CHAPTER XXV

BETWIXT OLD AND NEW JAPAN

The period upon which we were now entering was of singular interest and historical importance. It was the connecting link between the old Japan and the new, a transition-time in which the ancient feudalism still spoke (indeed, one may ask whether its voice is even now, in 1915, quite hushed to silence?) when many schemes were fought out, some still-born, some doomed to a swift death, others, embryonic at first, but fated to grow into greatness.

Of these none was more significant, none more pregnant with consequences than the remission by the Daimios into the hands of the Mikado of the great fiefs which they had held from time immemorial. This, as I have shown, sprang out of the proposal of the Daimios that the Tokugawa family should be made to give up lands bringing in a revenue of two millions _kokus_ of rice; and it was to that remarkable man, my friend Prince Yōdo, the Inkiyō of Tosa, that the credit belongs of seeing that, having once started on a forward policy, they must be prepared to go on with it, and that the consolidation of the Empire must of necessity involve the creation of an Imperial revenue, together with the abolition of provincial home rule. At the same time no little praise is due to the other territorial magnates for the ease and rapidity with which they assimilated what to them must have seemed profoundly distasteful and revolutionary ideas.

[Illustration: OLD JAPAN.

_From a water-colour drawing by C. Wirgman._]

I translated the first memorial announcing the laying at the foot of the throne the vast ancestral territories, signed by Mori Saisho Chinjo (Chōshiu), Shimadzu Shosho (Satsuma), Nabeshima Shosho (Hizen), Yamanouchi Shosho (Tosa). It was published in the _Kiōto Gazette_ of the 5th of March, 1869, and is worth giving in full, for it was a document which made history.

“In the opinion of certain ministers (the writers) the Great Body must not lose a single day, the Great Strength must not delegate its power for one day. Since the heavenly ancestors established the foundations of the country the Imperial line has lasted without a break for ten thousand ages. The Heaven and the Earth belong to the Emperor; there is no man who is not his servant. This constitutes the Great Body. The Emperor governs his people, conferring rank and property. It is his to give and his to take away; of our own selves we cannot hold a foot of land, we cannot take a single man. This constitutes the Great Strength.

“In the days of old the Emperor governed the sea-girt land, and trusting to the Great Body and to the Great Strength, the Imperial wisdom ruled over all; thus truth and righteousness being upheld, there was prosperity under Heaven. In the Middle Ages the ropes of the net were loosened, so that men playing with the Great Strength and striving for the power crowded upon the Emperor, and half the world tried to enslave the people and to steal the land. Beating and gnawing, theft and rapine, ruled in the land. When the Great Body that should have been preserved, and the Great Strength that should have been maintained, were gone, no means were left for repressing these evils. Traitors encouraged traitors and the strong preyed upon and devoured the weak. The greater traitors seized tens of provinces, the lesser traitors maintained retainers by the thousand. Then arose the Bakufu, which also parcelled out territories and men as might seem good to it, among private individuals, thus planting and stablishing its own power. So it came about that the Emperor wore a vain and empty rank, and, the order of things being reversed, looked up to the Bakufu as the dispenser of joy and sorrow. For six hundred years and more the waters turned from their course have flooded the land and reached to Heaven.

“During this time the Bakufu borrowed the name and authority of the Emperor to hide the traces of thefts of lands and men, being forced to use the Imperial name as a screen, since the relations and duties of the vassal to his lord cannot be laid aside after ten thousand years. Now the Great Government has been newly restored, and the Emperor in person undertakes the direction of affairs. This is indeed a rare and mighty event. We have the name of an Imperial Government: we must also have the fact. Our first duty is to illustrate our faithfulness and to prove our loyalty. When the line of Tokugawa arose it divided the country among its kinsfolk, and there were many who thus founded the fortunes of their families. They waited not to ask whether the lands and men that they received were the gift of the Emperor. For ages until this day, they continued to inherit these lands. Others said that their possessions were the prize of their spears and bows, as if they had broken into store-houses and stolen the treasures that they contained, boasting to the soldiers round them that they had done this regardless of their lives. Those who break into store-houses are known by all men to be thieves, but those who rob lands and steal men are not looked upon with suspicion. How are loyalty and faith confused and destroyed! Now that men are looking for an entirely new Government, the Great Body and the Great Strength must neither be lent nor borrowed.

