rt of the new ideas was taken in 1863, by
the clan of Choshiu, which erected batteries at Shimonoseki, refused to
disarm at the shogun's order, and fired on foreign vessels. This brought
about a bombardment, in the following year, by the ships of four foreign
nations, the most important result of which was to teach the Japanese
the strength of the powers against which they had arrayed themselves.

Meanwhile the men of Choshiu, the declared adherents of the mikado,
urged him to make a journey to Yamato, and thus show to his people that
he was ready to take the field in person against the barbarians. This
suggestion was at first received with favor, but suddenly the Choshiu
envoys and their friends were arrested, the palace was closely guarded,
and all members or retainers of the clan were forbidden to enter the
capital, an order which placed them in the position of outlaws. The
party of the shogun had made the mikado believe that the clan was
plotting to seize his person and through him to control the empire.

This act of violence led to civil war. In August, 1864, the capital was
attacked by a body of thirteen hundred men of the Choshiu and other
disaffected clans. It was defended by the adherents of the shogun, now
the supporters of the mikado. For two days the battle raged, and at the
end of that time a great part of the city was a heap of ashes, some
thirty thousand edifices being destroyed by the flames. "The Blossom
Capital became a scorched desert." The Choshiu were defeated, but Kioto
lay in ruins. A Japanese city is like a house of card-board, easily
destroyed, and almost as easily rebuilt.

This conflict was followed by a march in force upon Choshiu to punish
its rebellious people. The expedition was not a popular one. Some
powerful feudal lords refused to join it. Of those mustered into the
ranks many became conveniently sick, and those who marched were
disorganized and without heart for the fight. Choshiu, on the contrary,
was well prepared. The clansmen, who had long been in contact with the
Dutch, had thrown aside the native weapons, were drilled in European
tactics, and were well armed with rifles and artillery. The result was,
after a three months' campaign, the complete defeat of the invading
army, and an almost fatal blow to the prestige of the shogun. This
defeat was immediately followed by the death of the young shogun, who
had been worn out by the intense anxiety of his period of rule.

He was suc