A Nation at the Crossroads

In the sweltering summer of 1864, Japan stood fractured between tradition and transformation. The Tokugawa shogunate’s centuries-old policy of national isolation was crumbling under pressure from Western powers demanding open ports and trade relations. Within Japan’s feudal domains, particularly the southwestern regions, fierce debates raged between those advocating continued exclusion of foreigners and those recognizing the necessity of engagement with the modern world. This ideological conflict would soon escalate from political debates to military confrontations that would reshape Japan’s destiny.

The Choshu domain, located in what is now Yamaguchi Prefecture, emerged as a center of anti-foreign sentiment and imperial loyalism. Many Choshu samurai, influenced by the teachings of Yoshida Shoin, passionately believed in expelling Western “barbarians” from Japanese soil. Yet even within this hotbed of traditionalism, visionary figures were beginning to recognize that Japan’s future required understanding and adapting Western technology and institutions rather than rejecting them outright.

The Young Ambassadors Return

In early June 1864, two remarkable young men disembarked at Yokohama after a transformative journey to England. Ito Hirobumi and Inoue Kaoru, both in their early twenties, represented a new generation of Japanese thinkers who understood that their nation’s future depended on engaging with the global community rather than isolating from it. Their educational mission to Britain had exposed them to industrial marvels, military technologies, and political institutions that demonstrated Western superiority in ways that theoretical discussions never could.

Their timing proved both fortuitous and challenging. Upon arrival, they learned that British Minister Sir Rutherford Alcock was coordinating with American, French, and Dutch representatives to plan a joint military action against Choshu domain. The four Western powers had grown impatient with continued attacks on foreign shipping passing through the strategic Shimonoseki Strait and were preparing to demonstrate their naval superiority.

Recognizing both the danger and opportunity, Ito and Inoue immediately requested a meeting with Minister Alcock. They confidently explained that their firsthand experience of British power had convinced them of the futility of continued resistance to Western nations. They promised to persuade their domain leaders to abandon anti-foreign policies if provided transportation back to Choshu territory aboard a British warship. This bold proposal aligned with Western interests in avoiding unnecessary conflict while expanding trade opportunities.

An Unlikely Alliance at Sea

On June 18, 1864, an extraordinary diplomatic journey commenced as Ito and Inoue boarded the British warship HMS Barrosa, accompanied by a gunboat, departing Yokohama for Choshu territory. This voyage represented a remarkable moment of cooperation between traditional Japanese samurai and Western military power at a time when such relationships remained rare and controversial.

During the five-day journey, Ito formed an unexpected friendship with Ernest Mason Satow, a young British diplomat serving as interpreter at the British legation. Though Satow was two years younger than Ito and had been in Japan for only about a year, his diligent study of Japanese had already made him more proficient in Ito’s language than Ito was in English. Their shipboard conversations bridged cultural divides and established personal connections that would later facilitate diplomatic exchanges. This relationship exemplified the human dimension of international relations that often transcends political conflicts.

The British vessels arrived at Himeshima, north of the Kunisaki Peninsula, on June 23. The young Japanese reformers promised to return within twelve days with their domain’s response to Western demands, establishing a tight timeline for diplomatic resolution before military action would commence.

Confronting Tradition at Home

Ito and Inoue reached Yamaguchi, the Choshu capital, on June 24 and were summoned to the domain’s political headquarters the following day. They presented detailed accounts of Western military and industrial power, urging immediate abandonment of anti-foreign policies and official notification to the four Western powers of this policy change. Their passionate arguments reflected not just political calculation but genuine transformation through their overseas experience.

The domain leadership responded with the constraints of feudal politics: they could not act without orders from either the Shogun or Emperor. They proposed sending representatives to Kyoto to seek imperial approval and requested a three-month delay in Western military action. Meanwhile, more conservative samurai factions demanded the execution of Ito and Inoue as traitors for consorting with foreigners—a typical response toward those who challenged established policies during this turbulent period.

Despite rejecting their recommendations, the domain government made significant gestures acknowledging the value of their mission. On July 2, Ito was appointed to handle “response to foreign fleets” and received a monetary reward of 10 ryo . These actions officially sanctioned their foreign engagement and established institutional mechanisms for future diplomatic contacts, effectively protecting them from accusations of misusing domain funds for their British journey.

The Gathering Storm in Kyoto

Unknown to Ito and Inoue during their diplomatic efforts, events in Kyoto were creating conditions that would make peaceful resolution impossible. On June 5, the Shinsengumi police force had attacked Choshu loyalists at the Ikedaya inn, killing seven and capturing twenty-three. Among the dead was Sugiyama Matsusuke, a brilliant disciple of Yoshida Shoin, whose death inflamed anti-bakufu sentiments throughout Choshu.

This incident compounded existing tensions from the previous year’s political coup of August 18, 1863, when Choshu had been expelled from Kyoto by combined forces of Satsuma and Aizu domains. The domain leadership saw the Ikedaya incident as both tragedy and opportunity—a chance to regain political influence in the imperial capital while avenging their comrades.