“Our dwelling-place is the Emperor’s land: the food which we eat is grown by the Emperor’s men. How can we call it our own? We now reverently offer up the list of our possessions and men, with the prayer that the Emperor will take good measures for rewarding those to whom reward is due and for mulcting those to whom punishment is due. Let the Imperial commands be issued for altering and remodelling the territories of the various clans. Let the civil and criminal codes, the military laws down to the rules for uniform and the construction of engines of war, all proceed from the Emperor; let all the affairs of the Empire, great and small, be referred to him. After this, when the internal relations shall be upon a true footing, the Empire will be able to take its place side by side with the other countries of the world. This is now the most urgent duty of the Emperor, as it is that of his servants and children. Hence it is that we, in spite of our own folly and vileness, daring to offer up our humble expression of loyalty upon which we pray that the brilliance of the heavenly Sun may shine, with fear and reverence bow the head and do homage, ready to lay down our lives in proof of our faith.”

A truly memorable document, to which, on the following day, the Emperor made answer, saying that “His Majesty is filled with admiration of the loyalty” of the four Daimios.

Other Daimios followed suit, the Prince of Echizen, however, raising the suggestion that there should be a public debate as to whether the present was a proper and fitting opportunity for the movement.

One Daimio, following the example of the four leaders, “has the honour humbly to make a statement”—and a very characteristic statement it is. “The Emperor, having taken upon himself the task of ruling, the owls have changed their cry,[13] the grass and the trees have bent to the wind. This has been one day in ten thousand years which it has been our privilege to witness. The land girdled by the sea has beheld and wondered. Deeply should I fear to retain for my own the territory which my poor clan has received from the Emperor; therefore it is my desire to offer up my lands and my people. I humbly implore the Imperial decision.

“Sd. TODA UNÉMÉ NO SHO.”

(_Kiōto Gazette_ of March 10th, 1869.)

I feel inclined to add extracts from a similar memorial by the Prince of Unshiu, taken from the _Kiōto Gazette_ of March 12th, 1869:

“Your servant Sadayasu in his folly and worthlessness, ignorant of the laws of decorum, dares to lift up his voice in defiance of all propriety. To discuss the affairs of the Government of the Empire is a crime deserving ten thousand deaths.... Truly we may say that after an interval of seven hundred years the foundation has been laid of a reformation which shall last for ten thousand generations. The Emperor issues his illustrious commands and the millions of the people are purified in the reformation. Hence it is that your servant Sadayasu, disregarding the heinousness of the crime which he is committing, dares to offer up his humble opinion. The affairs of the Empire may be said to have their seasons ... it is to these seasons that we must direct our minds. The present restoration is such a season.

“The first consideration is that the root of the tree should be firmly planted. The root is the sovereign power; to restore the sovereign power to the Emperor is to plant the root firmly.... In the Middle Ages the military class curtailed the possessions of the Emperor.... In their mutual struggle the great swallowed up the small, the strong took possession of the weak.... The feudal Princes presented the picture of a land divided into petty kingdoms maintained by force ... so that the people of the remote districts knew not that above all there was One who was Lord of the myriads and of the millions. How can such a grief be endured? But now that the tangled machinery of the State has been renewed, the myriads and the millions, purified in the overflowing dews of the deep benevolence, will at once reverently recognize their Emperor, and the roots of the tree will be firmly planted. The roots being firmly planted, the branches and leaves will flourish luxuriantly. How much the more, now that friendly relations exist with foreign countries, should we place our divine country under the sovereign rule, and setting up our Emperor as the Head of the Universe, and restoring the singleness of the supreme power, illustrate its virtue and strength to the four seas.

“Your servant Sadayasu acknowledges gratefully that, degenerate as he is, he is yet the chief of the least of all the clans. At a moment so auspicious as the present, how can he refrain from expressing his humble opinion? Cheerfully braving the punishment of the headsman’s axe, he dares to lift up his voice. If perchance your servant who offers up the lists of his lands and men to the Emperor should find favour, and his petition be graciously accepted, what happiness could equal this? He prays that the All-wise and Illustrious will take his poor request into consideration. Your servant Sadayasu, in fear and awe, bows the head once and again. Fainting and dying, he lifts his voice.”

The _Kiōto Gazette_, which gave to the world these memorials, cast much in the same shape as that hoary old journalistic curiosity the _Peking Gazette_, was one of the first-fruits of the new order of things. It was a most interesting publication, full of odds and ends of quaint information, and for some months, when our withers were unwrung by any rousing excitement, I used to amuse myself by picking plums out of it and translating them for the benefit of the Legation. The memorials by the great nobles surrendering their fiefs, of which I have given specimens above, were published in the _Gazette_. I suspect that many of the announcements would excite as much curiosity among the Japanese of to-day as they did in 1869 among us.

