LEON ROCHES, Minister Plenipotentiary of France in Japan to Count de la Tour, March 10, 1868

Mr. Roches to Count de la Tour.

My Dear Colleague: At the same time with myself you heard the assault committed on the 8th instant at Sakai, by retainers of the prince of Tosa, upon the flag of France and the lives of French sailors.

In order that you should be fully informed of the hateful character of this assault, and of the abominable circumstances under which it took place, I deem it proper to submit to you the reports of the commanders of the Venus and the Dupleix. The details accurately set forth in those reports will enable you clearly to comprehend the seriousness of the offense and the barbarism of those acts.

You are also aware that immediately and previous to my withdrawal on board the Venus I demanded from the government of the Mikado the bodies of the unfortunate sailors and of the missing officer, reserving further action in regard to the requisite reparation.

Within the time granted for the recovery I received the intelligence from the Mikado’s government that the bodies had been found, and that they would be returned; and this has taken place to-day.

This morning their excellencies Iwasima Iyonokami and Higashi Shosho, and also Messrs. Kumadzu and Godoi came on board the Venus to furnish the information they had collected, and to again express their regret at the occurrence.

I asked these high officers whether any act, a word, any imprudent gesture had been noticed on the part of the French sailors. They said that, quite to the contrary, the acts as well as the manners of those sailors had not been in the least to blame, and that the aggressions had taken place without the shadow of a pretext.

I asked him why the commander of the Venus, who on the same day, in company with the vice-consul of France at Hiogo, had gone to Sakai by land to meet his boat, had, notwithstanding his entreaty, been refused to enter the town by the officers of Tosa, while the government had been notified that soundings would be taken, and while the commander of the Venus was accompanied by an escort of four Takonins of the government?

They said that the officers had been questioned, and replied that they did not know that the port of Sakai was open according to the treaties.

I finally asked them if the presence of the French flag, the sight of French uniforms, or the nationality of the men, or even if any reminiscence or special motive had anything to do with the aggressions or with the cruelties practised on the French sailors.

They answered me that in all that had happened there had absolutely been nothing exceptional towards France, and that they could only perceive the effects of a general and savage hatred which animated these barbarians against foreigners indiscriminately.

After the steps taken and the replies made by the government of the Mikado, the bearing of this government appears to me as proper and sincere as could be wished on this occasion.

It strikes me, therefore, that a similar misfortune might befall any other navy or any other flag; and from this point of view it is not only France that is insulted, but in fact all the foreign nationalities, which the men of Tosa have wished to humble and bully at Sakai, and that the same barbarism is still held out in defiance to all.

I feel sure those were your thoughts during the nights of the 8th and 9th, at the first news of the assault, and without even being aware of the extent and the details. You have been kind enough, as did also our colleagues, to express your sympathy in that misfortune. You did not feel justified longer to remain, or to leave your flag in a city at the gates of which a European flag had been cowardly insulted.

I judged I could not better respond to these proofs of solidarity, for which I am deeply grateful, than by submitting to you, together with the reports of the commanders of the Venus and the Dupleix, the answer given by the government of the Mikado.

As for the reparation to be demanded, the same acknowledgment of solidarity prevents me from separating in this sad affair the cause of France from that of the other nationalities. Convinced that each of our colleagues had taken up as his own the insult perpetrated by the men of Tosa on the foreign flag, on this occasion represented by the flag of France, I intend to apply for your moral support, and to agree with you in order to procure an efficient repression. We should not forget that the insult in question is not the first one experienced by foreigners at the hands of the officers of Tosa, and if the weakness of the preceding government was an obstacle to lawful punishment, the advent of a new government, and the circumstances which have made this Daimio one of its active chiefs, lead us to hope that at present we shall obtain satisfaction for the offense from which we have suffered.

As soon as I shall have paid at Hiogo the last honors to the unfortunate victims of the barbarism of the men of Tosa, I shall have the honor to consult you on the proposals it will be proper to address to the government of the Mikado, and I firmly hope that, like myself, you will require an example, which, in the future, may completely shield all flags and all foreigners from similar indignities.

Be pleased, sir, to accept the assurance of the high consideration with which I have the honor to be your obedient servant,