THE LIBRARY OF THH UNIVERSITY OI'CALHORNIA LOS ANGELES c,u r I.IF JAPAN AT THE CROSS ROADS JAPAN AT THE CROSS ROADS A. M. POOLEY I.ATK KXHIIUTIONKK OK Cl.AKK COUJCdK, LAMKKIIX.K KIMTOK OK "TIIK SKCKKT MKMOIKS OK COfXT IIAYASIII," ETC., KTC. NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY / it 7 THE AUTHOR TAKES TIIK LIBERTY OF INSCRIBING THIS VOLUME TO THE KIND SENDERS OF SOME BOXES OF DELICIOUS VIOLETS, WHO OTHERWISE MAY NEVER KNOW HOW DEEPLY THEY WERE APPRECIATED AND WHAT GREAT COMFORT THEY GAVE. fil V PREFACE INVITED by the publishers to contribute a volume on conditions in Japan at the opening of the Taisho Era, th<- following chapters were written during the summer of 1915 for inclusion in a considerably larger volume than the present one. It being impossible to publish the complete work during the continuance of the War, the chapters dealing with internal affairs have been segregated and are offered herewith. As in part the author covers the same ground as Professor W.. \VJ. McClarcn in his Political History of Japan, arriving at identical conclusions in practically the same words, it is allowable to point out that he had not the advantage of seeing Professor McClaren's excellent work until some months after the MS. of the present book had been completed and delivered to the pub- lishers (August, 1915). The only changes since made therein have been the additions necessary to bring the bare essentials of 1915 and 1916 under notice, which additions are indicated in the text. The author ha principally relied on notes taken during his residence in Tokyo twelve boxes full but no one venturing to write on Japan can afford to ignore the files of the foreign Press of that country. Especially have the columns of The Japan Mail and The Japan Chronicle been laid under contribution. To the latter journal in particular is the author indebted, not only in the com- 8 I'RKFACE position of this volume, but throughout his stay in Japan. Its pages an- an inexhaustible mine of scholarly research, sane criticism, and sound patriotism. The section on Japanese C'ourt Ladies appeared in The Contemporary Review of November, 1913, and part of it and various other jx)rtions of the Ixxik have appeared from time to time in Russian and Kn^ r li>h journals. LONDON. April (>, i CHAPTKR SKVKN" SOCIAL CONDITIONS (continued) ... . _^o CHAPI'KR KIC.HT RELIGION . .... . 340 INTRODUCTORY IT used to he a common saving that the most far- reaching event in the political history of the last genera- tion was the rise of Japan, a^ the result of the Restoration of 1808. Whether the statement was as true as it was trite remains to he seen. The historian of posterity will in all likelihood consider the Reconstruction of the Ciernian Kmpire in 1871 as an event of far greater consequence, both in its immediate and ultimate effects, than the adoption of Western standards of civilization by a non -Aryan race. It may well he that the chronicler of the future will find the Unification of Italy to be as pregnant with momentous surprises, whilst the ampu- tation of the Spanish colonies by the United States and the awakening of American understanding to a realization of the responsibilities of the United States towards her own citizens, and to the world at large, have already had more intensive and extensive influence throughout the world than all Japan's victories over China or Russia. Various estimates have been attempted of the results which the creation of a new ' Power ' in the Pacific might be expected to produce. Subsequent develop- ments have, however, clearly proved that the time for anything like a precise calculation has not yet arrived. In some respects the reaction on world-politics has been much stronger than any writer was able to imagine. In other directions the expected influence of Japan has proved a pra tically negligibl- quantity. .Who. for example, would have dreamed ten years 12 INTRODUCTORY ago th.i; Japan, in alliance with Ivngland aiul Russia, would have reconquered Kiao-' hau from Germany for eventual restoration to < 'hina ? < )n the other hand, to what extent have tin- predi< ted menaces of Japan against the Philippines or Australia been reali/ed? Or again, how nun h nearer is Japan to-day to the place- allotted her by the {x>liti<\il augurs, and towards which she is said to If -tnving a- th" leader of Asiatic hegemom against the white race-,? It i- interesting and instructive to examine the premise* on wliich j>oliti' al seribcs have based their conclusions. In my humble opinion those conclusions are wrong because they are primarily founded on one simple illusion. In ev'-ry lx>ok that has ever been written on japan, the statement will be found under one form or another, that in the short space of halt a century Japan has. risen from a < hard!) true to say th.it >he was in a state of medi.i vali-m, so tar as the essentials of legislation and administration were concerned. To number Japan of i.Xo.X amongst the barbarian nation- i- to confess to a painful ignoran. e of the insti- lut'on- ot the (oiintry and ot its history. It is al-o to pred. ate a similar iiinoraii' e on the part ot the reader \\ h' :i ( omniodore Pen\ kno, krd at the doors ot \ i d" and d'-manded adnnt'an c. we lind no admission on hi- part that he had to deal uith barbai ians . ( n the inntrary. \\>- -a:! that the fapan -< weie a i ultuied and int 1 i^ent j>e< iple . The;, were |>o--e^cd ot a naturally keen Hltelligf-ii' e, u!r.' h h.id be. ;i 1:0:111 -bed lor i entmie^ on the philosophy "t .Nun/, .md h.u j-!i'-'i in (lie i>-n;nr. ot early tmei-n iiifi I- oiit-e 'e-. the t a lung-, ot the |e-Mii I.i'h'-ts i(n-\ h.i'i ia'e'ii b'lt "re.it [c .-!\i- ot tre:i;;t|| : tl|i Illal \ ellon- ij .1 it. I.,: -.r ril itioti, .it v\hi !i the \\oild ha- -llh e v. ' ; i' 1' ; < I . i in he re- it in 'In-m ili'ii in -t it nt ion*- were INTRODUCTORY 13 based on the family .system, tin- most .stable of all political units : their military arts wen- highly developed, as was natural amongst a race of lighting -men ; to organi/e, equip, and transj>ort an army of from 100,000 to 250,000 men for service abroad was in Japan no unknown feat hundreds of years before Napoleon lived and led in Europe. So far from Japan being cut off from the outer world, she had had in the seventeenth century very close contact with Europe through missionaries and traders, and even after the jxjlicy of seclusion was initiated, a colony of Dutch was permitted at Deshima, near Nagasaki. This, with the annual batch of students sent abroad by the liukufn, formed the medium through which the rulers of Japan maintained a watch upon the happenings of the- outer world and acquired a very- fair knowledge of the trend of W.estern civili/ation. It is more than a little interesting to note that vaccination was introduced as early as 1847, whilst Alcock, Adams, and other diplomats of prc-Restoration days found rilled cannon in abundance in the possession of the great daimyo . The reports of the Dutch factors record the import of matchlocks and muskets, and a constant demand for European scientific publications. Siebold found a very high standard of medical and astronomical learning ; that woodtyping and stereotyping were well known ; that mathematics, trigonometry, and civil engineering were studied ; that canals, lathes, and water-mills were all in use, though in some directions mechanics were not encouraged, under the fear that the introduction of machinery might displace labour and create unrest. There was an efficient postal service long before the opening by Perry, and bills of exchange were a common mercantile convenience. In casting a contempt for proportion in no way affected the merit of the work, whilst in lacquer, silk, metallurgy, and horticulture the natives had little, if anything, to learn from abroad. So far, therefore, from the Japanese of Commander Perrv's time being barbarians, thev had attained to a 14 INTRODUCTORY comparatively high .state of i ivih/ation, whether that word is understood or misunderstood in term-; of art, science. politics, or warfare. It is more correct to say that when the so-called ' re- opening ' of Japan took place the Japanese wen- in a state of mental stagnation. They were ready for a change, hut the necessary impetus and model had to come from without . The history of Japan lias been one of adoption and assimilation. Nothing in the country is pure and original. The Buddhism which for a thousand years tilled the place of a state religion was imported from Korea. It is a concoction of Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism. It was taught to the Japanese in return for naval and military aid sent to the King of Pakche, one of the composite kingdoms later included in the Empire of Korea. The reform.-, of Taikwa . 6.15), considered hv historians as an even greater revolution than that which opened the Meiji KIM, consisted of the transplantation ot the Chines" >ystems of administration across the Yellow Sea to Japan. Th<- first law code was l*>rrowed from China, a> was the oath ot allegiance, and even the design of the ( < -urt robe > . Kven hu^hido is not a Japanese virtue, hut was im- bibed from th" Sn:i l\m> f.'/ii/i }'fn, th<- greatest historn al noM-1 of any time, and as Professor Chamberlain has explained in his (Creation of a .Wir A', / .','.<;//. the word \\.i-. not evn i oiued until well on in the reign of the late Kni|;eror Mutsuhito. 1 < otint Okuma, more tamou- as an educationalist than as a statesman, has nut on record that the pnncip.il 1 Mr. J.>h:i C i- 1 v ll.i'il. C'.I', , I.S.O.. wntf- in hi- .titio-in . J.ip :r,'' <', ,:,!!!,; mi ::i : ' I ). /.n S'aml.u. nnr <>f tin- i:U'<-l t-initu : : :itttl:> : > < I ( ;i!'u i 1:1 1 1 i. .[ ::i in h. i- /.':. ':..'i. S/': i In- \\'.i\ -, I )i -i i iiuin.il i : n. v- ... M i:ifntt;.:.i f't t :!:i,t >. pn-i .il-lv !< . ;I,I.M- ihr M,^ ,,!!..! U., v ; V. '. :; -A. i . .1 \ i : ! u t :.i w ;,:!' < ft 1 inn . .1 1 1 i.-if. \<\ ; -u n n '. i <\ !'. : ', in ,i Hill ;:i.C: .: : .t i.i'i i i.i\ INTRODUCTORY 15 characteristic of his countrymen is the power to nirni- latc. 1 Ho carried this further in a speech delivered to the Osaka Bankers' Association in August, 1014, when he said that his countrymen could " copy and imitate, but neither initiate nor invent." 3 The early and mediaeval periods of Japan were respec- tively deeply influenced by Korea and China ; then came an age when the influence of Europe wielded through the missionaries and traders was strong ; then followed the era of seclusion, tempered, nevertheless, by a current of Dutch influences via Dcshima. In 1853 commenced the great period of .Western influence, wielded principally by England, supported by America and Germany. Since the Russo-Japanese War English influence has been distinctly on the wane, and Teutonic views have correspondingly gained. It is not with any view of depreciating Japanese progress, or of minimizing its importance, that the writer has, after long and careful consideration, concluded that the popular conception of Japan is highly erroneous, and that botli the achievements and the resources of the country have been vastly overrated. Probably within the history of newspaperdom no nation has received so unanimously beneficent a ' press ' as Japan did before, during, and after the war with Russia. It was literally almost impossible to open a newspaper or magazine without finding some article of fulsome eulogy and praise for Britain's Far Eastern Allies. City mcn will confirm the statement that the mere mention of Japan on a prospectus was enough to untie the purse- strings of the most hardened investor. Japan for a time exercised an hypnotic influence on the British public, and the effect is only now beginning to wear off. Reference has already been made to the inherent genius of the Japanese for organization . Never has that genius been displayed to greater effect than in the conquest of Great Britain. 1 Okumu, Fift\ }' ,V" \cu 'Jap 3 'Japan \Vcckl\ Chrcniclc, Au^u> 16 INTRODUCTORY Tlit pivot of Japan's policy has hitherto ap|K>ared in IK North China and Korea, although Korea was, and North China is, only a means to an end. China having been disposed of in 18^5. there only remained two Powers capable of blocking Japan's path. One of these was Russia, the other (I real Britain. '1 he manner in which Japan had 'defeated China, and the subsequent progress of the country, had given the. British public a justifiably good impression of the island race. ( >n the other hand, in Russia Japan was looked upon as an interloper, who could very soon lx- kicked out if the way. The Japanese for their part regarded Russia as an ancient enemy, who, by forcing the retrocession of I'ort Arthur, had inflicted on her an almost indelible humiliation. Nevertheless, there were two conflicting parties amongst the Jaj aii'-se statesmen. The one, headed by Ito, was afraid of Rus-ia, and wished for an alliance with that fountry. The other, headed by Kat-ura, desired an alliance with Britain. It is ancient history that the latter party gained the day. That victory was to a great extent due to the Press Bureau. This institution, though officially non-existent, manipulated a complete ami most successful ' corner ' in Japanese new--. When it i> remembered that the rorres{x)iidence of Renter's. A-s4i, iated 1'p-ss. I he 7////<'s, A'< ir York Sun, I. all. in. /)ii;lv I ilt'^rafh and StunJ.ir^l were for years all supplied either by foreigners dire tly employee! by the Japanese < io\ eminent, or bv Japanese in (iovernmeiit emplo\, then it is not di.ii'iilf to imagine that the ileus was aluavs < oult ur df rmr . Again, in every Japanese Legation abroad was a .seiietary who ~e sole dutv was to suj)j)!y p!ea-;ng i ' "py !o i!ie re|rters. a'ta'hed t-i the Foiei-n Miii-tej. \\a- a '-tipply Ilicted, Mpjihed INTRODUCTORY 17 with carefully edited material, and in some cases with a guarantee for so many hundred copies of any proposed volume on Japan embodying the gratis subject-matter. When the war with Russia occurred delegates were sent to the neutral countries to ' maintain a favourable public opinion.' Viscount Suyematsu was sent to Eng- land, and very ably he did his work. Viscount Kaneko filled the same role in America. After the Russian War the special correspondents from Europe and the States were withdrawn. The news again relapsed under Japanese control. The only change, but not one for the better, was in 1 906, when the American Associated Press sent out a correspondent, Mr. J. R. Kennedy, who soon proved himself more Japanophile than the Japanese, and who, shortly after the visit of the American battleship fleet, was the recipient of a high decoration from the Japanese Government, for his services as an ' uncrowned Ambassador ' in influencing American public opinion. This gentleman is now the head of the International News Agency of Japan, a semi-official concern, which controls the Reuter service, the semi-official Japan Times and Japan Mail, and the correspondence of the New York Herald, Christian Science Monitor, and other American papers, besides having alliances with the Havas, Associated Press, and Stefani Agencies. In an Oriental country the original sources of infor- mation available to a foreigner are strictly limited, and must to a considerable extent remain so. In Japan in particular is this the case. Not only is the ideograph the boundary of first-hand knowledge, if written sources are required, but the people themselves, and officials in particular, have not learned, during fifty years of foreign intercourse, to lightly drop the seclusion and secretiveness of insular isolation. Just as the Japanese keeps a suit of foreign clothes and a suite of foreign rooms for the benefit of his foreign visitors, so he has a separate set of ideas for their consumption. 2 i8 INTRODUCTORY That the world is now in possession of far greater and more exact knowledge of what is really passing) in the country, and of wliat is in the minds of the jx-ople. ii> due in part to the hiatus of two years, wlfc'ii tin- foreign news services were subtracted from Japanese control, but principally to the development of the spirit of introspection amongst the Japanese themselves. The vernacular press, during a period of four years previous to the opening of the (ireat War in Europe, succeeded in wresting from the authorities a considerable degree uf freedom, and using that freedom for the national advantage, obtained the promise of many, and the in- ception of a few, sound reforms. Unscrupulous and dastardly as the vernacular press often shows itself, the nation owes it thanks for all of the most important legis- lation of re ent years. In one important respect, however, the pre-s is utterly subservient to the bureaucracy and the apitalists. Kyobashi. the < iaimiisho and Nihonbashi are at one in an insistence on an aggressive foreign jx>licy, and there is only too certain proot that the violent tirades against China find their inspiration in the Foreign < Hi;i e and (he War ( Mrice. where they serve factional interests, and are taorted by the other I)epan- ments of State, as convenient red herrings ai ros-, the path of -o ial ami economic reform. I may -hoitly consider the statement repeatedly made that Japan I- fated to be the leader of the Asiatii rates again-t the ('auca-ian ones. This is the much-talked-ol YI l!ou I'dil. I'nder certain londitions this may uell ottur. Tho->e conditions are the continuation of the MI it ;K cjtlirM ence by (iieat I'ntain, a!id the active support b\ Ku la and 1'iatie.- of Japan's aggressive poll v to\\aid-- hlli. i. In that event the < iim<'-e may be e\pei{ed to th'Ml attitude. ainf Join the Japanese in a!! e\i 111 loll , diret t'-d a;.ai;i-t th' \\hiti--.. and e\cn!uali\ de lopi;ig into a ra>e U.ir. No one, looking ba> k o\ei Iop'e's i VIlli .il illsre;;aid 'if her pledge's alld pltillil-i- . uld bi.Uli'- < 'hina for siii li a e'nursr. .So far Jap. 1:1 ha- Hot made aiiv real pto:;ic,, to\^ard- INTRODUCTORY 19 the dictatorship of Asia. Given normal conditions, and what would he an abnormal hut reasonable development of British policy, and she will make no real progress in the future. I admit that this is the eventual goal to which Japanese eyes are directed, but even such astute states- men as Prince Katsura and Baron Kato have expressed their doubts as to the ultimate possibility of success. The late Prince Katsura in a conversation which I had with him in January, 1913, discussed this matter. He most emphatically denied the suggestion that Japan had such aims. Ignoring the interpreter, ha broke into German, and said, ' There are people who think such things. They are stupids, who repeat what they are paid to say, and are causing very serious trouble in our diplomatic affairs." The late Prince made no secret of the fact that the homes of this belief lay in a section of the army and amongst a group of highly placed financiers in Tokyo. Count Okuma in 1914 put on record his belief that Japan has no equipment to lead Asia, arguing that beyond the assimilation of a certain amount of Western civiliza- tion, a veneer of modernity and strong military forces, Japan has nothing else on which she can claim to be a Great Power. These views are strikingly similar to those of the late Count Hayashi Tadasu. Count Okuma continued the speech referred to by expressing a strong disbelief that China can ever be regenerated. This, however, must be regarded as a wish rather than a thought. It is unreasonable to imagine that a country, which was a great Empire in the dimmest ages, which produced then a civilization and a morality which has endured to the present, is incapable of adjusting itself to modern conditions if allowed to do so. It is almost an impertinence for Japan, which has made no original contribution, scientific or intellectual, to modern civiliza- tion to disparage the country from whom she has borrowed her own ethics, art, manners, language, and religion. On the other hand, Count Okuma claims that Japan 20 INTRODUCTORY has a mission as the mediator and modificator between Mast and West. Japan, in other words, is to be the half -caste nation of Eastern and Western civilizations. Whether Japan can ever fulfil that mission the Japanese Premier doubts, because of her dependence on Kuro|>e and America, and because of her insignificant posses- sions-' a bare 2 t ', th of the world's surface, a commerce smaller than that of the smallest luirojx-an Power, and an economy inferior to even that of China.' This is the Ircquent error, the malevolent influence of German thought, that a nation must be judged by what it has and not by what it is. The spirit of self -analysis has been, during the last few years, rampant in Japan. It has caused a consider- able depression throughout the country. The trend of thought appears to he "Here are we victors in two great wars, one over an Asiatic Empire, the other over .1 Kuropean. W/e are allied with the maritime and financial Power of Europe. Our flag is llown on every sea. Diplomatically we are treated as equals in every country. .We have a modern army, a modern navy, a modern tariff, expanding industries, commerce, and emi- gration. Yet, in spite of all this, wherever we go we an- unpopular ; we are distrusted by everybody. At home social unrest is increasing and economic conditions are de-perate. iWJiy is it? lip- old belief that the Japanese are a race of diminutive -upermen die> hard, but dying it is. The Japanese an- an extremely brave and brainy nation of M.il.ty origin. '1 In y have in a very short space of time adopted the habit-> and < ustom^ of the ()< cident, and lai Iced them on to their ou:i. 1 "h-y are, hard a> it may be for (In- [.ipan So' iety and kindred bodie-, to believe, ju^t human-* with human faults and human virtues. They have a high tod-- of military ethi ^, and a supreme but painfully rno'i'in sense oi patriotism. 