* * * * *

(1.) On the first day of the New Year [February the 11th, 1869] the Emperor worships the Gods of the Four Points of the Compass, and on this occasion His Majesty in the Court of the Hall called Seiriyo Den does homage before the Gods of Heaven and Earth and prays for a prosperous year and long life. He also in the same place prays to the tombs of his ancestors. The Court performs _Go Sekkai_ (similar acts of worship). A proclamation announces to the Princes assembled at Kiōto that these acts of worship will take place, and on the second day will take place the ceremony of the worship of Haku Ba[14] (“the white horse”) by the Court. On the third day dancing and singing by the officers of the Court. The Princes may be present on these four days at their convenience. On the second the Mikado partakes of the food called _Ō-yukago Gozen_. On the second cups of wine are presented to the Ministers of State and on the third to various officials, and on the latter day the whole of the Daimios present at Kiōto receive fans from the Emperor.

(2.) On the fourth day the Ministers of State assemble on the middle and second stages of the Ko-gosho (small hall of audience), and the Hoshō (Prime Minister) reads out the imperial address—a patriotic document.

(3.) On the twelfth day there will be Kagura dances in honour of the _Kami_ (gods of the country), and on the thirteenth day there will be Kagura in honour of the Imperial change of residence to Yedo. Together with these dances there will be Shintō services from the night of the tenth day until the morning of the fourteenth. Persons in mourning, Buddhist priests and nuns will not attend on these occasions.

Regulations for the presentation of wedding gifts of a sword and box of dried fish to the Emperor from the various Princes; the Empress Mother and the Empress receiving only dried fish.

(4.) 5th day. The dance called Senshiu Banzai—“a thousand autumns and ten thousand years.”

The murder of the Minister of State, Yokoi Heishirō, on his return from Court. The Emperor addresses him a letter of inquiry. (He had been killed on the spot and his head carried off by the murderers, so it was a post-mortem compliment.)

(5.) 7th day. The ceremonies of Haku Ba, “the white horse.” This is a ceremony in honour of spring. Although the Chinese characters for “white horse” are used, “Hakuba” should be pronounced “Aoma”—“the black horse.” In the book “Kuji Kongen,” the following explanation is given: “If on the 7th day of the 1st month, a person should see a black horse it is said that pestilential vapours will not affect him during that year.” The Emperor Nimmei or Nimmiyo (A.D. 834-850) is said to have seen a black horse on that day in the part of the palace called Horaku Den, “the hall of abundance and happiness.”

In the book called “Yo No Kotozawa Mondō,” a collection of saws and proverbs, the Li Chi is cited, where it is written that persons leading seven black horses should go out to welcome the coming spring on an eastern moor. _Aoi_, light green, is the colour of spring and _aoi_ is also used for the colour of a black horse. The ceremony is therefore the hailing of spring.

Various appointments and reliefs from duty.

(6.) On the 17th it is announced that on the 19th the Emperor will witness dancing. Officials from the fourth rank down to the Hanji and Shiji may be spectators; they will take their places in the corridor, and money will be given to them wherewith they may purchase crane’s flesh and wine.

NOTE.—These curious religious dances, which remind one of the dances of the choristers at Easter in the Cathedral of Seville, are of great antiquity. It is written in the Nihon-ki, the history of Japan, that when the Emperor Inkiyō died in the forty-second year of his reign (A.D. 453) the King of Corea, being shocked and grieved at the news, sent eighty boat-loads of presents with musicians and eighty musical instruments, but the court of Japan was ignorant of their use. In the twentieth year of the Emperor Suiki (A.D. 612) Uimashi, Kichiuto and Katai came to Japan from Hiyakusai in Corea, announcing that having studied in China, they had learned various accomplishments together with the art of dancing, and specially the dances called Mai, a kind of minuet which the Chinese call Wu, danced to the accompaniment of musical instruments. These three men were sent to a place called Sakurai Mura, and persons of tender age were gathered together to be taught by them.

Two years later (A.D. 614) in the twenty-second year of the same reign, one Inugami Mitasuki was sent to the Court of China to be instructed in various accomplishments and returned in the following year. In the reign of the Emperor Nimmei (A.D. 834-850) Fujiwara no Sadatoshi went to China for the same purpose and in A.D. 847 was appointed Uta no Kami, “the Lord of Song,” as the chief instructor in the arts of singing and dancing. In the reign of the same Emperor Nimmei it is recorded that an old man named Hamamushi of the province of Owari, who at eighty-three years of age was as active as a boy, was summoned to dance before the Emperor. He it was who invented the dance called Choju-gaku, the dance of long life. (The legend taken from the first eclipse of the sun, when the sun-goddess hid in a cave and was tempted out by the dancing of her turbulent brother, is too well known to be more than referred to here. But it is the foundation of the mystic dances of the Shintō.)

