Chamberlain to Emperor Meiji: How Yamaoka Tesshū Supported the Young Emperor

In 1872 (Meiji 5), Yamaoka Tesshū was appointed chamberlain to Emperor Meiji. He was thirty-six. For ten years he served as the close attendant of the emperor, taking on the role of transmitting the spiritual culture of modern Japan to the young emperor, then in his late teens to late twenties. The rare appointment of a former shogunal retainer as the close attendant of the new emperor rested on Tesshū's achievement at the Sunpu meeting and his standing of personal trust.

Background to the Appointment

After the Meiji Restoration, Emperor Meiji acceded at the middle of his teens and was placed at the center of the new government. But the Chōshū and Satsuma-born Restoration bureaucrats around him were adept at political maneuvering, while there was a shortage of presence to transmit to the young emperor 'a Japanese spiritual character.' Saigō Takamori is said to have recommended Tesshū as chamberlain because of Tesshū's firm bearing at the Sunpu meeting and his personal integrity. The appointment of a man of the former shogunal side as the emperor's close attendant was unusual for the time, but came to pass on Saigō's strong recommendation.

Education of the Emperor

Tesshū as chamberlain taught Emperor Meiji kendō, Zen, and calligraphy. At the same time, he bore the role of transmitting to the emperor the spirit of bushidō and the traditional values of Japan. In his dialogues with Tesshū, Emperor Meiji gradually formed his consciousness as the head of state of a modern nation and his identity as a Japanese. Tesshū's Zen-monk severity and bushidō sincerity exerted a deep influence on the young emperor. The anecdote of Emperor Meiji later saying 'Tesshū is my teacher' is transmitted as evidence of the closeness of their relation.

Role During the Satsuma Rebellion

In the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 (Meiji 10), Tesshū's old friend Saigō Takamori fought against the new government's army and took his own life. Tesshū himself, as chamberlain, was at the emperor's side and could not participate in the war, but Saigō's death struck Tesshū deeply. Tesshū transmitted to Emperor Meiji the figure of Saigō directly, and was one of the contributing causes of the later restoration of Saigō's honor (the conferral of senior third rank in 1889). An appointment that symbolizes both the friendship of the old comrades-in-arms of the bloodless surrender of Edo and the tragedy of the new age.

Tesshū After Resigning as Chamberlain

In 1882 (Meiji 15), Tesshū resigned as chamberlain. Ending his ten-year role as the emperor's close attendant, he devoted himself thereafter to teaching the Mutō-ryū and to the running of Zenshō-an. Even after resignation, his exchanges with Emperor Meiji continued, and the emperor continued to trust Tesshū deeply until his death in 1888. At Tesshū's passing, Emperor Meiji expressed a special condolence — showing the height of Tesshū's personal standing. In the transition from the turmoil of the Restoration to the stable period of Meiji, the ten years of weaving between the emperor and a single former shogunal retainer is an important page in the spiritual history of modern Japan.

"Tesshū is my teacher."