1 heir moral M-nse is low. :he\ arc no! iri'!:i-trio'i>, their intelligeix e i> imitative but riot nnti.itiv. v.ii,i t their amiiitiou i-> Itlcml' <1 urli an * fo:luna'' a/^rfs i\- - f ;e <- a M d a d-[)l'ral>le en-itivt-nr-. INTRODUCTORY 21 Mr. Aubrey Stanhope records an interview with the late Queen Draga of Servia, which Her Majesty patheti- cally concluded with the words, " Ditcs bicn de nous, Monsieur ! " With the Japanese it is always ' Ditcs bien de nous.' President Taft, when in Japan, remarked to the late Count Mayashi on the touchiness of his com- patriots, on their fear and resentment of criticism. The Japanese statesman said, " My countrymen are suffering from patriotic self-conceit." It is the commonest fault of the country to mistake irritable self-complacency for patriotism. Permission to criticize is inexorably refused. The traveller comes to see, he must stay to praise. The national attitude to foreigners is either contemptuously patronixing or insulting. Whichever it may be, no foreigner is credited with even the threat of intelligence. The wonderful publicity campaign, to which I referred earlier, and to which I shall have to refer again, was one continuous, high-pitched, eulogistic misrepresentation. What really were the crude, incoherent, rough-shaped beginnings of a new State were placed before the world as imposing ideals of morality and character. The rhapsody of self-praise obliterated from view the network of industrial, political, social, and economic problems, which are the birthright of every nation, and no more to be evaded by Japan than by Germany, Australia, or America. Criticism is perhaps bitter to the palate, but as necessary to the body politic as medicine to the body physical. Every war has its regrettable incidents as every nation's history has its record of mistakes. Hesi- tation to face cither the one or the other means failure, an attractive failure perhaps, but none the less failure. Great as Japan's successes have been, though not so great as she would have the world believe, she has now to decide whether she will be a nation of promise or one of achievement. The reward of the latter is eternal fame, of the other a page or two in history as a ' has been ' or ' might-have-been.' Dreadnoughts, machine -grins, gold currency and braid, electric railways and imported tailorings arc at best 22 INTRODUCTORY only accessories. Poverty, mortality, and crime, and the conditions of the subject races are the true barometers of national welfare. In Japan the prisons are chronically overcrowded, the taxes overwhelmingly heavy, and the death-rate unduly high. Many thinking Japanese readily acknowledge the burdens under which their country is sulTering, and m m<>st cases attribute it to the continuance of the bureau- cratic system, which penetrates and endangers every class of society. But whilst scientifically they regret these thing-, they balance against them the benefits \vhich Japan has gained in the past. They are like the Athenian hctuira, who daily visited the temples and prayed, " May the good gods make me (-haste but not yet." It is generally conceded that when the Teutonic ques- tion has been settled, the next problem the world will be set to solve will be that of the Pacific. In t he- solution ('treat Britain, America, and Japan will be vitally concerned. The object of this volume is not to predict the future. It is an attempt to delineate; the real state of affairs in Japan, and to indicate the fortes which are at work moulding public opinion and the directions in \\huh they are leading. (iiven an urate data the moderately intelligent can drav. their own conclusions. JAPAN AT THE CROSS ROADS CHAPTER ONE EMPEROR WORSHIP PART I The true gentleman observes moderation : The mean man violates it. CONFUCIUS. ON official publications issued in Japan will be found two dates, as 2576-1915. The former group repre- sents the year according to the authorized version of Japajiese history, the latter the year according to the Christian Era. The little difference of six hundred and sixty years is explained by the Empire not having been founded until the reign of Jimmu Tcnno, the first Emperor, which began in 660 B.C. Since that time, orthodox history relates, the Imperial power has descended in an unbroken, direct line. The Imperial oath taken by the monarch at the Accession ceremony runs : ' Having, by the virtues of the glories of our Ancestors, ascended the throne of a lineal suc- cession, unbroken for ages eternal,' etc., etc. Even so severe a critic of the Japanese system of govern- ment as Professor I'ehara in his Political Development of Modern Japan writes : " Eor more than twenty-live centuries, ever since the embryo of their national life began to develop under the leadership of the first Emperor Jimmu, the Japanese have always lived under one and the same government, and have scrupulously maintained their ethnic unity." 24 JAPAN AT TUP: CROSS ROADS The orthodox profession of faith is as follows : The Emperor holds his power by reason of his unbroken descent from Jimmu Tenno, the first Emperor, who was the lineal descendant of the divinities, who created Japan. Consequently the Eni|K-ror is himself divine, and, ipso facto, supreme lord of Heaven and Earth. His country is therefore tin- first kingdom of the world. The natural result of such a doctrine has been to create the sentiment that the Emperor and his Ancestors are sacrosanct and infallible : to extort an implicit obedience to his orders, or rather to orders issued in his name, and to establish a belief that Japan is as superior to every other nation as the Mikado, thanks to his alleged divinity, is superior to the common ruck of kings and emperors. The doctrine outlined above has obtained general acceptance in Japan and a wide acceptance abroad. That it is in itself unscientific and untrue is obvious, but unfortunately people in Japan are forbidden to believe otherwise, and people outside have had but little opportunity or desire to judge for themselves as to the correctness or otherwise of the views skilfully elabo- rated for their benefit by the publicity department of the Japanese bureaucracy. This is the (iced, outwardly at least, of every Japanese, and it will be of interest to see how it has been evolved, what it -has accomplished, and to what it is leading. It is first necessary to carry the reader back to prehistoric times, and shortly sket< h the origins of tin- alleged divinity and mythological pedigree of the Imperial family. He who would probe the matter a jnndo may find a wealth of elaborate detail in the researches of Aston, Chamberlain, Satow, Murdoch, Hulbert, and Longford. If in doing so he finds that most of the modern literature upon Japan teems with inaccuracies and untruth he mu-t not be astonished. He may impute it with jusine to the morbid hatred of the Japanese themselves to adverse criticism, and to EMPEROR WORSHIP 25 the weakness of modern journalists and authors, who arc more willing to accept a brief than content to record facts and let the reading public draw its own deductions. A considerable portion of the books dealing with Japan published during the last twenty-five years have been official or semi-official productions, such as Okuma's Fifty Years of Modern Japan, Suyematsu's The Risen Japan, and Dr. Nitobe's ttushido, which are only incom- plete ,'md inaccurate records of historical events, jx.-r- versions of facts to suit bureaucratic ideas of history, or else volumes subsidixed by financial contributions or official inspirations. It is a matter of considerable regret that works in ,thc vernacular, even when trans- lated, are generally useless to the- student. A letter before me from a well - known Japanalogue says : ' Japanese writers seldom or never conform to the rules of scientific writing, especially when dealing with Japanese history. They make it impossible to verify their statements by leaving out all references to the sources of their information." In addition, there are few Japanese writers who have not an axe to grind for party, clan, or family. After the introduction of Buddhism the upper classes interested themselves in scholarly pursuits, and the art of writing became more general instead of being the monopoly of the corporation of Korean scribes. It was in A.D. 621 that the first history of Japan was written. The first part of this, The History of the fimperors, was lost ; the second part, The History of the Country, is embodied in the Kojiki and the Nihonji. The earliest available records of Japanese history are the Kojiki, or Record of Ancient Matters '(A.D. 712), and the Ni/ionji, or Chronicles of Japan (A.D. 7201. The former is, like the Iliad, a transcription of ancient legends, dictated to the writer by one or more persons, who had been able to memorize them. The /\ojiki, according to the best authorities, contains nothing but oral statements. The Nihonji, on the other hand, is 26 JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS a connected account of prehistoric and proto-historic event>, compiled back to the introduction of writing (A.I>. 4001 fnm the existent documentary evidence, and as regards earlier events from oral tradition. As u-gaids the credibility of the happenings related, the mytho- logical section deserves le>s belief than the legends of early Rome, and no more, than the curiously similar legends of th' % Kalevala or the Red Indians. (It may be pointed out that the claims of ethnologists that the Japanese are related to both the Finns and the Indians, are largely based on the similarity of tlu-ir earliest legends, i AS regards the Dark Age-s the motto, " \\"here there is stroke there is lire," applies as much to hi-tory as to anything el>e. \\"hilst the precise details given in both the Recent ;uid the (Chronicle are obviously faked, the main events are correct, especially where inter- national aitairs are dealt with, though the dates M> meticulously inserted in both book.s must be corn-' ted by the more trustworthy Chinese and Korean accounts. A further reason for the greatest caution in utilizing the Japanese records is to be found in the decree o| Termini Tenno, wherein he ordered the production ol an ottici.d history, the material for which \\a> !o be -elet ted ti'iin the a va i la ' > le < locunien t s and stories, many of whii !i i ontain "deviation-, from the truth and ampli- ti'ations by falsehood." Muido, h points out thai the ^elective and edi'oiid work of the \\ liters (l f the Koj'.kt ,md \ihonji has resulted tathi-i in the production ol uhat the ruler ic/s//rc/ to in- believed than ol uhai adualK took jila'e a failing by no mean-- onlined to ihe ollii ;al writers o| the earlier times of ihe F.mp:je Ai'ordmg to thi- legend embodied in tin- A'f'/'-A'?. in ill' tailhe,! ann- lba\'li and F.ailh \\eie i;o! ep. irate, but I'lrni'-d on'- 'haoti< m.i->. Ihe pan-i and more Man parent poitinn n,c up .i:\<\ bi-tann I leaven, the h< .c. i-T and more opaque -i-itl'-d i!o\\n v. a i d and \va ( ailed I .a i ' h In the 1 1 e.i\ en and I ai ' h \ ariou > -IK > < - -ion EMPEROR WORSHIP 27 created. There were various generations of these deities, the last live of which consisted of pairs, a brother and a sister. The last brother and sister were I/anagi and Izanami. By order of the college of Deities these two descended to ' make, consolidate, and give birth ' to the- drifting land. From the Bridge of Heaven they thrust down the jewel spear, and the brine which dripped from it as they pulled it up formed the island of Onogoro or Awaji. The brother and sister descended to that island and dwelt on it, and created the other islands of Japan. Then they became husband and wife, learn- ing the meaning of love from the water-wagtails, and gave birth to between thirty and forty other deities. In giving birth to the last of these Izanami " divinely retired," a Court euphemism for ' died.' This expres- sion is still used in Japan in connection with the deaths of members of the Imperial family. Izanagi, despairing in his loneliness, visited his defunct spouse in Hades, but, having violated her seclusion, she chased him out again, aided by the forces of the Eight Thunder Gods. After this adventure Izanagi purified himself in a stream, in the act giving birth to other deities, some springing from the clothes he Hung upon the river bank, but three from parts of his body. The Sun- Goddess sprang from his left eye, the Moon-God from his right eye, and the youngest of all, Susa-no-wo (The Impetuous Male'), from his nose. Among>t these three deities Izanagi divided his in- heritance. The Sun -Goddess ascended to rule in Heaven, the Moon-God disappeared to rule the night, whilst to Susa-no-wo was allotted the ocean. For a reason unexplained Susa-no-wo refused to rule the water, and was expelled by his father. He then ascended to Heaven to see his sister, the Sun-Goddess. As these two stood on the banks of the River of Heaven the Sun-Goddess took her brother's sword, broke it into three pieces, crunched these in her mouth, and 28 JAPAN AT THE CROSS ROADS blow out the fragments. The action of her divine breath turned the fragments into three female deities. Susa-no-wo, not to be outdone, took the jewels which his sister wore, crunched these in his mouth, and blew out the fragments, which by his divine breath were converted into five male deities. The Sun-Goddess, a^ ruler of Heaven, claimed the males as her progeny .md allotted the females to her brother. The latter, dissatisfied with this exchange, refused to agree, and violently assaulted his sister, who lied into a cave, removing her effulgence from Heaven and Karth. The resultant darkness mightily inconvenienced the inhabit- ants of both spheres. I'nder the leadership of the Moon -God the eight hundred myriad deities took counsel together, rescued the Sun-Goddess, and expelled Susa- no-wo to earth after pulling out his beard and his linger- and toe-nails. Susa-no-wo, in accordance with this judgment, ( ame down from Heaven and landed in Korea, whence he crossed to Id/umo, in Japan, in a clay boat. In Id/umo he rescued a beautiful maiden from an eight-tailed dragon, in one of whose tails he found a wonderful sword. This he sent back to the Sun-Goddess, pre- sumably as a peace-offering. His descendants by his marriage with the rescued maiden ruled Id/umo to the sixth generation, when XMunuri abdicated in obedience to a (oil! lave of deities, summoned in Heaven to di>, us S and de< ide the affairs of Japan. Hi- -u< < v-.sor was Nimji-no-Mikoto. grandchild of the Sun-Goddess and eldest son of the eldest m.de born from the fragments of the jewels crunched by Sus.i- rio-wn. With him he brought the ' I )r.igon-sword.' sent up to Heaven by Su-a-no-wo, and the ' Muroi <>l Heaven.' tuo <>f the insignia of a Japanese monarch to ihi, day. In his train tame Amatsu-Koyane, d:\ine aln e >tor if the hou ..- < f ( \l | ;\\al .1 . I tie ll'MVelih lort'ge le e.-nd' 1 '! nil MoiJIlt 1. 1 k . l 1) lllo in KUIII.I--O, tin, making Kagoshim.i .i:id the Sat--:im,i ountiy the in -I e.uthly home of the hnperi.il familv KMPKROR WORSHIP 29 There Niniji had an intrigue with a girl of the neigh- bourhood, who became by him the mother of three boys. The youngest of these, Hodemi, crossed the seas to the Dragon-land (probably Korea) and married the daughter of the Dragon-king, and, after an alliance with this monarch had been consummated, returned to Japan, and, vanquishing his elder brothers, reigned in Kurnaso and Id/umo. His son married his aunt, another daughter of the Dragon-king, and the youngest of their sons was Jimmu Tenno, first Emperor of Japan (660 B.C. -5X4 B.C.). On Jimmu Tenno devolved the task of unifying tin- known parts of Japan and extending his power over the unknown, or ' barbarian,' provinces. The barbarians were the Ainus, a bare remnant of whom still exist in the Hokkaido to the north and in the Loochoo Islands to the south. It is unnecessary to trace the history of Japan through the Dark and Mediaeval Ages. It is advisable to note that the first religion was Shinto, or ancestor-worship, which began to be displaced about the tenth century by a form of Buddhism imported from Korea. The whole of the early history of the country is vague and unauthenticated. Many of the early records arc worthy to rank amongst the masterpieces of forgery, and what little is known about those times can only be extracted after careful collation with the Chinese and Korean rolls. That there was frequent and close connection with those two countries is well proven, and to the former Japan vras indebted for her literature, arts, ethics, and adminis- trative system. With the gradual organization of the kingdom the rulers degenerated from active government to thr posi- tion of rois fdiniants, with the result that the civil power was absorbed into the hands of one family, the Fujiwara, who had a double advantage over their rivals, owing to their alleged divine descent and to the practical monopoly of supplying the Imperial Consort. The motto of the Hapsburgs is equally applicable to the Fujiwaras. 