Daikomitsu on the other hand found himself more completely submerged in the shogunate than he at first anticipated. He had intended to rid himself of the ronin, but not until their attack upon the foreign legation at Tokyo did he succeed, emerging with a complete vindication of his true diplomatic qualities. He had not only effectually cleared the country of these desperadoes, but placed himself upon a high pedestal, and even Tetsutaisho began to admire him, though he could not fully respect him.
During the transition stage, lasting from Daikomitsu's accession to the death of Komei, Shibusawa had ample time to prepare for the work himself planned or by others thrust upon him. These were trying times; this a patient, energetic, and ambitious people, and not alone fate, but fortune proved a moving force behind their destiny. From the first Takara's hand had been felt, though Shibusawa knew it not. She developed among the adherents of the south a strength that gave her voice in the councils shadowing the court at Kyoto, and she used it to advance a single purpose--the only one, as she thought, consistent with her duties as a wife and her position as a kuge--furthering the cause of her husband and building the fortunes of the mikado.
Gradually though unconsciously this influence began to be felt by Shibusawa, and before he knew it he had gone so far into national affairs that he needs must play an important part. Nor did he give himself solely to political matters, for Kinsan remained ever before him; and though without possible communication he loved her constantly and truly. He saw in her more and more the ideal of existence, the soul of the universe, the crowning glory of all that is. He longed for her and had he the power would have sought her and claimed her and taken her, even though his former convictions had been true or remained uncontradicted. Without knowing her sacrifices, something told him that her heart was true, and he asked of himself:
"After all, of what consequence is the flesh?"
Taking advantage of a measure enacted early under Daikomitsu's incumbency, authorising the daimyos and princes of the blood to remove their families and lawful kin from the capital, Shibusawa asked his sister Yasuko to come to him, and though still mourning the loss of her husband she accepted the invitation and proved to be a great consolation to her brother, they becoming fast and true friends and she a liberal adviser. In her he found a companionship that helped him through the many events leading up to his call to the front, though in no measure did it deter him from shaping a course toward his high ideal.