also employed occasionally for various public
gatherings on festival and market days; and bazaars, for buying and selling,
are not unfrequently opened; thus converting the temple into a place
for the free exercise of all the roguery of trade, if not literally into a “ den
of thieves.” As the supply of furniture was scant in the lodging department
of the Rio-shen-zhi, chairs and other appliances of comfort were brought from
the ships, and the quarters were made tolerably luxurious. In order to familiarize
the J apanese people with their presence, the Commodore and his
officers frequently resorted to their apartments on shore, and found a walk
in the pleasure grounds which surrounded them, and on the wooded hills at
the back, a pleasant diversion from the routine of ship’s duty.
There was, notwithstanding the promise of the prefect, very little improvement
in the conduct of the authorities, and the Americans still found
their liberty much restricted, and their privacy interrupted by the jealous
watchfulness and intrusive offieiousness of the soldiers and spies. The Commodore
himself, on one occasion, when proceeding through the town in company
with several of his officers, found that he was constantly preceded by two