30 JAPAN AT TIIK CROSS ROADS The direction of military affairs was confided to an official called the ' Shogun,' the Fujiwaras retaining for themselves the office of ' Kuainbaku (rcgcnCi, which became hereditary in their family. The creation of the post of ' Shogun,' which brought as a necessary corollary the creation of a military caste, led to a series of internal disorders, which lasted for a considerable period. They were the struggles of rival generals for the supreme military jxwer. and involved a struggle for the control of the Imperial jxTson. They ended with the complete victory of Yoritomo and the establishment of the hakufti, or Shogun's government, at Kamakura in 1184. Voritomo's victory also ended the career of the Fuji- war. is so lar as administrative power was concerned, though to this day their daughters make worthy mates for the Japanese Mik;'do. Yoritoino organi/ed the country on a feudal ba-is. Hitherto the provinces and districts had been go\erned by Kii'^t' (Court noblemen), nominated by the Imperial Court of Kyoto, responsible to the Knamhiiku, and in no way concerned -with the Shogun. These /\n^f were gradually displaced and their pi, tee taken by diiirnyo (military chiefs'), to whom Yoritomo had forced the Lmperor to grant land, or by ci\il servants appointed by the hnhnlu. '1 lie Kni'.c retired to K\oto, where they degenerated into leisured courtiers, living, so lar a^ the commonweal v-as concerned, in as cloM- retirement a^ the l.mperor. Fioni the thirteenth < entury until the restoration ot iX'.S the Shogunaie uas the Mile administration ol the 'unary. AS the Knnnihahu had originally been, it was ctteii the object, ot civil war, and a^ the cli;;nit\ \\.i-- ne\'er hereditary, but due t the noniinalion oi the i'.mpepir, the ii\,d c'l.iimants in\ariably attempt" d to e;/'- th'- per- on of the monarch, and even on o< i .1 I,.M to -et up a pretender to the Miione. l'ln> arcoun;> to ,t '.;reat extent toi th'- numlM-r- of depositions ;iinl .ibdi i.ition- iegi-,ter-d in th'- b t ol |-.mp-ioi -. An etleiti\i- inon.in h \\ a ^ in him-^-ll ;i d.in:;er to this iinjnrmni in EMPEROR WORSHIP 31 imperio, and the Shoguns took very good care that if any Kmperor should grow to maturity it should cither he as an effeminate wastrel or in the safe seclusion of a monastery. The Tokugawa Shogunate, the last cycle of this extraordinary delegation of authority, lasted from the beginning of the seventeenth century until the restoration of Meiji and the ' voluntary ' retirement of Tokugawa Nobunaga, whose funeral I attended in January, 1914, at Tokyo. The condition of government during that period must be shortly described. The Shogun held his court at Yedo, whilst the Kmperor held his at Kyoto. The feudal conditions, established under Yoritomo, had been com- pletely changed by the Tokugawas. Originally the feudal chiefs had been big landowners, with absolute power. The Tokugawas had succeeded, by means which need not here be described, in concentrating all their power in the hands of the bakufii, in confiscating much of their property to their own advantage or for that of their pet adherents, and in converting the daimyo from being practically independent rulers to being merely the executive officers of the Shogunate. Aggressive acquisition was as much a characteristic of the states- manship of the Tokugawas as it was of the Fujiwaras, or as it was of the Satsuma or Choshu clans tinder the Kmperor Mutsuhito. The voluntary feudalism of Yori- tomo had been changed into a compulsory system, so much so indeed that the daimyo had to live in Yedo, and when they returned to their fiefs their wives and daughters remained behind as hostages for their good behaviour. A similar change had occurred in the relations between daimyo and samurai. The two conditions illustrative of the state of the country were the imix)tence of the sovereign and the absence of patriotism, and they are very clearly proved by a study of Japanese history from 1850 to 1889. These years are generally held to mark the change from the old order to the new. but it would -Ue more correct 32 JAPAN AT TIIK CROSS ROADS to say that they wore the period during which a new order was grafted on to the old, for it must always be borne in mind that though feudalism had been abolished, the frudal spirit, the growth of so many centuries, could not be wholly eradicated, and there was no Mich intention on the part of the oligarchy which succeeded to the Shogunatc. It was only the head of the system to whom they objected, not the system. In the Tokugawa age there were three authorities in Japan : the tic /lire Sovereign, the Emperor, whose authority was nil and toward whom the sentiment was entirely religious ; the dc facto ruler, the Shogun, who.se authority, as exercised through his Council, was real, and toward-, whom the feeling was one of fear ; the third was the daimyo, who was the immediate over- lord of samurai, townspeople, and serfs, and towards whom the sentiment was one of complete loyalty. In fact, the ties between the clansmen and their lords were far stronger than those of consanguinity. When the power of the Tokugawa Shogunatc was at its height there is no doubt that it was strong enough to ellectively rule the country. Vedo was the fountain of the national policy, and from Yedo were apjx)intcd the officials tor its proper application. The daimyo were reduced to the role of local officials. The claim advanced by Tokugawa Keiki in his letter of resignation that the Shogun. tte consulted the daimyo is unsubstan- tiated by facts, < ertainly as regards the heyday of Tokugawa absolutism. '1 he object at \vhi( li tin- hahiiju aimed was, in short, an undivided control o\cr tin- whole nation, inclusive of the Imperial (Hurt and the dainn'o. The (Kurt ami the Kll'.[C Were (-)Ued by the ( onM.IIlt presence at Kyoto ol the Shogun's deputies and b\ the (lose proximity ot the mtli'.irv for< es of the Shogunate at < 'saka. The ddiin\'o were kept in hand by the appointment of sub- idi.iiv oitiM.il-> from Yedo to manage then .ttf.ui, . by their ellfoll eorted to the Shogun. The ideal of Toku- gawa government was no had one. It was to maintain peace and order throughout the land. Their methods were simple and efficacious . The common people were encouraged to industry, the artisans by the develop- ment of arts and crafts, the peasantry by agriculture and horticulture. The feudal aristocracy were en- couraged towards the study of literature and military pursuits literature to keep them out of harm's way, military pursuits that the Shogunatc army, for the greater part of which the daimyo were feudally respon- sible, should always be prepared for service. To reduce the risk of any daimyo securing a predominant position by wealth various means were adopted to force extravagant expenditure on him. The military retainers swallowed a good portion of revenue, and in addi- tion the daimyo were encouraged to ostentatious ex- travagance at their yashiki at Yedo. If these means w r ere insufficient there were two others which rarely failed. The S ho gun would invite himself to dine with the plutocratic daimyo, who to do honour to his guest would be expected to ruin himself. A quaint legend relates how the Shogun did this with the Lord of Shimadzu, and was so jealous of the luxury displayed that he ordered the latter to construct the triple moat round the Chiyoda Palace. The other method was to obtain an appointment for the daimyo at the Kyoto Court, when the presents of gratitude which the Shogun and his subordinates had to receive, coupled with the presents to the Emperor and Empress, were sure to obtain the desired end. Such was the policy of the Shogunate at its zenith. From the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, matters had not been maintained on their old footing. The wonderful system of espionage developed the ten- dency of all such systems. It was so taken up with recording the petty affairs of the population that it 34 JAPAN AT THE CROSS ROADS missed the jv>pular movements and the genera! trend of thought. The unchallenged sway of institutions created decay within themselves. The stilling of criticism cau-ed degeneracy in the ruler-. Discipline became lax. The naybot'ti system became supreme. The policy of seclu- sion was modified, and under foreign pressure- was abandoned. No longer were hostages demanded of the dainiyo. There was treason in the Shogunate families and hierarchy. The younger branches were squabbling as to the succession. The karos ' and yorn'ti, 3 (originally nominees, of the bakufu, became adherents of the clans to winch they were appoaited. Many of the big daitnvn, whilst not renouncing their allegiance to Vedo, were intriguing together and with the Court. At Kyoto the .-ituation w.is curious. The Emperor, as ever, under the Shogunate was a nonentity. The Throne, the symbol oi \\\< religious heredity, was tolerated by Vedo for fear that its suppression would cause jx>pular tumult. The A'w.C''. whose only ration d'i'lrc was the care of and attendance on the Imperial pcr-on, were tired of inaction but incapable oi action. They iiniied to philosophy, and found in the new scholarship a remedy for their own ill-*. It i- a trui-m that every jx>htical regime has behind it a philosophical sy-tem. Representative government i - ba> -d on popular freedom : republican- is m with"Ut democracy is inconceivable : the kugawa, Tok'i I'.sa \lit-uk'ni, \\e:e th- < am- s; ri a -oners of ni"d to meet particular ioiidiM":i^ had n-> philosophy. 'I he [.annular ( ondi? ion h hid : u i n i ;: < to it \\ r ;( me. KMI'KKOK WORSHIP 35 Every political revolution i^ preceded by a change in tin- current of national thought. The Mho philoso- phers led that change. Half-way along their path they met the Kyoto Ku^c, who wanted to be restored to power. They detected the Shogunate as much as the Shogimate despised them. The revival of learning and the renaissance of literature took on the guise of a political ideal. Then the- Shinto priests joined in with the hope of a revival of Shinto and their predominance over the I>uddhi.-,ls. When the dissentient daimyo from Satsuma and Choshti, oxer whom the- Shogun's jxnver was more apparent than real, joined forces the philosophical idea had become a revolutionary movement. Just at the same time America opened Japan to the world. This provided the necessary concrete case for di.sa flection. The Shogun had been quick to realize the impotence of his nudiaval defences against modern arms, and was desirous of making terms with the foreigners. The daimyo, especially after the bombard- ment of Kago.-hima, recognised their weakness, particularly against foreigners ; but the Shogun was the dog they wanted to beat, and his timidity before the strangers was an excellent stick. The malcontents therefore rallied to the cry of ' Down with ihe. foreigners ! ' and their friend the Shogun, and adopted as their policy the restoration of the administrative power to the Emperor. This meant for them the transfer of the Imperial power to their hands, for the Emperor was only fifteen and immature alike in physique and mind. The foreign imasion gave them their opportunity. The Shogun had compromised with the foreigners. They must rouse the nation against the foreigners, not because they ex- pected to defeat them, but because the Shogun would either be forced to tight the foreigners, in which case he would be smashed, or he' would resign, in which case the Tokugawa power would be. ended. In either event it was decided to seixe the Imperial person in order to cover with authority any violent acts they 36 JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS might perform, ;uul as a rallying" cry for the people, to whom they intended to appeal. The fiction of the divine, descent of the Kmpcror was revived, and the reverence due to a deity was the welcome of the monarch wherever and whenever he showed himself. That the fiction was not universally received i-> shown by a conversation recorded between a Shinto priest and a Buddhist, whom he was trying to convert to the new order of things. " Ancestors." replied the Buddhist, " may be revered for their human virtues, but certainly not for th-ir alleged god-like descent. It the am estors were not human probably they were birds or beasts, but certainly they were not gods." To the literary renaissance, the Shinto revival, and the }>olitical unrest must be added a fourth Jactor. which helped tin- con-pirators. The Western clans, e-pccially Satsuma, Choshu, and lli/en, were fighting races, and to them the insular policy of the Shogunate was distasteful. There \\as a strong expansion party ajnongst them, who saw a future in expeditions across tin- seas. Yoshida Shoin, who was executed in 1^50. for complicity in a plot again-t the lokugawa rule, uas one of the leaders ot the C 'lioshu rjaii, and his writing^ clcarK prove that over sixty years ago the leaders o( the militari-t clans \\eiv planning the ultimate annexa- tion of Fonno-a. tin- Kuiiie>. Kamchatka. Korea. Man ( huri.i, and a portion of Siberia. So soon after the Restoration as I ; ~>7 > a Ministry composed of Saigo, Soejuna, ( ioto. < >kuma. aii'i <'ki determined on a \sar with (.'hin.i. It \\a> only the ti;ne!y r'-turn ot luakura, Kl'io, and ( )kllbo fioin Kurope that prevented its or< ur- rence, a retiogiv --i> >n uhi, Iroin tin- very tnni- of tin n i: urj:a':o:i of tip- goveininent, v.e;.- dele:mified to tollnu an aggre MVC nnlr.ir;, poii<\, .ind th--ii adoption of tin, (our e w.i ^ only \><> .t p< >n- < 1 t>\' ill'- tirgi-nt rcj)rc>e:iia- tjonr> ui Iwakuia and Ito that Jaj>an nuiit lira (oin- EMPEROR WORSHIP 37 pletely recast herself before she could be in any condition to wage war abroad. Chauvinism is the birthright of the lighting tribes, and Satsuma and Choshu arc no exception to the general rule. Aggression abroad is a Japanese jx>licy dating back to the Middle Ages ; it is not a plant of tender growth, as uninformed London newspapers would often have us believe. Tokugawa Keiki did not wait for the Westerners to force his hand on the foreign question, but resigned. It has been a moot point whether this course was adopted from wisdom or timidity. Until the family papers of the Tokugawa are published it will not be definitely known. I discussed the matter on various occasions with Japanese, and one of these, a Tokugawa man, expressed the view that it was a strategical move on the part of the ex-Shogun. The \Vestern Lords were demanding a restoration to the Throne of the administration. To this no refusal could be made, for the Emperor, theoretically at least, was the fount of all honour and office. But Keiki in surrendering his office did not want to see the Tokugawas not only sup- planted by the Westerners but expelled by them from the council of the nation. By a graceful retirement he expected to keep for his clan a fair share of adminis- trative power and advisory influence. It was only when he saw in the following year that the opposition were intent on crushing the Tokugawas out of existence that lie retired from Kyoto and took up arms against the new regime. That the policy of the Westerners was wrong there can be now no doubt. Their anti-foreign quasi anti- Shogun campaign was directly responsible for the hideous massacres of which Europeans were so often the victims in ensuing years, and which brought humiliation on themselves and their sovereign. That they reali/ed their stupidity is evidenced by their volte- face in their treatment of Enomoto when the Civil War was ended. The history of 1867 and 1868 is of considerable 38 JAPAN AT TIIK CROSS ROADS value, as showing that there was hut little genuineness in the claims ot the Western ddiinyo that they were fighting lor the Throne. 1 In Restoration and the Civil \\'ar were in plain lac; a light oi th init* against the in\. 1'atiioti-m and loyalty had nothing whatsoever to do with it. 1 The re-toration oi the administrative power to the Throne was merely a piece of political opportunism, necessitated by the pet uliar strength of the Shogunate, which called tor a far-reaching battl' -cry. The so- called Restoration did not, and has not, restored the 1 "The l\ikutu \va-> .succeeded ly .1 el. in ^uver ::::unt " d'.i;nn Shibn^aua 1 ). " Mikado worship was r-taH>hrd te. in: thcr tlu- pi'htic.d ambitions of the cl.iii chiefs who, v\vi e <1 !. in ed !r'>:;i I-\UA i->e of authority bv the dr-pot:Mn ' '";4'.i: :.itr. '1 ':!- \v.i^ t!:e motive .ictu.itmi^ the Mi-iji ^!.tlL-->uieii -not 1< iv.iitv " iiiiil S ','iini.i L "Ti.L- I ! in i; veri!::ie:it diir'en-il \ml little I'rmn th.it of th<- S!i. imm.ite " 'Count Itai^.ikii. "The Ti>ki:ij.i\v.iv \veu exehaiiijed l"i S.ii^o, Kid'V ami Oiaibc. I; \v ! ':ilv :i c::.iii^e i:i li.iine " lli:'.ii. " Mik.idi' \v>i -!:ip lias ci'iidiK'ed t" the Ci.iiMiIid.iNun , .f tlie l-linpne. l>:it it .^.ivr ->:.i!>iii:v \ :!ie form "| ^ I ' :ii::;; . "A cli.iii^e ! : ' i;a 1 ( > .1! p.iti i ; 1-111 t ( < n.iM. >;i.il . i - :i;t.il i Sir I i.i i v l':irk.-\ Di-p.i', ht-s). "Tir I.ip i:;c-e ^t-n'Mncn! < f i'.t!n i.-ctlitv i> ij;;i'f :\\< >'i<-.!;i ill. ! i\< ! uic .1!) 1' A e i -1 i ':,:il i v. /':/.'. xv.i- ; >>-\ - n .1 .ti! u'i;r,u nt !u chu-f--. i-vcn !-. the \>:> . i ',.,i.:' i .f : -. . I r> :I-.UI..MI :::' v i J )-:i:: .; . 1 In t !'' --.i\ in 1 . .1; ' i 1 1 I:IL'. - ' ! ilii- ''.'i '. ; i;> n< i aliv IN i vidriK'i: ..j i trat tli.it I- >. c ' -f ri i! in' [ v \v.i .1 I '!!:!: i.ni' i e;it Mlii ill. ' I hi : i \\ .i > MI i c', .(i'-in i- t th.e ( xi^tciK'i' i.f | .1': ! ii-.ni pi i< > t tin- .il>' .1:1: in of l--,:i.,ih Ml in t f M'i^i f I .1 .11,1 i . ivui/W.U < ! I M:iMi .I'MI- I i.i t .i 1 f.i: .i> p: i. t'i .1! ' t :n 1< i ' i i p 1 ; ie !::: ' 1 ' > I.i ' d .1 -. ' ". l ' !: il i ! p i f ; i:r it .( I ! 1:1 .. 1 '< I aiiii.il: ' " A , ir^.i;.;, ,., t l 1 .- 1 ' I:..- I-,; ..:: i^ fit wi!!i \ ' r : ; e n ' ( ;':.!: 1 ;:.;.:! i 1 . t ' ' . t > ! '. < I ! ; < : : ' ''. tt : ' h .; !. v-!.- fa- f., d : , i. . .:. -.:.i'- I : . :'- ' !-. -.!! i :'.'.< i Jh.m L. :.':dc: f ' I iJuv.kli \ Ht!>\<'i.i'.in -. . I in. EMPEROR WORSHIP 30 Imperial power. As regards unifying the country, the only unification of which the opposition seriously thought was unity against tin- Shoguii. Ii was only when the clans had succeeded to his power that they realized that a continuance of factions would inevitably end in national disaster and that a sentiment for real national unity entered their heads. The remarkable statement of Kido Tadayoshi, who was the brain of the whole Restoration movement, is sufficient evidence of this. Taken all in all, the Restoration movement was as shrewd a piece of political opportunism as the world has ever seen. The position of the Emperor was but little improved by the change. His personality was nothing to his advisers. His office was everything. It has been described as the greatest asset of the Restoration. Japanese history shows again and again that the Throne was "what really mattered ; whether it was occupied by a major or a minor, a widow, a congenital idiot or a beldame, made no difference ! It was the Throne which secured the reverence and affection of the people, not the sovereign. This is easily seen by the lack of surprise, amounting to indifference, when monarchs were retired into prison or a Buddhist monastery. The removal of the capital from Kyoto to Vedo, then re- named Tokyo, was another instance of the impotence of the Emperor. Economic and strategic reasons were advanced to explain the transfer, but the real reason was to take the Emperor away from the influence of the Kugc< who had supported the Restoration move- ment in the hopes of securing advancement for them- selves, a step which did not appeal to the dairnyo. In the same way in 784 the capital had been removed Irom Nara to Kyoto to rid the Court of the influence of the Buddhist priests. That the Emperor could only be a puppet was natural from the very state of tilings. Japan throughout the ages has been a despotism, and the despots were law and custom. The Imperial movements were controlled 40 JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS by the tyranny of custom. The Mikado sat on the throne immovably for so many hours a day. Hi*-, body and dress \vere sacred. Kven the scraps of food lie left uneaten, the dishes on \\hich he was seived. were equally sacred, anil had to be destroyed imnu'diately they were removed from his pr household only of women. Hi: wa> allowed twelve lawful wives and a j)ractically unlimited numl er of concubines, mostly drawn from the families ot the Ky<'(n: a trim n-< d tu rxpir--, a friijtird i:_Mi"iaiKr < f a \v-l! known fa> t. !'<>! < x.unplr, win i) .1 hiijh ottici.il died l!i" la, ! UM-. and i v , ^uppic^cd fi'i a ti::ir ; nw.id.iv- in oi-ii-r to allow tlu- Kinpri''i l>> ccnil'ci picol'it honmiis I'll tliL- ili-i "i .1- i'd. l''i;;;crl\ tu .illi>\v lu~- 'HII-- .111 i pp<>r(u::i;v f <>l>t.u;r.nj/ .ipp< 'i;i:nn-iit I" Li niiuc-. In i!;i- ca^r i tin- l:npi.-i i.il di'.ttli. .innctinci-iiiriit xv.i^ p" '; ;.i '. -n .1- ID pmnit tin- ;ici;i-^ Men of thr ii>-\t IMU; .i-:ii ;\ iud IUIH- to :n.i!vO troijhlc. ND l-.iiip'-i' .1 di<-->. llr ' v.i:i!^!n-s .1^ ln-iiitin;; .1 M-IDI- diviiiitv. At tlic drith of tin- l.ttr l-'.mpri": M;it>itliit<). cunt iiMon ua> ..iiiM-d .uiii'M^ t tin- i(iin::iDM pi-i.p'.r in v.iii'His |\n^ IIUHIL; t thr .inn' .iinci incnt in (.'mut l:ii:^u;i:;r r .it lli^ Mt)r-!