Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 3.djvu/254

Rh vicinity of Kyōtō. Such a display of wellnigh reckless resolution on the part of statesmen who had hitherto shown themselves submissive almost to pusillanimity, astounded the public. Had the troops been allowed to enter the city, the extremists could not have made any effective resistance. But the Shōgun's officials in Kyōtō persuaded the samurai to retire. The opportunity was lost, and nothing resulted from this bold move except the Shōgun's speedy return to Yedo.

The extremists now had full mastery of the situation in Kyōtō. It seemed that nothing could check them. Yet at this moment of apparent supremacy, their cause received a blow from which it never recovered. They had the audacity to forge an Imperial edict, declaring the Emperor's firm resolve to drive out the barbarians, and announcing that His Majesty would make a pilgrimage to the great shrines to pray for success. They doubtless imagined that their influence at Court would enable them to secure the Emperor's post-facto endorsement of this edict. But they were mistaken. At the instance of the moderates, an order was issued that Mori of Chōshiu, leader of the extremists, should withdraw from the capital with all his vassals and with the nobles who had supported his views.

The only credible explanation of this marked change of attitude in Kyoto was that the