ABSTRACT
THE LORD OF SATSUMA, A SMUGGLER.-Oshio Heihachiro's rebellion in Osaka greatly troubled the minds of the statesmen of the Tokugawa Shogunate, not because of the rebellion itself, but on account of the general attitude of the people towards the Government, which was incidentally manifested. Had the Tokugawa Shogunate had its old absolute control of the country, neither Oshio nor any other political adventurer would have had any chance of rebellion. The fact that Oshio, with a number of low-class samurai, rose in rebellion against the Shogunate, and attempted to seize the castle of Osaka garrisoned by the Government guards, demonstrated that the Tokugawa Shogunate had lost its credit and power in the eyes of the people. A yet more serious matter, which was a greater cause of trouble to the statesmen of the Shogunate, was that many feudal lords, seeing the prestige of the Shogunate thus shaken, snapped their fingers at the Government. In December 1802 among some merchandise that a Kyoto merchant bought from Satsuma were found European goods, and the officials could get no satisfactory reply from Satsuma when they inquired how these goods had found their way there. At first they were told that the man who had imported the goods was dead, but later, that he had disappeared. The Shogunate was very indignant, but dared not offend the powerful Lord of Satsuma, who had himself smuggled the goods in defiance of Shogunate laws.