\ t .id ' \ .uu>!u-d.' ' Tin- pM- i :it l-.;u; r: 1.1 i- n!v : li.ilf-li'.Di.d. .. , in.pt'':rt tn-m^ tin- I.adv Van I.M-A.H .1. \v: n \v.i I:: t !.i>'v ii)-\\.iiti; i; t" !!] laic 1 : .; : I 1. 1 1 uk". Si in i- tin- j'.i MIII; n| t!.r I inp.-i :.il I 1- :; r I i\V 1:1 !), I -a If }!, ^i! air lli.t ICCOJ^.I/rd 111 ti ' Ml' i !!!. til..!ir!i l!ic All:, !r I I'M- ( ',n> 'iluti- :i ili ilin:' \\lth ihr vnnr lim-s ix.t jS',\ldr ! i t'.r r\ rtit ;:a!il\- if thr I a' h:t i- nl tin- di: r> t in.iK -iu i i n n. ll i> i ni\ i ::: p n ,',:.> h ir, rntiv thai ihr ladlrv i t lh< p.ila. r ii.l'.r [MVcl! Up i! < pl.u li. i i r. in;; *l:r fr ,; ntVi ini:.i !i : , a p: :\ ! r r \\ !:t> !i t hi \ : '\ d a ti.i i! p< i i'i< '!) -i . v. ". i - ' ! t J.r i It i'.u.d U.i 1 1 I'lii/i d I' \ n a!!- I t!:r pro:::uh' \.\ 1 II i t I in In:; : -a I I ! : i I ..<. \t. : hi \ . :;! 1:1110 1 t,. r '-i I-IM-. until pi"!' !, ll"::i '"inr ,1 !'' InMl-.'li irpn i nta! IVr . i ti Vi \ id t :.I ' ni f \ !i thr I'.al 'il< . , N tii: . , . ii va put an i :i d ! . Itir > 11 .ti iin . EMPEROR WORSHIP 41 After 1868 the public functions of the Mikado con- tinued to be of a social or religious character, and there is but little evidence that he was a real force in affairs of State. As Professor I'ehara says : "No intelligent person believes that all the affairs of State are fx-rson- ally conducted by the Sovereign. . . . There is not a 'single instance on record of the Emperor Mutsuhito taking any State matter into his own hands." On the other hand, there is no doubt that the late Kmperor possessed a strong [>ersonality, and after 1890 exercised a considerable influence on public affairs, though how far that influence went must always remain a matter of conjecture. There lias been in Japan no idea of respect to the Sovereign as Sovereign. His authority lias never been temjxmd, nor has there ever been any personal feeling about him. He has been merely a useful nonentity, filling the Throne, and it is the Throne which has been the subject of respect. In Count ( )kuma's I'ifty Years of Nc\\' Japan there are many statements which are gro>sly inconsistent with the truth. There is no statement more untrue than that there never has been a revolution or attempt at assassi- nation of the monarch, such as has been only too common in other countries.' That is one of the biggest fictions ever written about Japan, and Count Okuma as an active participant in the events of 1867 and 1868 must know- that it is not true. He was in Kyoto when Choshu raided f the city and tried to carry off the Emperor. He was an official of the Government at the- time of the counterplot in 1871, when it was intended to raid Tokyo and carry the Emperor back to Kyoto. He was in the Government which fought the Satsuma rebellion of Saigo. There is no nation in history which has shown less re.-pcct for its monarch-, and in the: history of no other nation has the sovereign been so often the victim of murder, deposition, exile, and insult. For sixty years the country was the prey of civiL war between ^Northern and Southern Courts, and an illegiti- 42 JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS mate usurper won. '1 hereafter the Shoguns ruled whilst infant succeeded intant sassinated. Chamlx-r- lain and Murdoch re, all how one exiled Mikado e-.-aped from exile hidden under a load of dried li>h, ulnNt one reigning monarch was reduced to such peimry that he gained hi^ jxeket -money by selling hi^ autographs ! So much for the myth-- and legends gratefully swallowed by the British public. The Jajxinese Imperial Household docs not deso-nd in an unbroken line from ages unknown. Its pedigree is broken again and again by the oii'spiing of concubines and of in- cestuous and ndulterou- connections. The Sovereign in Japan until very recent year? has wielded no influence and ha^ exerci-ed no au'hori'y on public affair^, but rather from age-, eternal, under the Fujiwara, and then under successive lines of Shgun-. .aid, since the Restoration, under the cian o!i_\a;chv ha> been a figurehead, intended merely to serve as a cloak for the actions of the oligan hy . There :i-ver wa-, until after the Restora- tion, any senv: of loyalty to the Kmperor or to the country. At "lie Restoration there- never was any inten- tion on the part of fh" clans to create such sentiments. It w.ts onlv ulii-M tli-- cl.ins reali/ed the force of foreign pre-.-ure and th'- imp- > ^i.iili'y of im}*)-:;!.; on the country another ile-potism. the same in form a> that of the Sho"unati\ th.il they -a\v the necessity of national union by the erection of -ome central figure to which the whole nation would rally, and under \vho--r shadow they >uld dire' t the n.iti-.nd for< e> in th" paths whii h they tllelll elv< .-, -ll' ill!' 1 ' h< >' >SC. If tin- f'Hir tend' MCI- - leadin;; t-i the Restoration move- men' are -nid'-r tood, and the three conditions outlined abive [iropeil\ r- aii/ed, it i- not at all dilJK ult to undei .(and the < mrs" ol e\<-nt-i in Jaj>an during, the la t twenty fiv \ cars . EMPKROR WORSHIP 43 PART II The supreme work of the Mciji Kra has been the welding of Japan from a < ongeiie of petty feudalities all nominally o\vning admini-ttative allegiance to the Shogun and religious allegiance to the Mikado into a closely knit State, where the interests of the nation have been sub- ordinated to the inter--.!-: ol a governing clique. This has been no mea'i achievement, and its execution well within the allotted -nan of a man's life is high testimony to the efficiency of the handful of statesmen who were responsible for it. It has been accomplished by the identification of the Government with the Throne, and this process lias been so successfully carried through that there lias been no serious opposition to the system estab- lished by the clan oligarchy in 1868 until the present time. 1 The last statement will probably be challenged, on the grounds that the movements led by Fukuzawa, Itagaki, and Okuma for popular representation were protests again>t the bureaucratic system. Indeed at first sight they would appear to be so. The demand for popular rights was, however, an inevitable result of the abolition of the feudal system, and had no connection whatsoever with a movement against the absolutism of the monarchy. On the contrary, simultaneously with the ri^e of the ' popular rights agitation,' went a counter movement for increasing the power of the Throne, and with the result that the years since 1889 have seen far greater poux-r developed on the side of the Throne than on the side of the people. It is only within the last two years that Japanese writers and thinkers have developed their political sense to the point that a government should be supported by a majority party in the Diet. Even yet there is no well -defined expression of the sentiment 1 The rebellion c.f S.it-uma under Sai^o was not an attack on the system, for \v:;'cii Saiower, and until the Constitution is radically altered it is not likely to attain such jx>wer. Political movements in Jap. in have one very great distinction from similar movements in Kn^land, France, Russia, or America. They are not originated by or amongst the people. A political party does not consist of a number of men all imbued \\ith the same convictions, and ideas derived from study and thought. The political party i> a chorus to its leader. How long a leader can rely on the sup|x)rt of his party depends almost entirely on the depth ot his pur^e and the intensity of his personal magnetism. The great ambition of every politician in Japan i-> to attain otti. e and wealth. There have only been three exceptions, for Fuku/aua was more a phil- osopher and educationalist than a politician. Itagaki and < 'kuina were de-erled by their followers when their wanderings in th'- jxjlitical woods forbade any hopes of earthly reuard, so long a-> they stuck to their leaders. Inukai now leads a forlorn hope, since half of hi-. adherents fell to th" late Prince Kaistra's golden promises in i <> \ 3. Almost the principal < hara t -i istic o| the Japanese is then- ability to d<-< eive themselves. It has been eupheinisti ally dcsciibed as th' 1 la ol oppo-i'ioli. Were perfe, tly wsllin:; to a< ' ept tli'- app.iM-ut lor ill'- real, and thoM- of lli'- 1-Miler^ \vlio \\--n- u:iu:i!i:r.; to a.;ree were im on tni'-ntly tlitoua over. Thu - i! anie aboi;; that a ( on - -titntion wa > i'.ra'it'-l U'lii !i 1:1 no wa\' de, rea^'-d the au'Iioii!\ o! tli'- Ihroa--, and, e\i -p; in words, i om eded i.orhin;' to tli-- popular d'-;nand-> be-, ond th-- po\\er < <\ le.tit,;' a!i .1- etnblv, and ill 1 ' M.dit ot the a '-nibl\ to in--' t and talk tor o m.inv d.ivs a \ear 1 li- Diet i.-^ KMl'KROK WORSHir 45 the most imfx>tent body in the country, if not in the world. It can control neither finances nor administra- tion nor the army nor the navy. The Throne i-> supreme, either by its positive or negative powers, or through the Privy Council. ri'he various jx>litical compromises of recent years will be dealt with in another chapter. The intention here is only to point out that the clamour for popular representa- tion, which was a feature of domestic politics from 1^79 to iS JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS and not only gained the willing support of thru own countr\ men. i)Ut ol>t.ii:u'il its complete acceptance in Kurope aii'l Auu-rit a. Nothing has been seen like it since the Popes of Koine claimed infaiiihi!ity as tin- hens of St. Peter. No more ma^nili- ent swindle has been perpetrated on th- world at lar^e since the days ol Juil.' a. No greater te-timonv to th'- gullibility of the \\hite race- could he re'juired than the avidity with which they have swallowed the !M)!US of Mikadoisin. The historical tacts with which the\ h.tve been regaled are a^ Ljreat humbug as Treit>chke's pedi;.;ive of \\'illiam 11. Japanese history i> more modem than that ot any luiropean country. it- anthenti l)c;^inning was in A.I", ^oo, and in thi>, a-- in mo-t other events. Japanese chronology is ind.-ed out of date. whiNt the sj)lendid >j:eei'hi.'s a-ciit)"d to the earl.' Mikados are piracy from the (."liiiu-sc ot the liio-t blatant description. In f.ui, in dealing \\i:h tlie early record-- of the country, it is now inip<>--Hbi'- to s-parate the native Japaiu-se from the ('lune^r md l\or",i:i, so ido.-eiy were the manners of tho-e two countries copied in l<-tter-, science, art, social ru-.tom-', admini-tration, and morality. It i. in-trti 'tive to com r ur" th'- ris" of Mikadoi>m with the eoui's'- of eveiits in ( /er:nanv. \\ h ;( an .ilmost parallel d--\ e> ipm-:it ha been a. tempted, thoiudi uith ( oli-lder.lbl'. l'-s: SUi-e-s, 0\\1I1L' to the pre-elU'C of oth-'l ^overei^n lieads t!ian the Kin:; ol l'ru-->ia within the I'.mjMi'e. Ill 'i:ibro!-:in dyn.: I;, of th Mikado ha> been paralleled b, Tre:t-< rn.!/< -ti are a> cs ei e in i a! ci a i;. iel'MiariV 1 ' ; 1 - la . '>s . ; h I ; ; j" 'I I rm'i'.iM m. !- 'lr Sit lima i 'hodiu "1 'i'lniins. and th' 1 a;-, P --.ive j'.i!: i nt th" f iwairnusho are in no \\hit b- hind t ho - ot i he \Vd:, ; IM tia <-. 1'he theories of KMl'KROR WORSHIP 47 industrial and commercial expansion and the methods of colonial government are frankly admitted by Japanese statesmen to be copies from German models. .Whether the founders of modern Japan anticipated the success which has attended their efforts it is imjxjs- sible to say. I am inclined to think that they did not ; that there were even at times fears of failure, which would account for their coquetting with the theories of popular government. Macaulay, in his essay on The Church of Rome, points out that the Roman Catholic authorities never wasted an enthusiasm. The theories of the crank, equally with the doctrines of the philosopher, were turned to the best account, the good of the Church. The same may be said of the Japanese Government. Like the Roman Church, it started with a great asset, the representation of the Divinity on earth. The Mikado was used to rally the nation against the Shogun. The success immediately attained exceeded the highest expec- tations, though in fact it was due to the apathy engendered by the feudal system. Once in possession of the reins of government, the Restoration leaders resolved to utili/e the same magnet to ensure popular support of their own undertakings. The Mikado was brought out from his seclusion. On his prestige as Divine head of the nation was grafted supreme authority as secular head. The country was told :-- The Mikado is the- head of the country, in religion and in administration, because he is the descendant of Jimmu Tenno, who was the grandson of the Sun-Goddess. He can do no wrong. Hear him and obey, otherwise- be guilty of sacrilege, blasphemy, and high treason." By what methods were the people persuaded to accept this doctrine? By every method. School teachers, uni- versity protessors, temple priest.-, officials oi /\e;i and Fu all became ardent propagandists. Belief in the Imperial divinity and infallibility was the only road, not merely to success but to existence. The a.-tuie state-men who engineered the whole scheme, Okubo. Iwakura, and Kido, realized that the only danger they had to fear was 4$ JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS that of which the Tokugawas were always afraid, the rise of some feudatory to a predominant or at all events independent position. This, then, was early placed out of the range of possibilities by a working agreement between the four clans to surrender their fiefs in exchange for money and jxjwer, and then to insist on the other dtiiniyo surrendering their fiefs in exchange for money only. The four western lords wrote their surrender of their fiefs, hastened to Tokyo, advised the Fmperor to at cept the same, and to issue a rescript ordering the other datrnyo to follow suit. The western army was held in readiness, and would soon have settled any reluctance, but. as it turned out, all the daimyo preferred wealth to lands. The next step uas to disband the samurai, which was done by transferring a number of the Imperial army and pensioning off the rest on the country. The /fans (the (Juimyo's administrative fiefs) were changed into Ken, and the whole government was centrali/ed at Tokyo. This was tin- second great step. By the mere u-e of the Imperial signature (the Mikado was a youth of eighteen at the time), the feudal system had been abolished, and not only the administrative, but the military power had beeome the monopoly of the Sat -cho-hi -to ' coalition. It was not long, however, before the country found that Mikadoism \\as an evp'-iisive luxury. Finance has always been the w-ak f*>i:!t of Japanese statesmen, and the purchase and pension schemes of 1X71 produced very -erious discontent, which finally culminated in the Civil \Var of \ -','; ~] . People \\ere beginning to n -ali/e that c l.iiiM in \\ a s only a ur\i\al of th<- oM r t ^:mt'. A- ;he ( h;li'--e p;ii'.e:t> sa\ - : '1 he go . eminent - o| 1 .00 \V. i an- b i ol he is." T!ie Sa' - ho slate men 'the Sat III Io io. ill. loll broke u;i Pi | X ~ ,i lecogni.'-'d I ha'. ait ion i had bet n too visible, and it was ne< e . -.uy still further to .le\e!o[i t!l Illlpellal tll'ory to cloak them In tier. Sar.'.o', manifesto, uh'-n he Ic-gaii hi- revolution, li.id bf'-n a i omp'a;r;t that the go\ eminent a: lok\o u.i not that of til-- i',ni|"-ror, but that <>f an ol^g.in by, ' 'sat-uni.i , Lln'sliu. i ii/cn, 'Jc-a. EMPEROR WORSHIP 49 and this had brought him great popular support. When the rebellion had been crushed, at great cost of life and money, the theory of divine descent was the subject of a wide campaign of exposition and advertisement. The germs of jxjpular representation were discounted by a sharp advancement in the theory of absolute monarchy. Tin- Kmpcror was brought forward into the public eye. He appeared at many public functions. He became the visible as well as the nominal head of the army and the navy. Imperial Rescripts grew more frequent, but more ambiguous and formal. Foreign aggression, always the secret aim of the Sat-cho clans, became a national policy under the dress of ' expansion of prestige.' The presentation of a Constitution became the opixjrtunity for a clear definition, without veil or apology, that the Kmperor not only was the head of the country, but was the sole fountain of legislation and administration. Such in brief is the history of the rise of Mikadoism from an abstract theory to the driving force of the State. Its growth may be traced in the language of the Imperial Rescripts. Its daily evidence may be seen in the schools in Japan, where on set occasions scholars and teachers perform genuflectory exercises before the Imperial portrait. Its influence may be seen in ' Who's Who in Japan,' where Admiral Togo and other victors in Japan's wars ascribe their successes to the virtues ot the Imperial Ancestors, or in the grounds of the War Office and Stall" College at Tokyo, and in the public squares, where cannon taken from China and Russia are placarded as captured by the Imperial virtues. That Mikailoism could be a real religion in Japan was pro\(M at ;'ne death oi the hit' 1 Kinperor. Nobody who witnessed the thousands and tens of thousands gathcre^ on tlv Nijuba-hi night and day, in pouring rain or broiling sun, could deny for a moment the immense hold which it has on the people. That the official in- tention was to exalt it to a religion cannot be doubted. 4 50 JAPAN A'l 'I I IK CROSS ROADS The declaration of Baron Oura, Minister of Home AtTairs, in February, 1911, is evidence- enough on the point. He said :- 'That the majesty of Our Imj>erial House towers hijh above everything" to be found in the world, and that it i- as durable as hea\en and rarth. is too well known to need dwelling on here. If it is considered that our country needs a religious faith, then, I say. let it be converted to a belief in the religion of patriotism and loyalty, the religion of Ini]>crialisni in other words to Kmperor worship." The famous three religion conference in I ) I 2 of repre- sentatives of Shinto, Buddhism, and (,'hristiaJiity had for its object the evolution of a new religion, a combina- tion of the three, but a sine supported by the first Sho^uns, and it was to reduce Buddhist inthieni e that the Shinto prie.sts, with their belief in ancestral worship, were fa\ourvl at tin- Restoration. 'I hi- present stat,- of ('hristianity in Japan is eloquent proof of the inlliience of Mikadoi-m, a;al it will be a re\e]ation t" .\\<--tr. 1'Jiilia. proliably he inn-'. ]ro:jii!i'-nt I'lote-tant in th country, and a man who m other re-pe< t-. ha- not ^lio\'.n him --ll unmindtul of the fault- of his i ountrymen. urote : " Thou -li tlr- '!! oura; eineni of ancestor uor-liip can [.< t In- re/arded a- part of th-- e-s.-ntial tea> Inn:; ol 1 ',i: istianit y. it i^ not opjio >-d to the noiMn ih.it, \\hen the Japan*- e I'.rnpiie \vas founded, it- earl* ruler, \v-re in communication with the (,n.i' Spirit that iule> the EMPEROR WORSHIP 5' universe. Christians, according to this theory, without doing violence to their creed, may acknowledge that the Japanese nation has a divine origin. It is only when we realize that the Inrjx^rial Ancestors were in close communion with God (or the gods) that we understand how sacred is the country in which we live." Dr. Ebina ends by recommending the Imperial Rescripts on Edu- cation as a text for Christian sermons. 