(7.) 18th day. Matsudaira Idzumi no Kami is reproved on account of riots which have taken place in his district.

On the same day is issued a proclamation summoning the nobles of high and lower degree to Yedo. It goes on to say, “The Emperor is grateful for the fatigues and expenses of various natures which men have endured since last spring for their country’s sake. But the summoning of this assembly is connected with matters of the highest importance to the country. Therefore let every man receive the Imperial will and obey it with as little pomp and useless expense as possible.”

Rules for the division of duties.

Rules for the offices of the Council and Government—(an excerpt or two from these may be of interest). Office hours are from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. except when stress of work delays the closing hour.... In all discussions the office of the Jingi (Gods of Heaven and Earth—Shintō) will take precedence. Other departments will follow in due order and without confusion ... at twelve o’clock officers will retire for their midday meal. Private conversation and gossiping is forbidden.

High prices having been paid for condemned and worthless vessels, a regulation is issued forbidding the purchase of ships and men-of-war directly from foreigners without previous survey and permission of authorities of the open ports.

(8.) 19th day. Dancing before the Emperor.

(9.) 20th day. Priests and officials of the Shintō shrines summoned to court to congratulate the Emperor and pay their respects.

Arrangements for lectures to be delivered before the Emperor on Japanese and Chinese subjects.

Announcement of conclusion of treaties with Sweden and Norway, two countries ruled by one king, and Spain.

(10.) 22nd day. The Empress Mother will take up her abode in a new residence on the 11th of next month at ten in the morning.

Sentences on the men connected with the murder of the two sailors of H.M.S. _Icarus_.

(11.) Proclamation to various clans dealing with requests for permission to become Inkiyō, and petitions affecting the succession to estates and the adoption of children.

NOTE.—Adoption is considered as in all respects the same as right of birth. A gentleman once told me that he had an unbroken pedigree of a thousand years—“With adoption at various times?” I asked. “Certainly,” was the answer. He was amazed when I told him that in my country there were such pedigrees without adoption.

Memorial of Chōshiu, Satsuma, Hizen and Tosa resigning their fiefs (translation given above).

(12.) 25th day. List of persons to whom the oath of allegiance has been administered.

Order for visit of congratulation to the Emperor, Empress and Empress Mother on the occasion of her removal to her new Palace. Persons in mourning to attend for the purpose on the following day.

30th day. The Prince of Chōshiu has heard that the Emperor is about to send an envoy to his country and begs to decline the honour. Answer.—“This petition has been taken cognizance of by the Emperor, who has urgent reasons for issuing the orders in question, which will not be revoked.”

(13.) 2nd day, 2nd month. Proclamation forbidding the Princes and Nobles to have excessive retinues—also forbidding their retainers to cry out to the people to prostrate themselves as they pass.

3rd day. Canonization of an ancestor of the Prince of Chōshiu who lived in the sixteenth century. To the Mori Saisho—father and son:

“Whereas your ancestor Oyé Motonari, who received posthumous honours of the third rank during a period when the three duties of Prince, Father and Husband, and the five virtues of Benevolence, Justice, Decorum, Knowledge and Truth, were thrown into confusion, was the only man who set a brilliant example of loyalty and virtue; whereas he slew and expelled the wicked and the rebel, and whereas he over and over again offered up tribute to relieve the Emperor in his need; such patriotism and loyalty at this distance of time excites deep admiration in the Emperor, who directs that he be canonized as a _Kami_ (Shintō god) and orders that his worship shall endure for all generations.

“The Emperor commands that his shrine be called the Shrine of Toyosaka.”

Order for the circulation of a book of religious instruction called “Kiōto Fu Koku Yu Dai I.” As Sir Harry Parkes in forwarding my translation to the Foreign Office said, “An interesting instance is thus furnished of the endeavours of the Mikado’s Government to educate the mind of the nation on the political questions of the day. The intimate connection of religion with politics in a country in which the Emperor is regarded as the Vicegerent of Heaven upon earth is, of course, obvious.” A paper translated by Mr. von Siebold contains the following expressions: “The Government and religion of a country are closely united.... The law of the Mikado and the religion were in ancient days called _the wings of a bird or the wheels of a cart_. This old saying is very correct.”