On June 15, even as Ito and Inoue were sailing toward diplomatic engagement, Choshu began mobilizing troops for Kyoto. Prominent Yoshida Shoin disciples including Kusaka Genzui and Irie Kuichi led forces toward the imperial capital, ensuring that military confrontation would overshadow diplomatic solutions.

Between Diplomacy and Disappointment

Ito and Inoue returned to Himeshima on July 5 to deliver Choshu’s unsatisfactory response to the waiting Western representatives. The requested three-month delay for seeking imperial approval contrasted sharply with the Western powers’ urgency in resolving the shipping attacks. Personal disappointment weighed heavily on Ito, who had genuinely believed he could prevent military conflict through rational persuasion.

In his frustration, Ito wrote a revealing letter to Kido Takayoshi , a senior Choshu statesman in Kyoto. This correspondence demonstrated both personal relationship and political alignment between the two reformers. Ito confessed: “Having returned from overseas, there are many things I wish to tell you in person. But you are in Kyoto, and I have not accomplished my purpose in returning home. I cannot say there are no regrets, but I do not wish to die. Now, continuing to live like this, I feel ashamed before society, but I still have desires and cannot yet renounce the world.”

This poignant message reflected the emotional turmoil of reformers caught between traditional expectations and modern aspirations, their personal ambitions intertwined with national transformation.

The Point of No Return

On July 19, 1864, the escalating tensions exploded into violence when Choshu forces attacked the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, battling combined troops from Satsuma, Aizu, and other pro-shogunate domains. The Battle of the Forbidden Gates ended disastrously for Choshu, with Irie killed in combat and Kusaka committing suicide after being wounded. The surviving forces, including Kido Takayoshi who escaped to Tajima province, faced complete political defeat in the imperial capital.

The military failure had immediate political consequences. On July 24, the shogunate received imperial command to subdue Choshu and ordered twenty-one southwestern domains to provide troops for the expedition. This political-military crisis coincided with the approaching Western fleet, placing Choshu in the unprecedented position of facing simultaneous threats from domestic and foreign forces.

The Western Guns Speak

As news of the Kyoto disaster reached Choshu, reports arrived of the approaching combined fleet of British, French, American, and Dutch warships. The domain government desperately sought to avoid fighting on two fronts simultaneously. They dispatched Ito and others to negotiate with the Western powers, offering guarantees of safe passage through the Shimonoseki Strait in exchange for avoiding military action.

These last-minute negotiations failed, and on August 5, 1864, seventeen warships from the four Western nations began bombarding Shimonoseki and attacking Choshu coastal batteries. The technological disparity proved overwhelming: modern naval artillery against outdated shore defenses, steam-powered warships against feudal military organization. The following day, Western marine landing parties captured one battery after another as Choshu forces retreated despite courageous resistance.

The Unequal Negotiation

Facing certain defeat, Choshu authorities sent peace negotiators on August 7. The delegation was led by Takasugi Shinsaku, another visionary reformer who understood the necessity of strategic compromise, with Ito and Inoue serving as interpreters. This appointment demonstrated the domain’s recognition that those with foreign experience and language skills were essential for dealing with the Western powers.

Before formal negotiations commenced, Ito alone boarded the British flagship HMS Euryalus to meet with his acquaintance Ernest Satow, reestablishing personal connections that could facilitate diplomatic discussions. This preliminary meeting exemplified how individual relationships often underpinned formal diplomacy during Japan’s opening.

The subsequent negotiations resulted in Choshu surrendering the captured batteries and their artillery as prizes of war, paying an indemnity, and guaranteeing safe passage through the strait. Though militarily defeated, Choshu avoided occupation or more severe terms, preserving domain autonomy while acknowledging Western power.

The Legacy of Transformation

The Shimonoseki campaign of 1864 represented far more than a military engagement between Western powers and a Japanese domain. It demonstrated the inevitable triumph of industrial military technology over feudal military organization, convincing many Japanese observers that comprehensive modernization was essential for national survival.

For Ito Hirobumi personally, the experience solidified his commitment to transforming Japan through selective adoption of Western institutions and technologies. His subsequent career as four-time prime minister and principal architect of the Meiji Constitution reflected lessons learned during these turbulent events: the necessity of engaging with global powers rather than resisting them, the importance of personal relationships in international diplomacy, and the value of understanding foreign systems for national development.

The Western bombardment also created unexpected political consequences. The shogunate’s inability to protect Japanese territory from foreign attack further undermined its legitimacy, while Choshu’s demonstrated military effectiveness enhanced its reputation. The domain’s pragmatism in negotiating with Western powers, facilitated by reformers like Ito, Inoue, and Takasugi, established patterns of diplomatic engagement that would characterize Meiji Japan’s foreign policy.

Perhaps most significantly, the events of 1864 demonstrated that Japan’s future would be determined not by isolation but by strategic engagement with global powers. The young reformers who had traveled abroad, formed personal relationships with foreigners, and understood Western capabilities would soon lead Japan’s transformation from feudal isolation to modern nation-state. Their journey aboard British warships symbolized both the humiliation of forced opening and the opportunity for national rebirth through selective adaptation of foreign models—a paradox that would define Japan’s modernization throughout the Meiji period.