1 That amazing utterance alone is superlative evidence of the omnipotence of the ideas of Mikadoism among the serious thinkers of the country. From cradle to coffin Japan is saturated \vith this extraordinary doctrine of a God -descended monarch and a God-favoured land. Christianity has never received the ' glad eye ' of Japanese statesmen. The theory of a Divine Power, greater by far than the Godhead of the Mikado, is something inconsistent with the obscurantist views of the Tokyo officials. In Japan Christianity under the treaties must exist. It is tolerated, but not encouraged, but it is not discouraged because of the considerable educa- tional work it does for the country. In Korea and Formosa it is actively discouraged, as the teachings of the missionaries arc calculated to hinder the propaganda of Mikadoism amongst the natives. Mikadoism is the dominating force of modern Japan. It was a superb mendacity, or, as Chamberlain describes it, " A pious fraud, maintained as a political device to control the unenlightened." It was an engine of despotism, to enable a particularly clever clique to arro- gate to themselves the direction of national affairs. As an exposure of the truth would have been calculated to end their plans, the despotism was particularly directed to the suppression of reason. In practice Mikadoism was as effective as Tammany, and as unscrupulous. Its omnipotence has resulted in as complete a tyranny as history knows. That due respect should be paid to a Sovereign on his passage through the streets is right and proper. That ladies should be made to descend 1 'japan Mail, Yokohama. 52 JAPAN AT TIIK CROSS ROADS from their carriages, if held up in a side-street oil the route of the procession is perhaps, an exaggeration, but that your dog should be made to get into the carriage is absurd. That schoolmasters should endanger their live-, to save the Imperial {>ortrait in a conflagration is pathetic, but that a station-master should commit hari-kiri because the Im|K'rial .saloon was derailed in his shunting yard is bathetic. That the Imperial person should be sacred and divine i-, an excellent idea, but it is a poor excuse for letting a man die for lack of a thermometer and a poultice. Vet this was the case with the late Krnperor. The- squad of Court physicians pre-cri;>cd ' from afar,' for it was forbidden to take his pul-e except through a silk cover- ing, or to touch his body \sith thermometer or stethoscope. When the late Hmpp-ss in-i-ted on -.ailing in out-ide upinion. and gave the specialists Mima and Ao\aina a free hand in their treatment of the patient, it was too late. It is well to note that even the--- events caused a shudder amongst the older clan-men. Marquis Saionji. the then Premier, ha- always been noted lor his inde- pendent spirit and revolutionary ideas, and. though he is blood brother to Prince Toku-lai;i. the Lord Chamber- Iain, a man bred in the a;mo-phere ot the Kyoto Court, he has seldom di-p!a\ed much sympathy with Mikadoimi. Hi- a'tion in breaking through ancient customs earned him the In-arty curses ot th" (lenro, and in e-p^ i.il of Princ" Varnagata. I" tre.it th Lnijvior a- an ordinary pain lit, to administer ,!;. t. .i::d, in th- i-\--, o| ;h n h"id. \\ hat dillereiitiate him horn the ordm.n\ man'.' i h' -e V.ef" the \-|e\', - tl'"!y ln;i?teled and Uttered behind the 'Jioji of th" waiting-room- in the < hi\o'!a P.il.ue. Lu'i the mutt<-rin: r . v, been one of the assets of Mikado- ism, as it is the asset of all oligarchies that it has enabled a continuous policy abroad. That policy was laid down by Voshida Shoin, was accepted by his successors, con- firmed in the Imperial Rescript of i S6,"\ and in the Acces- sion Oath, and iias been carried out in the years that have since elapsed. In numerous ways, other than in expansion abroad, there is much on the credit side of the ledger. In internal administration, in financial reforms, in industrial development, in education, in law and order, in the thousand -and-one paths which make up national life the despotism of the oligarchy has proved most bene- ficial to the country. So long as the aims of the clans were identified with the progress of the nation no great objection could be entertained to the methods adopted by the oligarchy, the more so as for many years after the Restoration the vast majority of the nation, born and bred in the passivity of feudalism were lacking, not only in political sense, but even in the desire for enlightenment. But as a political movement arose under the influence of Okuma, Fuku/awa, Nakae, Itagaki and others, the people began to demand a share in the government. For many years, until in fact the death of the late Emperor, that demand 54 JAPAN AT THE CROSS ROADS was staved oil partly by the fulsome eulogy of Japanese successes abroad and of their authors, and partly by an absolutely unscrupulous despotism, achieved by the mi>- use of the Imperial name. Oscar NVilde said. ' Nothing succeeds like excess.' The Elder Statesmen of Japan have proved the truth of his words attain and a^ain. Having elevated themselves through the Sovereign to a state of omnipotence in the Empire, any attempt to oppose the development of their plans was ruthlessly crushed by the invocation of the national Deity. Laws objectionable to the Diet have been issued as Imperial Ordinances ; laws parsed by the Diet and objectionable to the powers that be have been, vetix-d or refused pro- mulgation. Popular movements and political ideals have been nipped in the bud by Imperial Rescripts. So far has the process been carried that Imperial Rescripts have been elevated to a |>osition above the law. Dr. L'esuk'i. olitiral simple in Japan has boiled it>e!f down to the Dimple problem of whether an Imperial Rescript can override the (<>n- ^titution. The frequent abu-v- of the Imperial dignity and authority by the EMer Statesman and 1'rinre KatMira has started an inquiry into the legality of Mikado worship, and even a demand for radical reform-; of the \\hole < 'onstitution a^ affect im.r the powers of the Soveivu-ji. The reformer-, have no alternative init to attack ih" -tain of th" Tnor.an h, be* ail-e the clan 1 .rle 1 ^ hold DO ott'n under the < 'oii-titution, and < loak all their ill' i-ali'ie- u"< Imperial Rf-,i ript -.. To Mich an extent ha> tin- pn>< e- been deV'lopi-d, tll.lt lit lol ^ I'lince Kat-MIM (M!. tilled an Imperial Re- npf, orderin/, ^I.irq;n- Saionji, a - of the Sej-. tik\v.ii. to ii!,:!.'- hi pa M y d-- i-t h'otn oj.jo ition to the I'iKM' \\"hen the Marqui- fa' i any out : h-- t'-i ;n - ot the '"hit he -.\ a inijtea' \-< I i ! on < har/c , oi ;'i'o- - di ri-siK-ri to the I in; " 1 1 il 1 lou KMTKKOR WORSHIP 55 In I.S9-S Mr. O/aki, a meml>er of the Progressive I'arty, was Minister of Education. He is one of tin- loading younger |x>liticians, and is blessed (or cursed) uith a strong imagination, a flood of oratory, and a con- spicuous lark of tart. He has been called the Lloyd George of Japan, and not altogether incorrectly. In addressing the Imperial Educational Association, he was broad-minded but unwise enough to say : " Suppose that you dreamed that Japan adopted a republican system of government, a Mitsui or Mitsubishi would immediately become the Presidential candidate." The mere idea of an Imperial Minister mentioning a Republic in connec- tion with the land of the gods was an outrage on Mikadoism. A scream of indignation, carefully fanned by the bureaucrats, went up, and O/aki resigned, to be followed a week later by the Ministry of which he had been a member. In 1912 Mr. T. Yamamoto, Minister of Finance, owing to the bankrupt state of the country, refused to subsidi/c the Meiji Kxhibition, to be held to celebrate the fiftieth year of the reign of the Emperor Mutsuhito. He was charged with disloyalty and insulting the Imperial House, because he said : " I am sorry that for lack of funds I am unable to allot any subsidy to the; Kxhibition proposed to celebrate the jubilee of the restoration of the Imperial House." lie 1 had to solemnly apologi/e to the House and request that his remarks be expunged from the records of the proceedings. In November, i 01 i, whilst the Emperor was in .Western Japan, his saloon, in coming from the shunting yard at Moji to the station, fouled the points ami was delayed for twenty minutes. The station-master committed suicide as an acknowledgment that the fault was his. Dr. Yamakawa, the President of the Kyushu L'nivcrsity, wrote a newspaper article arguing that the station -master, in committing suicide, had shown a mistaken sense of his responsibility. The outcry against the author of this piece of common sense was the main topic for many weeks, and Dr. Yamakawa was forced to tender his 56 JAPAN AT TIIK CROSS ROADS resignation to silence his critics. Fortunately for Japan the Marquis Saionji refused to accept it. In I oo i Professor Kurno was dismissed from other for critici/in^ the early Mikados, whilst Professor Ha:; a lo-t his lectureship for saying that the ode- in the Nihongin and the Ko;iki were comjtosed by the ^ods, Jimmu Teiino, some Kmperors and monkeys. As a matter of fact they were all stolen from the Chinese classics. In i<;J2 the Memoirs oj a C^ourt lady, written by a former lady-in-wailing to the Kmpress, was suppressed, as ^ivin^; the public t much familiarity with tin- customs of the Palace.' In the following year a volume called The /\ot\ l'u;n t '(ints of Kyo'.o wa- sei/ed by the police, as lacking in respect to the memory of former Kmperors. In 1014 several newspaper issues were Mippre-sed for alleged lack of respect, to the Imperial Household, and an < >saka paper was susj)eiided for commencing the pub- lication of a serial. History of an l-'ffcminaii' Monarchy. < Mdy lack ot -pace prevents tin-, record of injustice and tyranny bem^ considerably prolonged. \\'oe to Un- official who dares to even smell of heterodoxy. \Yoe to the man, woman, or child who presumes to think contrary to the treed of the bureaucracy. Thorns' is the j aili ot the Profes-or who strays from the orthodox and dares to investigate for himself. I:i the |*>Iiti< al hi-tory of e\ p ery country statesmen have aji}ealed with more or le > >ucrc>, to the sentiment of the people. At it- 1) -st Mikadoi-m --tands on the ame ](\ p '-l as the reformed p-li.Jo:: sto,,,l in Kn^land under Henry VIII or ^ood .)ueen IM-. Henry \lll did t.oi (are a raj) personally for :!ie Pioj. --1,11:1 t.nih. i.o! d:d nor do the Sat-uma a': I < 'hodiu hadi-r--. care a lap per-ona!!y for tlr- dr.i:;i!\ o! t'ie mo:iar< h. I..K! v. a > .1 inea'i- !o ati fid jon'hal I'-iietit-. uoith a ma--, and ih-- Sho;;un' po\\i-r '.\a -real deal more. I'c.it .M.kalo. ID l.a '.'':} 'a;ii'-d to tar ..!. ilia: i air. a;p'-.i! to < P 1 t: i it'-:it in K IK; land oi ' ^."< i'- si- KMPKROR WORSHIP 57 The Japanese arc notoriously larking in common seiisr and abounding in sentiment. Tin; clansmen have taken advantage of these failings, to impress on the country a system of government, having as its first and supreme object the maintenance of power in their own hands. That their plans coincided with the- welfare of the coun- try was at first an accident. That it involved a cynical contempt tor the Sovereign meant nothing. ('ontetnpt of the d(iimyi) for the Sovereign was the normal condi- tion of Japan for hundreds of years before the Restoration. The late Empress is credibly rejxM'ted to have shrewdly realized this, and when dying at Xumad/u during tin- Naval Scandal incidents, she said to her women : "It is the final proof of what those men think of the Imperial House." That the people are shrewd enough to re,ili/e it is evidenced by the statement of the Asa hi Sliirnluin, referring to Prince Vamagata at the time of the I'ehaia boycott in 1912 : " It is bad enough that a (ienro should shelter himself behind the Dragon -Throne (Mikado), but it is intolerable that he should aspire to be the Dragon Throne." Mikadoism within limits was beneficial to the coun- try, but carried to extremes, as it has been, is productive of much evil. The repression of though', and the suppre-,- sion of reason have been its natural weapons. Hven so advanced a Liberal as Count Okuma only last year (1914) forbade the formation of a Labour Partv, whilst the suspicion of Socialism always ha- been and remain- a bar to promotion, and is a passport to prison. It i, not surprising that the official educational in-ti:ut;oi;- are merely forcing-houses lor bureaucracy. The future ol Japan educationally depend- on the pri\ate unhersiiie at Keio and \Yaseda, which are turning out a class oi" men, trained on foreign ideas, and free from the perversive influence of officialdom. That a nauitt)ncs and trustees of all that is best on earth and under heaven. In neither England nor America could a prominent news- pajK-r surh as Asa hi SHirnbun dare to j)iihlish a sym{*>Mum on, " .\\'Jiy \Ve should IK- 1'roud of Ourselves," and in no other country eould the so-called cultured classes swallow the rubbish contributed thereto.' That a nation professing a corner in manliness, loyalty, virtue, and descent should he impatient of criticism from without is well understandable. The peptoni/ed thought fed to it by the authorities has proved a wonderful digestive for the annihilation of its b-.-in^, ,md a powerful emetic against the critical rii'orts of well-meaning viMiors. Destiny loves surpri-e-, but :t is doubtful whether the country can make any true and lasting advance until a mental humility, led from aixne, overspreads the people, and a greater willingness is developed amount indi- viduals and das-es to make s ;i rrilices for ideas. In Japan the. individual relationship to the sum-total of injustiee and evil is so infinitesinial and indirect that individuals do not consider it worth tiidnine; for. Kven when they have do;i'- -o their eilorts tailed, and they thetn-elve> hav been crushed by the h. Joubert -ays: "("e-t la ton" et Ie droit, the [xiu'er of the < lans, \\hicli r\er< i>e an ali pervadin.L,' evd inlluen' . in which their leadei- display an in;-e:iuo!i> pride. That the pre-ent condition ot afl.nr . < ani.ot Ion;; contni'ie i^ o1)\ lolls. It i^ an axiom that i> nearest where reiv->ion i^ severest. I he 1 " l'.c< .n: < "I 'Hir unl>;'(kc:i l:iipv.i!tv .t l.crr !> thi - TM< !!.! ! (;< \Vr ,t ' (liar. II I"..', .11'!. i'. "Ill'- ' .u!\ n it i' 'ii w! . i- !,i '.><:; ;'"'- ! MI k t \v< ::' <' \\rt ii:itiM!! in t !.< \\ !: Ir *A i i ii! :..i i IHMIV < I ^;iti .< : .!; i i?s \i .11 ti.-- .!' ! ! 'i'.itv . l;.u !:: I > :n. EMPEROR WORSHIP 59 hour will bring 1 its creditors in Japan as elsewhere and mob law has become alarmingly frequent in Tokyo of late years. That the mobs have hitherto been the hired agents of opposing factions and interests matters not. Once the national consciousness is really awakened tin- mob will be the national representative's, and Hainan's gallows will decorate the capital. APPENDIX JAPANESE COURT LADIES AXD LIKE' The everyday life of the Japanese Court is practically unknown to the public, in spite of the increasing enter- prise of Japanese journalism, which lias made repeated etTorts to break clown the barrier of exclusiveness and mysticism which has hitherto guarded all approaches to the inner apartments of the Chiyoda Palace. Invariably, however, these attempts to violate the sanctity of the Imperial precincts have ended in failure, and until quite a short while ago no consecutive and intelligent account of what actually goes on at Court had ever been pub- lished. During the illness of the late Sovereign, how- ever, a number of persons of the outside world were; admitted to the Inner Palace, and occasional glimpses of palace life appeared in the Press as the n. suit of indiscretions on the part of some of these visitors. The death of the Emperor Mutsuhito, who has now joined the ranks of the Sacred .Yncestors with the post- humous title of ' Meiji Tenno,' and the; retirement of the Lord Chamberlain, Prince Tokudaiji, have removed from the scene the two most conservative obstacle^ in the way of a more intimate knowledge of palace happen- ings. The succession of the Prince Katsura, ex-Premier, to the posts of Lord Chamberlain and Keeper of the Privy Seal meant the influencing of the new monarch in more liberal paths than could ever have been hoped for under the rule of the ascetic, conservative, and highly 1 Written in 101 }. 6o JAPAN AT Till-! CROSS ROADS ari-t<< r.itir Prim e Tokudaiji. The new Kmperor and hi- charming contort, the Krnpress Sadeko, an- much more modern in their ideas and thought than the late ruler, and it ha- n >t taken Ion:; tor .-everal cxpre-r>;on-> '.i their liberal tendencies to be ome e\ -icleiit . '"a the day following the acee-sion 1IU Majesty d-me to the palace with tin; Lmpre by hi-, side, and ordered tiiat in future thi- course -.hould always |>e followed. Innovation number ( >ne. On th-- s mu- occasion, when the Kmperor received the JIL;h ( Mlii t-rs oi" State, his Ministers and Councillor.^, in oid.-r to read to them the Kdict- "i Aefi---ion and Suci e> i-)n, the Minj^n^- had her place ty hi- -id in the tlnnne-room, whi!-t the oli'uei- and ntiieials pre-ent had heen in\ itt-d to bnn:; iheir ur.e- \\ith them to the ( < -n mom . Innovations l\s' and '1 hree. \\ h -n the. member- f the ( 'orp- I hp'o matKjUe J)re-eiited iheir iTedellt ia Is and utl'-red their ( -ondi ile-K . .ind congratulations th'-y were reeeived by the I-.nip<-:'ir .tiid l-.mpre-.^ tn^ether, in-ie,id of, a^ in i'ld'"i time , b'-in^ tn>i pri--en'.ed to the MmpM-ror .nid then le-MIM^ to CnlleCI their lem.de beli ill;-; Mil,.- betnle tu'inx a-ain int i < >d:;e<-d into ain'h. r t lii'one-roi iin t" b- rci eived t>\ the Knipr'---. [niio\aiion lour -and thei-- are other-. ill-' ne\v Ma; -lies !ia\e not \ et removed to the < 'In .nd a I'a'a 1 e ! in- i i le:n < >t th" ! e.;^ ; i i;.; in 1 'ii.-.' > h. Iri'ii; the AKa aha Pal ire. .1 br.ind-neu' (,eiman stnii t:::e, uh-i h i- ili h :ne .| ;ln ' 'ro\vn Pnn e it Japan I h; i- 'ittin.; to ;ir- IP , r.y into T< ideni tin-It/ it 1> J.roiiable that the Id oi !.-r v.;.l '[> ( h in .' 1. and that life m the palate v. : 1 no ion er itiliow t!i-- old m;. t-aiai routine %\h:t!i v. i .1 M i.i-.- i -,\ i'h the .! t\ -. oi Mu; u hi to. Ali the mote in'.-:. ;, tin re! :. aita IH> to ;} M .- ''intent-, ..1 a mal! .-.l';:;i'- it; ' {.'.'' ; di-d. Jo/.u.n Mt'iio-.^ititr:, or :he ; ; /;;/;. ,i i't;c< EMPEROR WORSHIP 61 partially inch-bird for some of the information contained in this article. The Chiyoda Palace is hidden away in the immense compound, behind the triple moat and high walls, which occupies practically the centre of th- city of Tokyo. Besides the palace itself the compound contains barracks tor a regiment of guanU, jhe offices of the Imperial ('al)inet, of the 1'iivy Council, of the- Ministry of the Household, immense stables, telegraph station and po^t- oflice, power and water stations, and residences for almost innumerable officials. The two entrance best known to the public are the ' Nijuba-hi ' and the Sakashita Gate,' both of which are on the great open space to the south. The ' Xijubashi ' i-> the Imperial entrance, and literally means the ' double bridge-,' in consequence ot the two bridges rising one over tin- other spanning the moats. Its |>onals are only opened lor the Kmperor and Kmpress, for visiting Royalties, and for the Ambassadors of the Towers. The ' Saka- shita Gate,' which is that by which most mortals enter, leads directly to the Household Department, whence tin- visitor is forwarded to any other points within the com- pound which he is authorized to enter. Nobody is allowed to enter without a pass, which varies lor foot passenger, ricksha', and carriage. The palace itself is divided into what, are called the 'Outer' and 'Inner' Courts. The former is that to which the world of officials, nobles, and diplomats has a limited admittance-. Its spacious halls and apartments are all furnished in foreign style. It is illuminated with electricity, warmed by steam heating, and, indeed, there- is little internally to dillerentiate it from the palaces of other countries. Externally the architecture- is Japanese, but then- H no great show about tin- building, which compares unfavourably wiih many ot the mansion-, built by the richer Japanese nobles atul business men. The structure- is one-storied, rambling, ami in parts visibly ancient. The 'Inner' Conn adjoins the 'Outer,' being 1 con- 62 JAPAN AT THE CROSS ROADS nected with it by a wide corridor. It is both externally and internally absolutely pure Japanese. The floors arc covered with white tatanii, the walls of the rooms arc shogi (sliding paper screens >, the furniture, mats for -itting and low tables of white wood for eating. The illumination is entirely by candles set in andon, whilst warmth is obtained only from hibachi, or charcoal bra/.iers. In the Inner Court is neither gas nor elec- tricity nor even an oil lamp. The reasons are, firstly, the danger of tire, the extinction of which would mean the intrusion of unhallowed feet within the semi-sacred domain ; and secondly, in order to preserve the unique Japanese characteristics of the building. The Inner Court is practically the only residence in Tokyo, of high or low degree, \\iihout ihe slightest trace of \\V-tern civili/ation, which has ostensibly conquered the country. During the illness of the late Kmperor a brass bedstead w.is introduced into the palace, which was the lir.