The treatise is so curious and so instructive as a human document that I add my translation of it in an appendix.

Although the printing of pirated editions of other books is strictly forbidden an exception is made in the matter of the reproduction of this pamphlet.

Order that taxes be paid in bank notes (_kinsatsu_) at the rate of 120 riyos paper for every 100 riyos specie.

Other orders relating to paper money.

Order for the establishment of a mint and new coinage.

(14.) 9th day. Appointment of a lady-in-waiting[15] and a _naishi_ (waiting-woman of lesser rank).

(15.) 12th day. Five villages in the province of Echizen are to manufacture paper for bank notes. The paper is called Hoshō Gami.

(16.) 13th day. A loan of half a million riyos is asked for by the Prince of Kubota, who, being the only noble in Ōshiu and Dewa who remained faithful to the Emperor during the war, suffered grievous losses. A loan of 200,000 riyos authorized, the Government being sorely straitened for money.

(17.) The various districts and cities are ordered to send in returns of their average revenues for the last five years—also returns of the incomes of petty nobles and principal officials, and of the Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples within their jurisdiction. The petty nobles and officers are warned to send in returns to facilitate the above. Similar orders are sent in to the clans in respect of taxes and customs levied in their territories during the last five years, and also in respect of revenues of shrines and temples.

(18.) 17th day. Two gentlemen, Kuabari Taifu and Funabashi Jijiu Sammi, are reproved for not studying, and by their idleness disgracing their ancestors.

Two gentlemen are ordered to proceed to Kiōto in order to practise vaccination.

The Imperial journey from Kiōto to Yedo is fixed for the 7th of next month. Stern orders are issued to prevent any harsh treatment of the people by members of the suite or their servants. In the latter case the masters will be held responsible.

NOTE.—The issue of this order shows that there was great truth in the stories we used to hear of bullying and terrorizing by the retinues of Daimios and nobles on their journeys to and from Yedo.

The priest Embun of the Temple Niakuōji has been ordered to unfrock himself and enter the army as a cadet of the family of Namashina. Having thus been created a noble of the Court (_Kugé_) he will receive an income of forty-eight _kokus_ (about £100 at the then price of rice).

When the Emperor goes to worship at Isé (where are the shrines of the God Ancestors) members of the retinue will stop at the post town of Seki and rejoin the procession at the post town of Isu, after the acts of worship shall have been accomplished.

Distribution of troops of the various clans. The Prince of Kaga to send his contribution of rice for the army to the War Office at Yedo.

An edict forbidding the _rusui_, or agents in charge of Daimios’ _yashikis_, to continue the practice of spending money on theatrical entertainments, singing parties, exhibitions of wrestlers and debauchery.

An edict which says that whereas the various clans have been in the habit of negotiating loans directly with foreigners in violation of all propriety, it is now ordered that henceforth clans wishing to borrow money from foreigners shall address a petition to the Foreign Office, which will grant or refuse its consent.

An edict regulating the opening of mines, for testing the purity of gold, silver and copper, and for preventing the robbery of the peasants who work the mines by evilly-disposed persons.

Regulations for the employment of foreigners only with the consent of the Foreign Office.

(19.) 25th day. To the Princes of the Blood, _Kugés_ and Princes. “The first day of next month having been fixed for the ceremony of shaving off the eyebrows of the Empress, you are ordered to offer your congratulations at the palace of the Empress Dowager and of the Empress. It is not necessary to present offerings. Persons in mourning will attend on the following day.”

Similar orders are issued to officers of the fifth rank and upwards. Rules prescribed as to dresses of ceremony (_Ikan_ and _Shitataré_).

Orders as to the Emperor’s journey. Visits of congratulation to be paid by Princes of the Blood, etc., at the palaces of the Empress Dowager and Empress. “During the fifteen days following the Imperial departure each of you will proceed once to the Palace to inquire after the Emperor’s health.”

The 28th instant having been fixed for the revival of the ancient ceremony of praying for a prosperous year, the Emperor will be engaged in prayer, and religious exercises will be continued from the evening of the 26th until the morning of the 29th. Persons in deep or slight mourning, Buddhist priests and nuns should avoid going to Court on those days.

Appointments of Boards of Trade at open ports; new purchases and orders not to be entered upon until old obligations shall have been settled.

(20.) 24th day. Regulation of prices of horses and coolies during the congestion of traffic caused by removal of the Court to Yedo.

(21.) 25th day. An order for framing rules and regulations for the House of Parliament, for which accommodation will be found in the Castle.

