東禅寺の英国公使館が夜に襲われ、書記官は梁はりの下から動かずに助かった

同二十八日、夜中、高繩東禪寺英吉利人旅宿へ、浪士大勢切入て警固の士と鬪諍に及び、双方疵をかうむる

a more insecure or indefensible position could not well have fallen to our lot. From the road at the back any number of men might have penetrated through the slight fence at night … they might have entered the house along the whole front at twenty different points, beginning with my own apartments, and walked right up to my bed.

duty had been assigned of going through the premises the last thing, to see that the servants were in bed and the lights out, chiefly as a protection against fire, stood by my bedside with his dark lantern, and awoke me with the report that the Legation was attacked, and men were breaking in at the gate.

I got up, incredulous, believing it was some gambling or drunken quarrel either among the guards or the 'bettos' in charge of the stables ; but, taking a revolver out of its case, I was proceeding to the spot

Mr. Oliphant had encountered his assailants in the passage leading from his room with only a heavy hunting-whip, hastily snatched from his table on the first alarm.

no sign of any one coming to our rescue appeared, of all the hundred and fifty surrounding the house.

there we were, five Europeans only, including a servant, imperfectly armed, and with two more disabled

they evidently had missed their way to my apartments, and every minute lost to them was a priceless gain to us

The unwillingness to leave Mr. Oliphant lying helpless on the floor, even for a short space, in the terrible uncertainty as to what point an attack might come from, turned the balance, and determined me to stand and wait the issue.

Mr. Oliphant, sleeping farther off, had by this time been awakened by the increasing tumult of the assault and the barking of a dog. Believing it was some fight among the servants, he seized a hunting-whip—the first thing to his hand—and ran down the passage

Mr. Oliphant parried as he best could the blows, seeking to disable his assailant with the heavy end of the riding-whip, while retreating … Fortunately, this gave Mr. Morrison time to throw back his screen opening on the scene, and to fire a couple of shots in the direction of the assassins.

we found an entrance had been effected from the Temple at another point, through some thin planking into a little court, on which the room of Mr. Lowder, one of the student interpreters, opened.

The mark of a bloody hand was found on the sloping roof of the bath-room, over which apparently some wounded man had made his escape ; and by the broken planking I picked up a sword and a leather purse, with a few cash and a seal in it, which had been dropped.

One morning, after the attack on the Legation, the Prince of Xendai sent an officer with a retinue of a hundred men or more, to remove one of his ancestors' tablets to another temple.

The graves are for the most part simple tablets, sometimes recording the names and dates, at other times a single name only, as 'True-heart !' which marks the grave of some one at Tozengee.

In front of each grave is always a vase for flowers and another for water, and it was pleasant to see how constantly these were renewed.

They reminded me of the 'Field of God,' the cemetery outside of Copenhagen, where each grave is made a little garden, the resort of the families of all whose loved ones have been consigned to their rest.

It was formerly, I have understood, the palace of a small Daimio called Itosciuridaibu, who made a present of it to the priests, having built a better one in a more suitable place in Yeddo.

he alone is allowed to go under the portico in his chair, while the Princes of Xendai and Bisen (two other patrons who give large supplies of rice and undertake all repairs, etc.), though much higher and powerful Daimios, are obliged to get out of their chairs at the gate where the steps are.

The Government gave us this temple after having received the consent of the former Daimios, though it is well known that the other two, who had but an indirect voice in the matter and were not consulted, disliked exceedingly the idea of our occupying it even temporarily.

My informant, however, thought he had taken this very unusual step to show his displeasure that the Legation was not removed, and his hatred to foreigners, which is commonly spoken of as something generally known.

the evening before the tablet was removed, our chief of the Yaconins on service came to inform me of what was about to take place, with a sort of vague intimation that it would be as well if our own guard were on foot.

They came, as it happened, at a much earlier hour than was announced ; so that, as far as any preparation on our part was concerned, they might have had us at a disadvantage ; but it was observed that all our Japanese guards were mustered, and stood to their arms, lining the palisade which surrounded our court-yard and the entrance.

Attack on the Legation in the Night, and desperate Attempt

Mr. Oliphant, the Secretary of Legation, sent Home for the Cure of his Wounds. — Bearer of the Tycoon's autograph Letter to the Queen, urging the Non-opening of more Ports for a Term of Years.

had scarcely advanced five steps toward the entrance, when Mr. Oliphant suddenly appeared covered with blood, which was streaming from a great gash in his arm and a wound in his neck, and the next instant Mr. Morrison, the Consul of Nagasaki, appeared also, exclaiming he was wounded, and with blood flowing from a sword-cut on his forehead.