-t introduction into the Inner Palace of any piece of foreign furniture. As a matter of fart, the Imperial patient never >utiiciently rallied to be able to Ix 1 moved on to it, and it was later returned to the- importers. However, foreign-made sheets and pillows were used instead of the native hubutayc,u\\ which His late Majesty generally n-po.sed. So >trict are the precautions against lire that ;i_ll tic- kitchen stoves, which are of the Usual Japanese ~t\le, and all hihachi mu.st be extinguished at eight Ytld'k III the evening, even III the coldest Weather. Al! ni;.;hl a ua'.>h is kept by several o| the servmg- uomi-n a:;un-t a possible outbreak as the result ot leli'.'hting hib-ichi or nveriuinin;^ ol randies. Si kvrrr IN i nr PAI.ACI:. 1 h< \\1, .] i if ih er\ ici- in i he jiala- e is monofxili/cd b v won i' n, '.'.I'll ih'- \i cj>t ion ot t h< 1 iujwilal paj;es, uho are the in-- - - :i.,d bi tvveen tl),- < ;iti-r and iln- Inner ( '/;ir! Inde-d, v,i;h th<: e\iejtion ot these- ainl KMPEROR WORSHir 63 of the Princes of the Blood, who have the entree, no male, beyond an occasional carj>enter or plumber, is ever seen. Not even the high dignitaries of the House- hold, the Chamberlains or the Masters of Ceremonies, are admitted beyond the ante-rooms. Even the presence of a carpenter to carry out some; small job is a great rarity, owing to the precautions which have to be taken and the purifications which have to be undertaken. Also the late Emperor disliked excessively the intrusion of strangers, partly owing to his innate conservatism and partly owing to a certain meanness, which objected to the performance of repairs. There is a story, which if not true is at least ben trovato, that on one occasion on entering one of the rooms and finding a workman there fixing new paper in the shogi, he sent for the ladiete of the Court and delivered a short lecture on economies, informing them that when the s/iogi wanted repairing they should not have a workman in to fix up new paper, but that they should themselves patch it up with old. A certain Privy Councillor, who was in attendance during the last days of the Emperor and entered his room, told the present writer that the paper of the shogi was brown with age and patched in many places, giving the room a very gloomy appearance. The three essentials of palace life would appear to be cleanliness, ceremony, and tradition, or rather super- stition. To such an extent is the. cult of cleanliness carried that even the maids who attend on the Court ladies during their toilet perform their duties on their knees, and on no account must they touch their own lower limbs. Should this accidentally happen the oilend- ing maid must instantly withdraw and undergo a course of purification before she can again appear before her mistress. If the rules with regard to the maids of the ladies-in-waiting are so strict, it may be imagined that those with regard t;> the personal attendants of their Majesties are even more so. It is, of course, well known that all service before their Majesties has to 64 JAPAN AT THE CROSS ROADS be performed on the knees, and it is not etiquette to approach their Majesties except on the knees, even tlKi physicians who attended on the late KnijxTor during his last illness not beiiv,; exempted from this rule. It is also common knowledge that no one- may touch the Imperial jv-rson with ungloved hands. Last July Drs. Miura and Aoyama obtained permission for the first time to take the Imperial pulse without the interposition of a piece of silk between their finders and the patient's wri-t, \\hilst for the first time, on record medical instru- ments \\ere applied to the Imperial body. This rule is equally strict for the ladies-in-waiting, and especially so when in attemlaii' e on their Majesties when bathing or at their toilet. There is a story, confirmed by the polii e re onU. of how a coolie was sent to prison tor tout h:n;_; the Kmpn-ss I )ow. tier's hands. Some years a;.;- 1 the carriage in wlii h the Lmpre-s Dowager was drixin.; in the country ne ir Nuina/u met with a slight accin->-i \-\VAITINV,. 'I he (''.urt ladii-s are dixided into scxen grades ^/KI/!, It nil. (-<>/i /<'://. Slioiijif ^on-Shonji. Mvo/u. and '.'_(iri-M]'t>/ii . I nder the .Moii L-nno the rank of S/ioji xx a > unoi i upied, but it has l>e< n reieiitly announced that the La ix \'ana ixv.na, the iiiother of the prv-eni j'.nijifi'or .m 1 on- 1 n| :!i- i\\o o< . -upaiits ol itnji :.!a>l<-, \x:li be jromited to th- rank ! Shoji at th<- cornnati"ii, *'. i;h the addi'iond Iillc <'l ft'. r !i'-/in-7'MJ f (inc, \s!no; c-nii-nt ioned . <-n . t a< i- i i'it; .t > h: !i >'\i< :als, and < a'l in- .id n ill ted into the I .. ;) e -.x.il.o-.ii hi. i' bain c. L--io',s them i om three r i\'!;, .S //.'/:.' V". a:id /<>\/:. . I).. iir t nani<-d are th' k'-'-peis of ih<- \\aidr' ibes / EMPEROR VVORSHir 65 the second arc the attendants on the Court ladies (Shimyo actually means needlewoman), whilst the third arc actually housemaids and maids of all work. None of the last three grades can be admitted to the Presence. There are about thirty ladies-in-waiting and between two hundred and fifty and three hundred Court women. The monthly emoluments of Tenji is 25, of gon-Tenji 20, of Shonji ^15, of gon-Shonji 10, and so on in a descending scale. The ladies-in-waiting rise, when on duty, at six o'clock, and an elaborate toilet has to be gone through, of which the coiffeur, dressed in the exacting but charm- ing ancient Court style, is not the least important part. The ladies take an early breakfast, which is prepared by their maids, and then don their morning Court robes, which are generally of Western cut, the orthodox Japanese ceremonial robes being reserved for great ceremonial occasions. Each lady has the sen-ices of three maids for her toilet, which, as already related, have to be performed on the knees. This, however, is not really such a hardship as might appear, for in the first place all service before a superior, according to ancient custom, is performed on the knees, a practice to which the women have long been accustomed ; and secondly, the furniture of the ladies' apart- ments being entirely Japanese, they themselves have to kneel on the floor before the little mirrors and dress- ing-tables. Immediately breakfast is finished the ladies proceed to the Imperial apartments for attendance on the Emperor and Empress. At 11.30 a.m. a tiffin is served to each in their rooms. This is, however, only a formality, for all the food eaten by the ladies on duty is sent to them from the Imperial kitchen, whilst that prepared for them by their own maids is remitted back to the maids for their own consumption. The food is always Japanese, served in Japanese style. At three o'clock in the afternoon fruits and sweet- meats are served, and dinner at five o'clock. All these meals are formalities in the same manner as the tiffin, 5 66 JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS being sent nut again fur the delectation of the maids, whilst the genuine edibles are sent in from the kitchens. About three o'clock in the afternoon the ladies change into Japanese robes, which they infinitely prefer to the tight-titling corseted dresses of the West, which rarely suit either their figures or their faces. Bedtime comes about ten o'clock, the period after dinner being devoted generally to conversation with the Imperial couple or to some kinds of parlour games or to versifying, of which the late Kmperor was very fond and in \\hich he was most proficient. THK KYOTO ATMOSPHKKK. Nearly all-- indeed there is only one exception the Court ladies are the daughters of Kyoto nobles, which to a certain extent accounts fur the effeminate atmo- sphere in the Inner I'alace. Although the late Kmperor was the ruler who introduced into Japan Western civi- li/ation and manner-, and removed his < apital to Tokyo, then (ailed Yedo, he himself, < \t ept on State occasions and for reasons of Slate, remained entirely imperviou^ to Western intluence, and, indeed, rarely allowed n to enter .it all into his private lite. If Tokyo -w.is his re-nience and capital, Kyoto remained the home ol Ins \outh and his heart, and his private inclinations were st lengthened 1>\ his being surrounded jn his private lite by Kyotan Influence-,. Not only have the ladies-in- uaiting been born oi Kyoto >tock, and thus inherited the tradition-- of the old capital, but no language e\. ept the Kyotaii the language ot the Sta'e and the -taildaid ot the ( IIHM! imia! .c;t l.oul le-- I.\r;i th<- >ueetineats to: pa!a>e c on >uii:[: ion aie ina'ie in K.oto. and no other-, are knoujngls admitted, KMl'KROR WORSHIP 67 A M US F. .\ 1 1: NTS IN 'III !: I ' A [ . A ( F. . Except on the rare occasions \vhcii they accompanied the Kmprcss Dowager to attend some charity function, or to visit some school, or acted as the Kmpre-^'s messengers on occasions of congratulation or condolence, the ladies-in-waiting never leave the palace precincts. The result is that most of them are, very naturally, most ignorant of the affairs of the world, and even ot things of the most common nature. The one lady who has been in a theatre is regarded as approximating to an adventuress. It is stated that the most anxious hope of some of them is to one day ride in a tramcar, their curiosity having been excited by the sight of those which run around the- palace walls. What their state will be when they ride in the automobiles recently ordered from Kurope for the use of the palace ii is hard to prophesy. On the other hand, they art- well read, as there is no longer a censorship on the books and papers introduced into the palace. In order to counteract the hypochondriacal tenden- cies of a life so grooved as that of the Inner Court the Kmprcss Dowager some years ago insisted on the ladies taking horse-riding exercise within the palace, grounds. Some of them indeed attained considerable distinction in this, and one of them, the I.ady Shogenji, though only of the lowest grade, go/i-AI rofit, \\as pro- moted, on account ot her equestrian skill, to be Her Majesty's personal attenda.it when riding. It i-, n-lated that this lady was so proficient as to be able to indulge in trick riding and the hau'.c ccolc for the enjoyment of the late Kmperor, who when younger was himself no mean performer on horseback. Fi-hing is another amusement at Court, for although the Chiyoda 1'alace has no provision for this the llama Detached 1'alace, \\huh is situated mi the shores of Tokyo Hay, gives ample opportunities. The Dowager is particularlv ton I ot the sport, summer often drives across the city to tin- residence to enjo\ it. 68 JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS All the ladies are encouraged to interest themselves in gardening, and each of them has a portion of the gardens allotted to her care. Quaint stories are told. some of them doubtless true and others certainly ex- aggerated, of the wilderness which formed the Imperial gardens on the arrival of the Court from Kyoto. Badgers, lynxes, and wild rats were abundant, and sufficiently wild to attack the women when crossing the gardens at night. SUPERSTITION. Although foreign influence and customs have obtained a considerable hold in Japan, there is still a gre.it deal of attention paid to ancient tradition, superstition, and necromancy. During the illness of the Crown Princess a few years ago, and again during the last days of the Kmperor Mutsiihito, the houses of fortune-tellers were thronged with visitors, from the highest to the lowest seeking to know the ultimate result. Indeed on some occasions the police- had to clear the narrow- streets to prevent the traffic being blocked. Again, tlie funeral of the late Kmperor was origin. illy intended for September loth, but the augurers objected as this day is believed to be unlucky, and eventually the obsequies took place on September I }th and I4th, the latter of which was abominably wet. It is a custom at Court in times of drought for the ladies to hang up in the tree.s in the gardens fcru- tt'rtthozu. or dolU of silk paper. These are invocations to the deitie-, to send rain, and as they are left until rain doe-> come may be presumed to be uniformly MK - ce-sful. When at last the i.iin de>cends the dolls are re-rued, soaked in sake, and floated away down the ino.it . In the p.tl.K e is also preserved a quaint sjx-c ih< for he. ii 1. 11 lie-, and stoHU'K ll-a< lies. It ioiisi,t-, ot folding the lea\-s of tli- sweet iu>li in a bandage, winch is then tied atounil th<- ln.t n of the year. The kakt^hita, <>r outer ohi. is s.-.irlei. and made of >ilk crepe. It \\otiM appeal that the < 'otirt ladies are entirely ignorant ot the fashions in vogue outside the palace, and \ery often the\ ue.ir garm-nts and odours ulneh would aura* t attention in tip- most Bohemian circles. Tin; I.APY YA.\.\C,I\\ AKA. Ih' pnncipal ladie--;n-uaiting are the Lady Yana- gmaia, the Lady Takakura, and the Lady Sono. The tir-t n, lined \\as the favourite lady-in-waiting ot "he I )owager I-'.nipre^s, and \\as chos<-n hy her to he the nioiher of the heir to the throne when the physicians \\ere in-i-t'-nt that her own hopes in that direction nui^t he ahand'>n((l. Lady Yanagiwara i> much heloved at Court not only lor the above reason, hut also tor her gentle d;-po-ition and her consideration tor her inferiors At the -ame time she can. \\hen necessary, command the -tin te^t di>' ij)l:n ( '. < >n the marriage of the I'rini'es-, Sadeko. now I-jnpres^. to the then ('ro'.vn I'rince, Lad\ \.iiiti iv. a: a ua a]>])ointed her guardian, and during her ward's si-nou> illn -> a few \eat- ago sh,- made a pilgrimage to the (ira:;d Shinie- ot Ne and Yamada to pr.c. tor h'-r rei ovcry. Lvery dav during the ilhie-- 'it th'- la:-- Lmperor ^\\<- o! j. her lalh'-r ha'.'ing h'-e:i the !a-t A"//:;-. o: ( '< iiirt IP >'' de. of hi - iine. 111! I AI-V I \K. \KI i \ \M> l-'l.MIMM l.\ ! ! I I'M I A I ( '< ! i/ | l.adv Takal.::!.i I (he oldest ..I all the Court ladle,. hem- e\eni', three \eal of age, ami lia\ Ml ; hei-Ii .1 EMPEROR WORSHIP 7' Court lady in the time of Kornci Tenno, grandfather of the present Krnperor. Throughout the last reign she was a great power at Court, and the late Kmperor is reported to have relied very much on her wisdom and advice. She has the exclusive* privilege of using a cushion when in the Presence, a concession to her age and a tribute to the Imperial admiration of her talents and perspicacity. She has been the stumbling-block in front of innumerable Chamberlain^, and "Ministers of the Household who have striven to introduce a more liberal o/one into the Inner Court. When the late Lord Iwakura drafted a scheme of reforms which would have much curtailed feminine influence, he sent for the Lady Takakura, as First Lady-in-Waiting, and explained to her his intentions. She looked at him a little pityingly, and then replied : " My Lord, these things may be very well, but, when I take instructions, I take them only from my mistress, the Empress." That was the end of Iwakura's well-meant reforms, for he lacked the courage to run the gauntlet of the corps of ladies- in-waiting. Prince Ito's reform schemes ended in failure in much the same manner, and thanks to the same lady, who easily proved that the influence of Ito over the Emperor was as nothing to that of the feminine, element of the Court. This is the more extraordinary inasmuch as Ito's influence was very strong indeed on the late Emperor, lie probably was the only statesman to whom the Emperor re. illy opened his heart, and who in turn was not overawed by the latter's semi-divine attributes. It is often related that he had the custom of never removing his cigar when entering the palace precincts, to the horror of the attendants, who were to the last in doubt as to whether they should request him to throw away his stump or not. .Again, he was accustomed never to remove his hat until he reached the ante-room to the Emperor's study, when he would throw it on the table, commanding the Chamberlain, "Tell His Majesty that Ito is come ! Ito reallv onlv suffered two severe 72 JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS defeats one by the Satsuma-Choshu combination of politicians, the militarists of to-day, and the other at the hands of the Court ladies. He saw well that the hot-house atmosphere of the palace must some time be cleared, but he himself failed to do it. Count Hijikata, for long the Minister of the House- hold, was also severely rebutted "when he attempted to correct the morality of certain of the palace women. He took his complaints to their sujx-riors, the ladies-in- waiting, but their only reply Was to recall a certain delicious scandal having the Count and a famous geisha as the hero and heroine. Later, however, he obtained his revenge, for when the present Kmjx-ror "was eight years old the Emperor Mutsuhito determined to remove him from petticoat influence ami to have him brought up in a more modern and manly style. Hijikata was appointed his tutor, much to the resentment of his former foes, the ladies-in-waiting. Before accepting the appointment, however, he insisted on and obtained from the Throne, a promise that under no circumstances should interference with his conduct be permitted from the side of the Inner Court. It is curious to learn that Count Nogi was by no means jx>pular with the [>alace, the ladies nf which were never able to accustom themselves to the ideas of his Spartan life and autocratic attitude toward women, especially in his treatment of Madame Shimada, the Principal of the Peeresses School, who objected to Nogi's plans to educ.ite girls according to the old Japanese ideals, and who insisted that "women of the present generation have to have a wider outlook than the women of old Japan. Tin: LAI>Y SONO. The Lady Sono i- probably the IH-M known, by name at all event-, of the ladies-in-waiting. She is a daughter of Count Sono, is still in the early forties, .md ranks yet as one of the most beautiful women of Jap. in, even EMPEROR WORSHIP 73 according to Western standards. On account of her beauty, wit, and accomplishments she "was one of the favourite attendants of tin- late Krnperor. She is a brilliant poetess, and at the last Court Poetry Competi- tion, held in January 1912, her verses on the selected subject, The Crane on the Pine-Tree, won the first prize ffom over twenty thousand sent in. At Court she is known as ' The Lady of the Bottle Gourd Suite,' many of the Court ladies being desig- nated by the names of the apartments which they occupy. The origin of the name is as follows : The late Emperor strongly objected to the introduction of gas and elec- tricity into the Inner Palace, and as u result, as already mentioned, light is only obtainable from candles set in lanterns. In summer these latter are of paper, being made at Gifu, whilst in the autumn many of them are of hollowed gourds. One evening when walking in the gardens the Emperor was much amused to find a suite of apartments lighted by candles set in the gourds, on which comic figures had been painted. The antics of these as they swung to and fro in the breeze caused the most hearty amusement. Further examina- tion proved the rooms to be those occupied by the Lady Sono, and they were promptly and Imperially dubbed ' The Bottle Gourd Suite.' Amongst other accomplishments Lady Sono, who is a Buddhist, is an expert in ,the chanting of the Sutras. This was displayed in July, 1912, when the Emperor was ill. Every morning a lady, heavily veiled, appeared at the Honmonji Temple at Ikcgami, and, sitting before the shamidan, proceeded to chant the Sutras with Mich admirable intonation that the prie>ts came from their rooms to listen to her. W.hen she had concluded they said that there was no Buddhist priest in Tokyo who could compare with her. Inquiry proved that the mysterious visitor was no other than the Lady Sono, gon-Tenji, praying for the recovery of the Emperor. 