Despatch of a mission to Koyasan.

NOTE.—A mountain in Kishiu where there is a temple founded by Kōbō Daishi, and other temples. Koyasan is the home of the Koya Maki (_Sciadopitys verticillata_.)

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These few extracts from the earliest numbers of the _Kiōto Gazette_ seem to me to have a certain interest as showing the great variety of affairs with which the newly-established Government had to busy itself. Some were small, others important: the _Dai-jōkwan_ (the new Government) had to imitate the elephant’s trunk—pick up a pin or uproot a tree.

THE “GI-JI-IN,” OR PARLIAMENT

It is generally agreed that the British House of Commons is the mother of parliaments. The new House of Representatives at Yedo was its youngest babe. Like those of all other babes, its first footsteps were somewhat tottery and uncertain. It had to learn to walk before it could run. The first debates did not reveal much oratorical power or even promise of power; oratory was, as I think I have said before, not one of the natural gifts of the nation; but the subjects of discussion were interesting and the arguments used by the speakers very instructive to all students of the country’s idiosyncrasies.

The Imperial Parliament was opened on the 18th of April, 1869, under the Presidency of Prince Akidzuki. The Emperor’s message to the House—a maiden effort—was as follows:

“Being on the point of visiting our eastern capital, we have convened the nobles of our Court, and the various Princes, in order to consult them upon the means of establishing the foundations of peaceful government. Laws and institutions are the basis of government. The petitions of the people at large cannot be lightly decided. It has been reported to us that brief rules and regulations have been fixed upon for the Parliament, and it seems good to us that the House should be opened at once.

“We expect you to respect the laws of the House, to lay aside all private and selfish considerations, to conduct your debates with minuteness and firmness; above all things, to take the laws of our ancestors as a basis. Adapt yourselves to the feelings of men and to the spirit of the times. Distinguish clearly between those matters which are of immediate importance and those which may be delayed; between things which are less urgent and those which are pressing. In your several capacities argue with careful attention. When the results of your debates are communicated to us it shall be our duty to confirm them.”

It will be seen that this Imperial message contains, especially in the last sentence, something more than a promise of constitutional government, while reference to the spirit of the times is all the more remarkable considering the source from which it comes.

The first subject of debate was upon the position of the cadet branches of the great princely houses. It was proposed that in the event of the heads of such cadet branches being attainted of treason or crime, their properties should return to the elder branch and the guilty person alone be rendered responsible. If the property of an attainted cadet branch were held of the Crown, and not of the elder branch, then the property should revert to the Crown.

The institution of the Parliament was followed by the production of a newspaper called the _Kogishō Nisshi_ or “Journal of Parliament.” It shows that, however crude and elementary the debates might be, the institution gave opportunities such as had never existed before of ventilating important subjects and publishing the discussions for the instruction of the people. It also gave the Government the chance of issuing from time to time papers of questions, the object of which was the political education of the members themselves. One of these papers was so remarkable that I have no hesitation in giving my translation of it here _in extenso_.

(Blue Book, Japan, No. 3. 1870.)

(Translation.) Seventeen subjects of inquiry as to the means of washing away the Shame of Our Country in regard to foreign relations.

MEMORANDUM ON THE FOREIGN RELATIONS OF JAPAN, DRAWN UP BY THE FOREIGN OFFICE.

(1.) From ancient times till the present day the question of opening or closing the country has been a frequent theme of debate. Are the barbarians birds or beasts with whom we ought not to associate?—or, seeing that our country is not really rich and strong, should we take of their surplus to supply our deficiencies and then sweep them away? Or shall we change our teaching altogether to the Western fashion, opening schools for the acquisition of Western accomplishments and mastering the arts of gunnery and of shipbuilding, and when we have done this, drive them utterly from the country? Or shall we cut the barbarians down? All sorts of schemes of this nature have been debated down to the present day. If Japan is to be opened, shall we keep our foreign relations as they at present exist, or shall we place them upon a new and different footing?

(2.) If it be determined that Japan should be closed, ought the foreigners to be expelled with decision, or shall we cut down and slay the foreigners who are living here? And when they come to fight us (in revenge for this) what will be the proper way for us to meet them?

(3.) If, when the foreigners come with their armies to invade us we having no soldiers ready to oppose them, our people and the Emperor’s house fall together to rise no more, what then?

(4.) If, when the time comes for us to struggle with the foreigners, there should be persons to raise the extraordinary argument that we ought not to pit our soldiers and our strength against them, how shall we be justified in holding such language?

