n November 19, 1867. His letter of resignation, in the
form of a manifesto to the Daimios, runs thus:

"A retrospect of the various changes through which the empire has
passed shows us that after the decadence of the monarchical authority,
power passed into the hands of the Minister of State; that by the
wars of 1156 to 1159 the governmental power came into the hands of the
military class. My ancestor received greater marks of confidence than
any before him, and his descendants have succeeded him for more than
two hundred years. Though I perform the same duties, the objects of
government and the penal laws have not been attained, and it is
with feelings of greatest humiliation that I find myself obliged to
ackowledge my own want of virtue as the cause of the present state of
things. Moreover, our intercourse with foreign powers becomes daily
more extensive, and our foreign policy cannot be pursued unless
directed by the whole power of the country.

"If, therefore, the old regime be changed and the governmental
authority be restored to the imperial court, if the councils of the
whole empire be collected and the wise decisions received, and if
we unite with all our heart and with all our strength to protect and
maintain the empire, it will be able to range itself with the nations
of the earth. This comprises our whole duty towards our country.

"However, if you (the Daimios) have any particular ideas on the
subject, you may state them without reserve."[2]

The resignation of the Shogun was accepted by the Emperor by the
following imperial order, issued on the 10th day of the 12th month:
"It has pleased the Emperor to dismiss the present Shogun, at his
request, from the office of Shogun."

As to the full intent and motive of the Shogun in resigning his
power, let him further speak himself. In the interview of the British
minister, Sir Harry S. Parkes, and the French minister, M. Leon
Koches, with the Shogun, it is stated that he said: "I became
convinced last autumn that the country would no longer be successfully
governed while the power was divided between the Emperor and myself.
The country had two centres, from which orders of an opposite nature
proceeded. Thus, in the matter of the opening of Hiogo and Osako,
which I quote as an example of this conflict of authority, I was
myself convinced that the stipulations of the treaties must be
observed, but the assent of the Emperor to my representations on
this subject