74 JAPAN AT TIIK CROSS ROAIXS Ki i h;n\ AT CnrRT. It is very curious to find that Buddhism is practiced extensively at Court, anil that there is even a splendid Buddhist shrine within the palace. It i> ^rnerally a-sumed ih.it as Shinto is the State religion it would he natural to find it <.-\clu-i\ civ patroni/ed at Court. I he Lmpie-s Dowager, however, is a linn devotee of Buddhism, to which the late Lmpcror aUo paid ;;reat le-pect. In this connection it must not he forgotten that Shinto as the State religion is a flower of recent growth. having hecii used by the statesmen of the Ke-torat ion to weaken the influence of the Sho;^unate and to centre all religious belief in the Throne. The \nhiren >(-,-( is th" form of Huddhisin mostly favoured at <'ourt. thou-h Lady Sono is a iollowi-r of the Ilokkeshu. It is worthy of note that two of tin 1 sisters ot the Lmpie-s Sadeko married the Lord Abbotts of the Hon^wanji Temples at Kyoto, the largest Buddhist foundations in Japan, whilst at least one of the I'nn- ce-ses ot th" Lushimi family is Abbess of a Uuddhi-l ( on\ cnt . That ('-lint inlluence may be useful even in religion th>- following anecdote pro\e-> : The grandfather of a (erlain l,id> -in-wait ini; \iMied and died at the ( hm\o^i I emple ot the Nichiren sect in Totoini I'ro\iu'-e. It \s a a \ciy ponr and >bseure institution. His grand- daughter visited her grandfather's :;ta\c, .and on liei tiMiin deternunr-d to < opy out and present to the t mple a> a prool of her ' ])ieta, ' the ei:;ht \(ilunie> of the itlp!UIe> of ill'- M-it. 'Ill'' \\oik \\as Completed 111 t u o years, and \ci\- li:i'- n looked on vjlt-ed^ed paper, \\;'h illuminated leiterin;.;, and bound m ^old broiadi-. |u-t as the temp!.- authorities \\ere decidin;; that their l.'iiii'- nr: t loiter onto n , founda'ions and umd up il alt. ill-, tir- volume-, atiiX'-d, now well on the road towards a rich and prosperous career. Prince Katsura retired lioni the Lord ("hamberlainship to resume the 1'remiership in I)ecember, i<;i2, and died in 1013, being siicce-ded by Prince Takatsiikasi, whil ,1 H.I.H. Prince l''u>himi became Keeper o! the Privy Seal. It was stated that Prince Kat.-ura found palao- life too dull for him, and it was freely rumoured that the ladie-, of the Court we're not unconnected with hi^ decision to exchange Court life for further adventures in the field of politics. Certainly in a conversation I had with him in January, 1913. he said that women were a good deal more difficult to manage than men. The Empress Dowager, llaruko, died in 1914. ( HAI'TKK TWO I'OLITU'S 1'ARI I <>KK,!N OK THK U)\STI Tl'TK )NA1. MVI,MK.\r I I i-. curious to recall th.it the immediate cause ot the ri-e of a {Hipular constitutional movement in Japan was due to the >{>lit amonx the leaders of the Restoration movement on the question of war \\itli Korea in 1X72. I he majority of the Council of State, includini; Sai.^o, overruled by luakura, ( 'kubo, Kido, and Ito, win) had returned from a diplomatic mi-sion to I. mope and Americ.i. The war ]>arty claimed that they had Ix-hind them th-- ^U])jM)it nt the nation, and loi^ned oiiK < to -tart a < ampai^M against the arbitrary jM>licy '>f their ^uperiors. Thi^ culminated in a memorial .idtration and ur^in^ :h'- ad\ i -aliihty ot eitabhshin^ a ivpie-eniatu e ^\->tem -t ,' ''.'el nment . '1 In-ie i- li:tl>- !(!- m to -upjxis.- that the memorialist^ in p:rei i by .in\ pa! i l it i' le< b;i^ . Tin n sole cli - n ,- to em'harra>i the i \<>\ rnment and dn\e it out, in h i.i th'-\ \\'>'.ild ii.i\'- bet-n able to enfoite then ted pill'\' it .1 Koic.ili \\.tr. I l)ey i\p!(i]'i-d tht- 'ii'i-!it ! 'h-- \iirmtrtii and th- pe-ijile joi tlp-n own int.i .'<. re. Midi' - \ ;h'- f.n : th.tt th \ them el\es be<-n ii pi.n ible t>r th'- i mde tinaii 1 lal s;ep, whr h th- oi;. in of the popular unrest. POLITICS 77 The sentiment of that first movement has, unfortu- nately for Japan, remained the inspiration of all suc- ceeding |x)litical movements. it has been pungently claimed that the duty of an opposition is to opjx>se, and if this is a true presentment of ]x)litical doctrine no one can object to the tactics of the oppositions in Japan. It is a justification of a perpetual warfare between the ' ins ' and the ' outs,' and has no relation to the good of the country. Especially must this be the case in a country entirely new to all forms of constitutional government, and where the would-be politicians were themselves babes struggling with the A 13 C of political theories. The constitutional leaders were trying to run before they could walk. As I have stated in. a previous chapter, the abolition of feudalism necessitated the institution of some sort of popular representation. Before that abolition the people delegated, if serfs could delegate, their interests to their lord, who was responsible for them to the Shogunatc. Once the daimyo lost his authority over and interest in his tenants and serfs, the latter lost any claim on him to be their representative near the administration. And even though the influence of the council of the daimyo was more nominal than real, there was a final appeal over the daimyo's head to the Shogun himself. Though under the cruel Toku- gawa laws this appeal resulted disastrously to the individual appellant, it was nevertheless an effective one, for it must be remembered that to keep the people con- tented and industrious was a cardinal aim of the Shogunate policy. When the Western oligarchy secured the adminis- trative power to themselves they abolished feudalism in order to curb any ambition on the part of other daimyo to rival them. The establishment of some sort of a popular government had no place in their pro- gramme. They soon found, however, that some form of popular representation was a necessary corollary to their own actions, and actually the leaders of the clans, 7-S JAPAN AT Till-: CROSS ROADS in exjxvial Kiotn these early movements was their disconnection from any idea of financial con tml. It doe- not M-em that cither then or at any other time any political party in Japan has adopted as it- slo/..m the principle of ' No representation, no taxation,' or, .liter the representation had !>een granted, the rii;ht nl the n.ition's del-:;. ites to control the national ex- penditure. \Y:th the j*>-~i'd exceptional Russia, there i- no oilier country when- the pt oplc have 1< ss j>o\ser. in theory or in practice, over the taxation and distribu- tion ot the fund-. This is abundantly evidenced by the fa>t t!.a* finance ha- lx e:i the national problem lor the pa-t ten years, the first and se/ond Ka'-ura. :ii-- lir-t a;:d M V o:.d Saion;i Cabinet.^ ultimately I illin:, on ai count there >i. Yet hevond occasional parnf'.i'l;/ in-nlin ;e:it retoim pro-i amnv. s notluii; ha-> 'ecu don- to put th" finances on a souml ba^is, and iiotlnn., \\hat--oe\er ha> bei-n attempted by any pohtual jiir:\ to in-i-t on such reform- bein;^ undertaken. Neithei tip- leider> o| til- movement in i^r> nor Kuio nor It. i had any :.; iimnierm ,; ;hat true po]ular repre-en- 'i.ition iiie\i;ab!\ connote^ linancial imitrol. '1 !) i aus ol tin- In 'in. i in ;he:r do.triii'- i> partly to be loui.d ;n the ait-ence ot an clleciivc iniiii-tai\ ^\--tein, pait!\ ouin:; to taxation i'i the ji-t ha \in_u', lepre^cnted e - lori'-d ' oiieriiiL 1 . -.' partly in the people not h.t\ in:; ie. ili/cil 'ln-ir -ejiar.i'e i-ntit\-, and pa:t!\ in th'- t.ui ' in: tlii- < i: ii r i on t itut i malist -, uad i t . id : he pra> ; i< < ,-. lii'h lh'-> p:ea. Ird aboii! a- mil h or ,e- little a- a p i : i : u n d e : v a : : i ! -> the p h ; a - h \ t . i \ : h ! . I i i:i' i- h.'l a d a kliou - 1 ot ! .:,. !i h. \\ !,. n I b.id ..i < asjon to j- ak to h<- .. 1 '-' in.- 0:1 ai>o-.i: ruen'k oi t \\ ' n*\ -ii\ r i, -. d 111 :. ill u:i:e\t i If . .c. \ ! -. nrii h tin- -ami SOUK- ),ad POLITICS 79 visited Europe, and they studied superficially the repre- sentative institutions of the West. On their return they preached catchwords and phrases, without understanding what they really meant. This lack of reasoning jxnver remains to-day one of the marked liabilities of the Japanese. The attitude of the clans towards the movement was characteristic. Men like Kido, Ito, and Inouye were mentally alert enough to reali/.e that popular representa- tion must eventually he admitted, hut they recogni/ed that the country was not yet .sufficiently advanced for constitutional government in the Western meaning of the phrase, anil that when such a time should arrive the con- cession of constitutional government would involve the downfall of the clan system. The Imperial House-hold Department inspired an article by Dr. Kato Hiroyuki in the Nichi Nichi Shimbun developing the first of these arguments, in which it said : " Public opinion is not necessarily a wise opinion nor a correct opinion. The object of a deliberative Assembly is the legislation of such laws as shall place the peace and prosperity of the nation on a firm basis. 1 think that there would not be more than sixty or seventy men of distinguished ability or knowledge in the whole nation. It is impos- sible for these sixty or seventy men to be taken as a standard of the whole thirty millions of the population. Therefore, though the officials are not conceited and arrogant, as alleged, it cannot be wondered at if they think they are, at present, indispensable in the manage- ment of all affairs of Stale." ' The policy of the clans, therefore, was to maintain themselves in possession of the power, and when the day should come when the clamour of the people must be met, to grant such a lorm of constitution as would keep the power in its existing hands whilst apparently yielding it to the people. Whil>t the bureaucrats would recognize that there was a popular will, they alone should be competent to interpret that will. ' Uehar.i, /'i'/;7/j/ Dcrilopmcnt of [j\ipan. So JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS The enunciation of these views showed the seccders that they had nothing to hope for from the Government. They therefore retired to the country with the intention of educating the nation towards the ideals they had set before themselves. How far the memorialists as a body wen- dominated by the desire lor jx>wer and how far by a real devotion to political science may be judged from the attempt to assassinate Iwakura in Januat>, iS74, by the Saga rebellion in the following year, and by Saigo's provocative actions, extending over three years, which culminated in the Satsuma rebellion of I.S77- Itagaki and ( loto were the only two prominent memorialists who really devoted themselves to the political education of the nation. The opposition measures necessitated a certain amount of concession by the (iovernment, including the establishment of the Senate as Legislative Chamber and of a Council of I'rc- fectural (iovernors as an advisory body, whilst the judiciary was nominally made independent of the e\ei Libel \\ere passed, and a reign of terror was inaugu-, rated a:;auist journalists and political agitators and asso- Mation-,. I Minn:.; July, i^7>, every editor in Tokyo was aliened at li-ast on> e, and either heavily lined or Illlpl IV died . 1 In- siate-men of the early years of the Restoration li-arly r<-.t!i/-'d that knowledge is jxuver and that the dl -! ! liitlt I' ill ot pohtiial knowledge |s the \\.ty to . oin JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS -poken in his detest, m. MI ot the doctrines of Fuku/awa \nkuhi and ha:;aki Tai-uke. Such phrases as By nature all men are lx>rn equal " or " (iovernnient is instituted tor the people and should be conducted by tin- people," smell and spelt rank lieiesy to him, and a< a Minister of State and a i^ood clansman he had otti. ially and unofficially frowned on them. From the revolution of 1.^07 until 1^7^ the four clans, Satsuma, <|io~!iu. Hi 'en, and Tosa. had monopolized the power a> \\hit v.as tailed the Sat-cho-hi-to Coalition, and even i:n;i' I > se\eri -eighths of the public office.- were held IY th'-ir parti-an-. In 1873. iiowever. this combination ii id been bioken up by the split in the Council, and Sat -'ho ruled the roa-t. Okuma. though a To-a man, hid >een retained in oflice, l>ut with the deaths of "Kido and < >kubo he -aw an opportunity of t^'ainin^ for the t\\o -mailer clans the control ot allairs. He SWUIIL;' ti.'ht over to the popular party and put himself at the he. id M( the constitutional mov-merit, and actually im- pre-sed I'nnce An-u;.;awa and Prince Iwakura with the ad\ inability ot -ettin- up an elective national assembly in i > '.'; . So cleverly and s,.,retl\- did ( >kuma carry out In-, intii;.;ues that ,tn Imperial Fdict \\ a - on th-- point ot bei!!v i--uel when Iwakura uddenlv decide 1 to hed^e i:n!e It') and other statesmen agreed. Then the fat wa- ;n t Ir- lire. I'h.- Sat- l;c energy .in 1 a itaiion l:om ihe constitutional movement to a p:ojMi i! ot Kuioda, Pre-,ide!it ot the Coloni/atioti Hoard, \'.!i:'h t!ic , ( c. it ntii' -nt undertaking- in Hokkaido, \', h.. !i hid ' ' ; ih'- ' >unt i y \ i .) , o< ><>,< >< >< >. \\ on ii 1 IK- ^old ;he |\ ','. in ': Hoei.i . i!r >',. .-, a i, a ])ii\afe iniit'erii o| Ku:od.r , loi \ , M^OMI;, ill,- Mini-,ti\ p'n, and ho, In i T .1 1 ' POLITICS 83 exposure of the graft scandal, was getting 1 out of hand, stole Okuma's thunder and advised the Throne to call a national assembly, hut in 1890 instead of in 1883. Simultaneously Okuina was kicked out of office so that he should have no share in the public gratitude for the promise of a Constitution. A HOXK WITHOUT MAKKOW With the Imperial Edict of October 12, 1881, which commanded a national assembly to be summoned in 1890, the constitutionalists considered that they had gained their object. The great work of the government thereafter was to prepare for the innovation by drafting a Constitution. In March, 1882, Ito was sent to Europe to study the various political institutions of the West with the view to either selecting that most suitable in its entirety or of drafting a Constitution embodying the most suitable features of the Western systems. He returned in August, 1883, so that, allowing for a two- months voyage each way, just twelve months was devoted to a personal examination of the political con- ditions in England, America, France, Belgium, and Germany. A couple of years ago a very prominent lawyer who has held high office in America was banqueted by a barristers' club in Tokyo, and presented with a copy in English of the Constitution with Ito's commentaries thereon. A day or two afterwards he met one of his hosts and said to him, " I have read that book of Ito's with great pleasure and greater interest. There's one thing I want you to enlighten me on, for as a good American I'm interested in it." : ' Well, I will explain anything I can," replied the Japanese barrister. " What is it? " "I only want you to point this out to me where do the people come in in your Constitution? " " All ! " and the Tokyo lawyer smiled, " that's the clever point of our Constitution. They don't come in at all in practice. It's what you call ' a bone without 84 JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS marrow.'' How did it conic about that Ito was able to force on Japan a Constitution which more than any- thing else erystalli/cd the power in the hands of an oligarchy, acting in the name of the Throne, and yet at the same time successfully deluded the people inU> the belief that they were receiving that for which they had asked? As regards the latter part of the question, a great majority of the people were apathetic, unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth, partly because the Constitution was an Imperial gitt, partly because they were incom- petent to critici/e or rcu< tionary against the extremes to which the political discussions had led. Those more actively interested and capable of adequate criticism had been banished or otherwise gagged into silence. Ito w.is a clansman, one of the Sat-cho Coalition, and it was to them that he owed advancement. The first duty of every Japanese is to show projx-r grati- tude to his patron. Although Ito was beyond jx-rsonal patronage he was not unmindful of the rights or, rather, the ( laims of the two clans, and he was therefore careful not to damage their position in the country. Secondly, Ito was one of the band who had mack- the Restoration in order to exercise power through the Kmperor, and he had no intention of setting up, or even conniving at setting up, a democracy to rule the monarch. With the exception of these two ideas pigeon-holed au.ty Ito had an open mind on constitutional system^. \sith a possible sympathy (before his travels) for the Kii.:!!-h tuini, which was then very popular among -t the \\DiiM-be politicians of Japan. Ih.s visit to London \eiy <-<> ni suitable government for a Sat-c ho adherent to recommend. hi Berlin he found something extremely to In- liKiM;; .iirl .1 111.1:1 at the he.asitive eflect of the Constitution is to confirm in words as the. written law of the land the traditional sovereign power of the Throne, the idea of which is inherent in every Japane-e mind. The absolutism of the monarch, which until i.SXg had been traditional, became perpetuated as the fundamental principle of the new order of things. 1 have m> intention here of examining in detail this extraordinary document, which riveted the bonds ol clanni-m on the nation, but it is in itself so indetinite, so contradictory, and so illogical that its drastic reno- \ation is considered in Japan as the only jx>ssible cure. A Japanese jurist, Dr. Shimi/u, has recently computed that then- are forty-eight major faults in the Constitu- tion, by major faults being understood articles con-' tradiited by other article-, arti the sii-,p<-i)sion or amendment \\lr.ch can, however, be accomplished by the t -. invested in the 1'nvy Council or by proclaiming ite i > | siege.) ; n Diet has the right to meet one e a \ear for ninety , and to initiate (~u!)je< to veto or non -pi oinulga - i-lation. and to pe'ition the Throne. In theory ontrol th- na'ioria! hnaiii es, m piacp.ce Xp'lldllUles i>.l,ed Upon the so\rp-|gn 1 hi i >ne i ,is administ i at ive, na\ a 1 and I 1. !! < Mlii e expense-, i, all e\| en ^ U hit || ' !!' ' of |.C.\ .. ,i!ld .ill expense, ap|iejtalll- i! o' ill a! p MI - of tir- yo\ i-i nnieii! i iliteie I TOLITICS 87 on National Debt, sinking fund, redemption of bonds, subsidies, compensation, etc.) being excluded from reduc- tion or rejection except with the consent of the govern- ment. In case even these exemptions should put too much j)ower in the hands of the Diet, the Throne may take all necessary financial measures in cases of urgency, as when the Diet cannot be convoked, by me.uis of Imperial Ordinances. When the Diet does not vote on the Budget an Imperial Ordinance authorizes the Budget of the previous year. This brief summary shows in concise form how Ito so arranged the Constitution as to give the Throne all of the power and the people none. As a writer in the Taivo put it : ' The principal duty of the Japanese people under the Constitution is to elect representatives to say 'Yes' to the government." In case the House of Representatives should find some loophole by which it might be able to dictate an undesirable measure to tin; authorities, Ito added a second chamber, the House of Peers, 'to check tin- evil tendencies of irresponsible discu>sions ' in the Lower House, or, in plain English, to act as a first crusher in any conflict between the authorities and the representa- tives without the former having to use the Imperial veto or other measure of direct repression. The comjx>si- tion of the I'pper House as Ito planned it was admirably adapted to his purpose. There were 201 hereditary and representative Peers, all owing their rank to him- self and conservative by the nature of things ; 122 Imperial nominees, 40 of whom are peers, all officials and ex -officials, and therefore allies of bureaucracy ; and 45 representatives of the highest taxpayers, coiiserva live by their alliance with land and vested interest-. Such was the Constitution Ito practically borrowed wholesale from Prussia and gave to Jap, in, reinforcing it-; conservatism by a Cabinet sy.Mem as tha* of Pru-i.i. a Privy Council \\ith extraordinarily \\ule powers and a graded nobility, under the control of a Bureau of ihe Imperial 1 lousehold. 