(5.) If it be decided to close the ports, when the time comes for us to fight, in what province shall we place our illustrious Imperial House in safety, and how shall we protect it? What will be the result of our precautions?

(6.) If at the present time there are men who violently murder innocent foreigners, or who coin base money, or who borrow excessive sums of money, yearly and monthly piling up iniquity upon iniquity, when the foreigners shall have taken counsel together, and set their forces in motion to attack our Government and demand reparation, they will appropriate the open ports, stop our shipping upon the seas, and take possession of our islands, and then how shall we ward them off; what device shall we invent to suppress them?

(7.) It appears that at the present moment the party in favour of opening the ports are the advocates of Western civilization, while the party in favour of closing the ports advocate the Japanese and Chinese civilization. If one or the other policy is to be adopted once for all, which of these two will it be fitting that we should determine and fix upon?

(8.) At a juncture like the present how will it answer in the end to make our Shintō religion the religion practised in truth and in fact by the whole people of Japan?

(9.) When the policy to be pursued is adopted, will that of opening or that of closing the country be best adapted to the spirit of the times, and on which side will the advantage or disadvantage, the gain or loss, show themselves in the end?

(10.) The object of the treaties between Japan and other countries was to promote friendship and commerce between our people and foreigners. For the last few years foreign countries have vied with one another in sending their fleets and soldiers to reside in Japan for the protection of their people. Should any trouble arise, they will send out their troops in a moment to protect the different places at which they reside. At the present moment there are some three thousand British troops here. The next in numbers to these are the French. The Americans and other countries have only their fleets. As yet our illustrious and divine country has not been brought into contempt before the foreigner; the present danger is lest we should call upon ourselves that contempt. What is the proper line of conduct for us at present to adopt in order to clear away that danger?

(11.) Reflecting upon this introduction of troops in accordance with the principles of international law, it is unheard of that soldiers should be stationed in any other places than colonies of the mother-country. During the last few years several tens of foreign merchants have been murdered, and for every man so murdered the foreign Governments have increased their forces until they have reached their present large numbers. As these murders increase they will, in the same proportion, add to their troops and fortify themselves more and more. What measures shall we adopt to put a stop to this?

(12.) If, as the years and months roll on, foreigners continue to be murdered, and in this way foreign forces are augmented until all the ports are filled by them, this will be the greatest pollution and disgrace that could befall our divine country. As it is, we bear an evil name before the nations of the world. Animated by the patriotic spirit of Samurais of Japan, how shall we wipe out the blot of these misdeeds in sight of the world?

(13.) The presence of these foreign troops points to the impotence of our Government to preserve peace and to protect native and foreigner. It is proclaimed that, until the power of life and death, of giving and of taking away, belongs to the Government,[16] the troops cannot be sent back to their respective countries. This power of life and death, of giving and of taking away, is the prerogative of the Government. The preservation of peace and the protection of native and foreigner is the very essence of that which is right and proper. The principle of mutual relief and assistance is that upon which treaties of amity should be observed. At the present moment we have come to such a point that we are tutored by foreign countries as to our own internal policy. What good scheme shall we adopt to blot out this shame?

(14.) In the days of the Shōgun’s government the power of life and of death, the power of dismissal from and nomination to office was in the hands of low persons.[17] This caused the restoration of the government to the Emperor. How shall we guide our chariot clear of the rut in which that which preceded it was overturned?

(15.) The representatives of foreign Powers when they go through the streets or in the country are preceded and followed by soldiers; what means shall we adopt to put an end to this irregularity? or shall we take no steps to put a stop to it?

(16.) It has happened that when the officers or soldiers of the cities, clans and district towns fall in with foreigners on the high road, disturbances have occurred; what means shall be adopted to punish such offences? or, indeed, has the Government the power to punish them?[18] When foreigners ask these questions how can we give them a true and faithful answer?

(17.) If it be desired to decide clearly between peace and war, an earnest and determined effort is necessary in either case. If our energies are relaxed for one single step we shall suddenly be precipitated into the misfortunes consequent upon our want of decision, and the power of the Government will fall into the hands of unprincipled persons. Therefore, is it not desirable that the question of peace or war should be decided once for all?

The above questions are of all importance at the present moment. They must be treated with honesty and sincerity, and we earnestly beg you to settle these subjects, conducting your deliberations in accordance with the spirit of the times.

(Signed) FOREIGN OFFICE.