Whether many or few, they were left in entire possession of the house for full ten minutes.

To rouse the latter and ask if he had any arms was the work of a moment ; but finding none, he turned back, and at this moment encountered either two or three men advancing. One, immediately in front, he saw by the imperfect light of the stars in the act of aiming a blow with a two-handed sword at his head

The common people believed he did this because he was displeased that the temple should be contaminated with our presence, and the 'unclean' food we use, by killing sheep and fowls.

I had in the first instance rushed out of my bed-room barefooted, and in my night-dress.

Early in the morning I was roused from a troubled doze by six or eight solemn-looking elderly Japanese, who announced that they were the Imperial physicians come to inquire after my health. I positively refused to allow them to remove the bandages and examine the wounds ; so they contented themselves with looking very wise, examining my tongue, and placing their ears over my heart.

It was about three o'clock in the morning that I determined to struggle back to bed ; and even then the soldiers were hunting about the garden for concealed members of the gang that had attacked us, prodding the bushes with their swords

I rushed out of my bed-room barefooted, and in my night-dress

the reason we had so much difficulty in getting at each other was owing to a small beam, or rather rafter, which spanned the narrow passage, about seven feet from the ground. Its edge was as full of deep sword-cuts as a crimped herring, any one of which would have been sufficient to split open my skull

I evidently owed my life to the fact that I had remained stationary under this beam, which had acted as a permanent and most effective guard — the cuts I received being merely the tips from the sword as it glanced off.

There was a plentiful bespattering of blood on the wall at the side, in which was also indented the shape of the handle of my hunting-whip.

The assailants appear to have slashed about recklessly in the dark, in the hope of striking a victim. Some of the mattresses were prodded through and through; one bedpost was completely severed by a single sword-cut; and a Bible lying on a table was cut three-quarters through.

one of our assailants, a stalwart young fellow with a somewhat hang-dog countenance, was taken prisoner and afterwards executed

史跡 / 江戸 / 関東 / 東京都／指定年月日:20100222

安政５年（１８５８）、江戸高輪の東禅寺に最初の英国公使館が置かれ、オールコックの宿館として慶応元年（１８６５年）まで利用された

二度尊皇攘夷派による襲撃の場ともなった

幕末の外交、政治史を知る上で貴重である

こうした江戸の公使館は、その全てが現在の港区内の寺院に置かれました。

維新後、大名家の庇護を失った寺院の経済状況は悪化の一途をたどり、さらに神仏分離・廃仏毀釈という仏教界に吹き荒れた大嵐や大正12年（1923）９月１日の関東大震災、昭和20年（1945）３月と５月の東京大空襲による被害もまた大きなものでした。…各国の公使館時代に使用されていた施設は、こうした歴史の中でほとんどその姿をとどめていない状況にあります。

そうした中で、わずかに東禅寺の大玄関と奥書院および庭園のみが、イギリス公使館時代の姿を伝える貴重な遺構であるとされていました。

東禅寺の最も格式の高い「書院（現存していません）」に、公使オールコックが起居し

当時の建物として唯一確認された奥書院（僊源亭）は、公使館員が使用していたことがほぼ確実となりました。…オールコックが著した『大君の都』の記述を詳細に検討した結果

同６年６月１日、イギリス公使オールコックは、東禅寺を宿舎に選び、同７日（東禅寺蔵『天寿室日記』による）、30人ほどの人員と共に東禅寺に入った

東禅寺（イギリス公使館）襲撃事件（以下、東禅寺事件）の際、警護にあたった幕府の外国御用出役の江幡吉平に対して、イギリス政府から贈られた銀製メダル

明治22（1889）年、連絡の取れた55名へ渡されることになりました。江幡へのメダルは同年7月10日に、娘のきくに授与されました

このときのメダルは本資料のほか1点しか確認されていません（令和２年９月現在）

所有者／港区教育委員会／概要／32点 歴史資料 令和2年10月28日指定

二十八日／浪士有賀半彌…同岡見留次郎…等、夜半、英國假公使館江戸高輪東禪寺ニ同國特派全權公使「オールコック」等ヲ襲ヒ、書記官「オリファント」Oliphant・長崎駐在領事「モリソン」Morrisonヲ傷ク／文久元年五月

浪士有賀半彌重信○元水戸藩士

警備ノ幕兵及郡山・西尾兩藩兵、力鬪シ、主馬之介・幸之介・寅吉之ニ死シ、鉞三郎、傷キテ捕ヘラル