I translated several of the debates of the young Parliament; they were on various subjects. Here are one or two of the headings:

(1.) The confiscated estates of cadet branches of noble families attainted of treason—shall they be forfeit to the crown or shall they be given to the elder branch?

(2.) In cases of urgent necessity it has hitherto been the custom to extort large levies of money from farmers and rich merchants. One Ono Seigorō proposes to substitute for this method of raising money, which he stigmatizes as little better than robbery, a national debt on the European model; and that the Government should borrow money from the people on the security of bonds bearing interest at the rate of 3 or 3½ per cent.

The voting upon this measure was as follows:

Ayes 123 Noes 30 For the abolition of levies, but against the National Debt 32 Against the abolition of levies, but for the National Debt 2 --- 187

(3.) On reckoning distances, temple lands and villages occupied by Etas (the pariah class) have not been taken into account, because these have not been required to furnish coolie labour to the Government. This has led to confusion—and it is proposed to rectify the error.

Ayes 172 Noes 7 Indifferent 13 --- 192

(4.) A proposal to abolish the practice of bearing familiar names. Also that titles be abolished, and great and small known only by their proper personal names. Question not decided.

(5.) A motion for introducing into the public service competitive examinations upon the Chinese principle.

The sixth debate was upon the question of establishing partnerships between Japanese and foreigners; and here the new institution was upon dangerous ground—the more so in that some of the honourable members spoke of “foreign barbarians.” The foreign representatives felt bound to warn the Government that whatever the House might please to say the treaties must be respected and foreigners spoken of with courtesy. The Government were not slow in apologizing.

Two of the debates were extremely interesting; they were translated by Mr. Aston; the subject of the one being prohibition of _seppuku_ (the classical word for _hara-kiri_) and the other a motion that it should be optional for the Samurai to wear sword and dirk. As may be imagined, these proposals met with scant favour. _Seppuku_, it must be remembered, was a punishment, the highly prized privilege of the Samurai, the armiger, or gentleman, of Japan. It saved him from the disgrace of dying by the sword of the executioner, and it preserved his property, which would otherwise have been forfeited, for the benefit of his family. As a voluntary act it is not yet extinct. The death of my friend the heroic General Nogi, the hero of Port Arthur, bears testimony to that. Some of the arguments used by the speakers were full of character; one member defined _seppuku_ as “the very shrine of the Yamato Damashii, the spirit of old Japan, and the embodiment in practice of devotion to principle.”

Another said: “To prohibit it would be to remove one of the pillars of the Constitution.” One patriot declared that “It is an ornament to our country, and is one reason of its superiority over the countries beyond the seas.” “We ought to maintain a custom which fosters a sense of shame in the military caste and in the existence of which doubtless consists the superiority of Japan over other countries.” “Why should this custom be prohibited in imitation of the effeminacy of foreign nations?” “In this Country of the Gods it is not necessary to discuss such a law.” Again, “The _seppuku_ has its origin in the vital energy of this divine country and is the shrine of the Yamato Damashii. Its practice should be extended.” “The reason why _seppuku_ is practised in this Empire and not in foreign countries is because this Empire is an Empire.” It would be tedious to multiply instances of utterances of this class. They show the still prevalent belief in the divine superiority of the speakers’ country and the deeply-rooted veneration for what in their eyes was an act of heroism when voluntary, of privilege when enforced. When the question was put to the vote only three men voted for abolition; two hundred against; no vote, six. Of what were looked upon as the recreant three, one man was said—with what truth I know not, but it was widely believed—to have been murdered shortly afterwards as the reward of his vote.

In the debate on the question of making it optional to wear two swords there was even less discussion. The proposal was negatived unanimously. Here, again, some of the speeches were instructive.

One gentleman, Sonoda Tamatsu, said: “It is a good maxim for the soldier in peace time never to forget war. What shall we say of a measure that asks us, even in the midst of civil disorder, to forget the existence of civil disorder? What, I ask, is the character of the times in which we live? The object of the soldier caste wearing two swords is that they may suppress war by war; but as the chief glory of the sword consists in its resting quietly in its sheath, it follows that a natural stimulus is given to letters,” etc.

So the motion was lost, but a year or two later the Government, finding it impossible to check the old broils and troubles which became so dangerous when hot-headed men were armed with deadly weapons, passed a law making the wearing of swords illegal. The famous old saying of Iyéyasu, “The girded sword is the living soul of the Samurai,” has become a dead letter. The sword is laid upon the sword-rack on the _tokonoma_ (raised dais), an heirloom and object of reverence, but the Japanese gentleman goes forth unarmed, and there is peace in the land.

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