88 JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS THK M AT K i. MM MAI. MACHINK In igii the principal parties in Japan were the Seiyukwai and the Nationalists. The former held an absolute majority in the Lower 1 louse, and consequently ruled the |X)litical field, a po-ition of which they took \er\ full advantage. The Seiyukwai was a party romjxised of, and drawn from, a number of smaller parties, the principles and programmes of which it is almost imjx>ssible to dif- ferentiate. (Hit of the years of intrigue and turmoil which had preceded and followed the promulgation of the Constitution two chief parties had emerged, led respectively by ha^aki and ( )kuma. In the main their platforms were similar, but < )kuma jibbed consistently at the theory of Ministerial independence of the Diet. Neither of these parties, nor, for that matter, any other party, retained its title for much more than a session at a time, and the fivquent changes of name are conse- quently an irritating source of contusion to the student. The party led by Ita^aki may be described as Liberal, whi!>t that <>f Okunia was Progressive. In iS<>> ho abandoned, as the result of experience, the theory that a Ministry can carry on business in the Diet without soni'- party support, and mad'- an alliance with the Liberal>, and was timber supjjorted by small official .ni',1 semi-official cliques. In spite of this the Privy ' nuiii il would not allow either ho or any member of Ins Mini-try to be a memb'-r of a politic.il party, and when h.i:;aki uas bpiu 'lit 1:1 .is Minister <>) the Interior he lit Ml i;j .1 ' .tiilMc 1 Ui:!l t!te 1'pi. lr Ke le.i.ler. <>kuill.l, ull'i \\.l^ ii" n:il\ III r ii. m 1 lie M .i' -ukata- < 'km 1 1.1 Cabinet \\hiih t'i'1'.'.M-d i ulit lulled OH'" ses lull of the Diet b\ llie.l'ls I .1 M M |i M !' \ i ' )t'l| I' I i-il ii| the Progressives With the ii!ln l.d .il.d r'tii; -nIlK l.d pendulum. U 111 !l H 1 N , t , I 1 1 1 . 1 1 \ . r n 1 1 1 e 1 1 1 POLITICS 89 months on the old question of Ministerial responsibility. Its existence at all was a marvel of ingenuity, for Matsukata was a typical clansman, and Okuma's views on the subject of Ministerial independence had not changed. A second Ito Ministry was a fiasco, and, after a coalition of Liberals and Progressives, was followed by an Okuma-Itagaki Ministry, which fell after a few months as the result of a quarrel between the parties over the distribution of the spoils of office. Yamagata, the leading clan statesman, succeeded to the Premiership, and was forced by circumstances to make a temporary alliance with the Liberals to obtain an urgently necessary increase of revenue. Though ready enough with cash bribes, he refused to give party men offices, and in September, 1900, he resigned, as a result of the formation of the Seiyukwai under the leadership of Ito. This statesman, a bureaucrat at heart and a firm believer in the bureaucratic system of government, realized its impossibility unless there was a strong party subservient to officialdom in the House. He recognized that the Liberals were willing to accept any arrange- ment which would provide them with an adequate solatium for the abjuration of their principles. Unlike the Progressives, they had never opposed the govern- ment on purely political grounds. They wanted an entente with some leading statesman for material pur- poses. Ito wanted a party behind him to which he could dictate orders and on whose implicit obedience he could rely. That was the bargain struck. Ito and Yamagata were lighting for power, and the former hoped that by controlling the Diet he would achieve it. He was mistaken. He had little trouble in the Lower House, but the Peers were staunch supporters of the clans, and their opposition was only overcome by the use of the Imperial Rescript. He fell in April, 1901, and never again exercised any real power, though his advice as a (ienro was frequently sought, and almost as frequently ignored, and he continued to wield considerable personal influence over the Kmperor. JAPAN AT TIIK CROSS ROADS The ap[x>intment of Viscount Katsura as Premier marked t\vn important < han^e^. The Klder Statesmen retired trives. lie failed mi>eral)ly, ho\\c\cr, bei - au->e Kai-ura me: ;he attack by the simple expedient ot dl--o!\ m;_; the l)let, a measure \\IIK I) 1^ a 1 'l elilier's 1 1 ump ( a rd in a <"iin;rv like Japan where the Ministry i- not M--J 'oii-i'il'- !> the majority ol the llonsc. To prevent Inriher nn-< hiet from ho he was made President ot tin- PM\ y ('o'ancil, and .Mari|iii> Saionji led that jiosj !o !>C< ome the lead'T ot the Seiyilkwai. At '.he time ot th" re'.o'u'ion m Portugal Hr. I 1 '.. |. hill in -e!i; an i'luminatnix ine-->a^ r <- to the Ddi'y /V'r- ry (//.// -!io\'.:!:;: ho\\ tin- _ej)vermnent m \}\{\ (oimtry v. .1^ . ondi; ted. '1 he ( 'aliinei .Mi!M !< i- and the 1 >nv. tor-- \ .1 N.;">nal I'.ank uere the e.xchan^eabh- la. \\li-n e LI ii < 'il'iiie! !,a ! mi-; r o\ ;;ied li.ii;^ t::oi;^h the I 'i;i lor- be- anr .M.n ,ei". a; id th- Mi:. 1-0-1 I)iiet!oi^. 'ih<- ( li.i.'i;,'-- U"ie alv.a 1 . -, ni!i:; on id-- same loinbinatlon, \\hil-; a i:..;'o:i;-. ul the Parliament, subservient to aii\' m:::i trv v. hi h < ''.:! 1 ia' e moiie; ei.DiiiJi !o j a\ t : ,' bl.n ;.;:ia:l dema:.!'-d, ji;o\id<-d a \o;in.; ina)orit> A filial ' '"n p: e 1 . all" ! m |apan I roin I ';o ; i , , i > , \ ; POLITICS 9' out of office, through Marquis Saionji. When Katsura's autocracy and financial recklessness reached a point which might well be described as the limit, the Cabinet resigned, and Marquis Saionji was sent in a^ a scullery- maid to clean up. When the public susceptibilities had been sufficiently smoothed down, bark went Katsura into office. This method of affairs might have continued long after 191.5 but for a quarrel between Katsura and Yamagata, a split in the Choshu ranks which was taken advantage of by the Satsuma statesmen to assert to themselves a predominant position, which, however, they were unable to retain for more than a year. The Cienro Council has no place in the: Constitution at all, but it has been all-powerful in Japan from iSXi until now. It is an informal assembly of tho-e elders of the State who have acquired particular merit in the series of historic" occurrences which have raided Japan to her present position. Needless to say it is composed of clansmen from Satsuma and Choshu, whose influence pervades Japanese affairs through every stage of life. They have their nominee's in every public department, and each has created around him a network of instru- ments by clan relations, by marriage or by patronage. Though feudalism is abolished, the feudal system remains practically intact, and it will be many decades before it is thoroughly uprooted from Japanese soil and politics. The principal Cenro arc- Field-Marshals Princes Vamagata and (Jyama, Marquis Matsukata, Marquis Inouye, and Admirals Counts Kabayama and Vama- moto. 1 Count Okuma and Marquis Saionji have by their services and rank attained the position of Genro, but for obvious reasons have never been invited to take part in their discussions. Both are constitutional statesmen who are hatelul to the clansmen, whose prin- cipal aim has been to repress every form ot go\ eminent which might be' considered as a roneessiem to the popular will. Count Kabayama never now, and Prince 1 Oyama but rare 1 !}', join the coiiteTe-nce-s, the former having retired ' Yumamoto is lU'iKT.iIlv onlv Mminv >nnl i.. discus n iv.tl ,iti:iii>. 92 JAPAN AT THK CROSS ROADS from public life after the Chinese War, whilst the latter hold- aloof from all political di-cussions on account of hi- Sat-uma birth clashing with his Choshu professional sympathies. The (ienro who count in active jx)litics are there- fore Yamagata, Inouye, Mat-ukata. 1 During his life- time Prince ho wa- a regular member of the council, whil-t the late Prince Kat.-ura was from time to time tailed to the board. These men are the real ruler- of Japan, and have by the merit of their services, !>;. the loyalty of their clan-men, and by nepotism secured the practical control of Japanese administration and education. This latter i- extremely important, becau-e it mean- that the ideals and object- of the Klder State, men are -pread through the universities and schools, ami thu- become, the ideals and aims of the nation. The object which the (Ian-men have had in view has been to make the educational institutions of the country training -chools for the bureaucracy. It is easily understandable that in a country emerging from many centuries of feudal rule, feudalism, though legally abolished, cannot be immediately eradicated. The instincts of the clans remain unimpaired, and Satsuma men to-day look to the lord- of Sat-uma for protection and -acnlice themselves for their lord's protection a- in day- gone by. To this form of feudali-m ha- been added another and a ni"iv modern Co mi. The marriage mart i, an nn|>onant consideration n fapane-e politics. I he \.ui'>u, < ie-iro could ne\er have obtained the hold the 1 , have on the administration except by the alliances v. hi' h they have been able to form. In a (ouniiy v. here polygamy ha> only Pe-ntly been abolished, and v.h'ie on' ubinage i- SM I not unknown, matrimonial I'iriii a -tio'i'. 1 nefuoik ill del elite. No -laden' POLITICS <)$ sion of public opinion, consistent and determined oppo- sition to popular representation, the development to the uttermost limit of bureaucratic government, and control by the military party of the colonies. He has, to obtain his ends, backed the Choshu influence by a family clique devoted to the furtherance of his aims. Baron Hirata, Doctor Baron Kato, Mr. Vasuhiro, Baron Hamao, Viscount Shinagawa, Baron Funakoshi, Mr. Kingoro Kawamura, and the late Mr. Hagiwara, all relations of Vamagata, formed the nucleus of this clique. Baron Hirata, described by Japane.se writers as having the demeanour of a village pedagogue, is a son-in-law of the Viscountess Shinagawa, a niece of Prince Vamagata. He was the Home Minister who, when it was necessary to throw open the Civil Service to the people, drafted the regulations which, in fact, kept it a close corpora- tion. Isaburo Vamagata, the adopted son and heir of the Prince, is Vice-Govcrnor-General of Korea and son- in-law of Baron Hiroyuki Kato. Baron Kato was for years President of the Imperial University, where he inculcated into students and staff the principles con- tained in his apologia for the Senate, 1 written when an official of the Imperial Household. Baron Kato, as the Cienro of education, disposes of an immense amount of patronage in the universities and schools. In addi- tion his sons hold influential positions Terumaro is Physician to the Emperor, Haruhiko is a Manager of the Bank ot Japan, Toshio was a Commissioner of Prefectural Government. His five sons-in-law are well up in the world one is Prince Vamagata's heir, another Councillor of the Home Department, the third a Chief Engineer of the Railway Board, the fourth head of the Kyushu University, and the fifth professor at the Tokyo University. Mr. Vasuhiro Ban-ichiro, before he married a niece of Prince Vamagata, was a teacher of English in a high school. He rose quickly on the wings of Hymen, becoming a Secretary to the Cabinet, then Councillor 1 V. p. 7.). >4 JAPAN AT Till-. CROSS ROADS of the I. c.;!-!. itl\r Buivan, President of the Bureau for ( omnion S< hoN, Chief Secretary in the Cabinet, in i|m> k -turi-i'n until, ten years after hi> marriage, he ua- nominated .1 Member ii the House of Peers, a dignity winch uas doubled dunni;' the- next ten vear>. with the \ i< e-Mini-tership of A^ruultuie and Commen e. The late Mr. Ha^iuara \\a^ a nephew ot the Prince, .ml held -cveral important posts, until at his death he \\.i- I)i;ect'r D| ( 'i >inmerrial AlVair.s at tlie I-'oreii^n ( Mtiee. Ill- \\iie was the daughter ot Mr. ilainao, a Councillor in the I-'.di;eation Department. The alliance \va> < <>n- tra'li-d in lN>l. and thereafter Mr. Jiamao he< aine \ i- e-I're- id'-nt <>f Tuk\o l'n;\ii^:t\. Director of the Special Mincau tor I\< -form ol Education, Member of the llou-e of Pe^rs, Minister o{ Milucation, Baron, and .i..;ai;i Pre-ident of Tokyo \ ' \\i\- < r>ity after the strike ol ill- prolV->or!al >'a!l". liaion r un iko-Sii \\.i^ mixed up in a .^raft .scandal d'inii.; the e.'fly \ear-. ot Meiji. and Vaiuai^ata, who was Mini-ter of Mi.i;.iry Aliair-, pioieetrd hiai. I-'unako-hi'^ -'D i > in dried To a dau.Jit'T ot Yama^ata, and ! una- ki hi -enior decorat - ;he Pri\\ ('otincil. whilst hi- Mm'.*, i a ret-i i;i i IK \ .; , [ n ( Mli e ha- bee;; a !r< a< ly i ,il'\ ed .ut . \i iniini Shi:'a;_.a\sa '\'aji:ni \\a- th'- Mini-ter of Ili'iue Alla;r :n the Ma!-':ka!a Cabinet ot jSi^j. \\ho \\ a tori ed to it-i.;! tor in!' ! ti ii:i;; with the freedom o| (! !]'i:i and p'o\nki;i;; no's in \\hl-h J5 Jiel'sons U'-;e k'M'd and ; .'-> > \\ounde son ha> married into 'die M i T a d . i i i a ! a i n i ! y . A rt^liillt 'I thi- ^anla;.'.ata ci ililiecrions -hou > that hi'-. itili'ien. i i paiti ii'arly stron..; in th'- ann\, \\hih r>, .t OM: -e, tin- ( hovhti pla \ ;.; loiuid, in th'- loluine^. aUo ,i I:H -nopi.lv t- .1 tliai I m. in the 1 b une ( ):;,- e and in i-d :.!': -nal y a bosom friendship dating from the days when they se< retly visited Mngland. 1 hey both coquetted with representative government, and thereby incurred Yamagata's wrath. Jto did so because he recognixed that rcj)resentative government must eventually arrive, and it was better to control it than to be controlled by it. Inouye was a man of very different calibre, and more content to hide his light under a bushel ; he preferred whenever possible to be the power behind the s/ioji. Much surprise has been expressed that he never held the post of Premier, but there never arose any reason for him to do so. As the C'hoshu Premier of autocracy Yamagata was always there : as the C'hoshu 'Premier of a mitigated form of popular government I to was sufficient. The split between Yamagata and Ito, originating in the Jailer's conces- sions to democracy, was widened by Inouye's close alliance with Ito. Yamagata was successful in securing Ito's (all, but it in no way improved his own position, for Katsura, his trusted henchman, was matrimonially allied to Inouye, and in 1912 fell a victim to Inouye's persuasion and became an adherent of party govern- ment. It is remarkable evidence of Yamagata's con- servatism that in his matrimonial ventures he never made, or attempted to make, an alliance with a leader of any political party whatsoever. That Viscount Shina- gawa became the leader of the Kokumin Kiokwai was an accident, resulting from the incidents of 1892 referred to earlier, and his party consisted solely of out-and-out adherents of bureaucracy. TIIK I. ATM MAROTIS IXOl'YK IJorn in i-Sjo in Xagato Pro\-ince, second son of Inouye Mitsustike, a ^(iniunt! of Chos'ui lnoa\'e Kaora ' ' Inotivc, like Ito :uul .KV.>:V.iii!4 !> first luinic, aiul ;U v.utir.i., periods ot Montu, and Kaoru. /> JAPAN AT TIIK CROSS ROADS was from early days a lx>som friend of the Kite Prince Ito Hirobunn. Together they attended the school of Yo-hida iTorajiroi Shoin, the leading advocate of Imperialism in the Choshu clan, and later they were sent by their feudal lord to Nagasaki to study military arts under the Dutch officers attached to the factory on Deshima Island. After the execution of Yoshida Shoin at Yedo, on account of his anti-Tokugawa actions Inouye, Ito, and Yamagata Aritomo were attached to the suite ot Kido Koin, tin- Choshu representative at the Shogun's court. I'nder such auspices the young men were bound to be severely anti-foreign, and they were leaders ot the malcontent band which burned down the British Legation at Shinagawa. After this futile outburst the passions of the young patriots cooled down, and they began to examine foreign affairs with a less prejudiced mind. Ito gave- himself up to the study of English, \\lnl-t Inouye attended th" lectures of Sakuma Shozan on the necessities of naval expansion. 1 Finding it impos- sible to make any headway in the- seclusion imposed upon Japan by the Tokugawa laws, the latter determined to proceed secretly to Kurope to study the foreign systems <>l government, and having obtained the private but un- ottii lal (oii-ent of Prince Mori, head of the Choshu clan, persuaded Ito and three other young men to accompany him. To decide on the lourney and to carry out the decision \\I-H- two very different matters, and the adventurers had .1 number ot dii!i< ult n-, to surmount before they weir -.if- K on board -hip. Ito h.i- left the following interest- ing narrative ot tht- event : K:io\un;j th.i! t!ir only w.iv t-> -ciiilr th'- p.i--- .i^e u.i- t" .ippr.ll dlKLtlvt'i fo[ I-IJ.MK-I -., UC (lid ii. \Ve oil^lil .1 i < I l.llll Ml . ( i. >U' I of .in I 1 . :i;',h h Ii: ::i, Me -i -. < i!' \ i I and Co.. who --pi >l.r j.ij .me e \\eil, .11 id ' S.tkiiiii.i .il\: >d I:.- r.vct < -^ > .1! >i < >.id .ind -T tin- h.it'd f .1 , i^r-.rr for him ell. !! id ;;-v ii ir.ii! 11 .idvn (., Vo.lni.i u !:M h.id l-rcn .IMC ted u!.:l I 'r'.ii.; 1 t" ;; l .!". nd one of tin- -i.ip> of iVriv'-^ . iij.i '.'.''.}, \ ! . .1 i x; i ,i d in .1 i .r.'f 1 , tiic i o.ul id i .ind l.iti i off as foreigners. We followed his instructions, and finally reached a boat at the end of the wharf which took us to the steamer. This however was not all we had to suffer, for a customs' officer was stationed near the wharf. So we were hidden in a small hole rigi.t behind the engine-room, and did not come out until the steamer wa> passing Kwannonzeki at the entrance of the Ray of Yeddo. At day- break we were told to come out on deck, but trouble never ended, fr we encountered so rough a gale that we were unable to eat uny tiling during the whole voyage, because of sea-sickness. 7 9$ JAPAN AT T1IK CROSS ROADS On arrival at Shanghai the party of live divided. I to and Inouye sillied on with the sailing ship /'fsffisus, their three comrade ,u r oin;< aboard the \\'tiitc Adder. The voyage to London took them round the Cape of Good Hope, and la-t< d lour months and three days, a period which taught them something of navigation and more of Kn^'lish. They were signed on as ordinary sailors as a result of a misunderstanding. Asked their object in i^oin^ to Kn^land. Inouve liad replied, 'To study navigation,' whereas hi- had meant to say, ' To study naval affairs.' In addition to swabbing deck*., reeling yards, and the use and ahu.-e of the Ln.;iidi lan.miai^e. the adveii- turers learnt a ^ r ood deal ot huma'i nature, and more- of card L, r anu.--> as played in the fo'ea^tle. ( >ne of lin- stock stones the late .Manjui> u-'-d to tell was of how they lo^t all their ready luiuN to th<-ir shipmates at euchre, except live dollar-, with which the}' stepped ashore at (jravcsend one i old moimn.;. Hungry, thev went to a baker'.-, shop and a-ked tor bread, holding out the live dollar-, and tru-tin- t!ie baker to -ive them the n.^ht ( han^e. " ile L, r ave u-> each a loaf," he --aid, "but I am still waiting lor th- change. " In London th J'arty lodged with I)r. W.illianison, I'role--or ot ('li'im-t;;, at London l'ni\cr-it\. It wa> v, hib: in hi^ hou-;- th it t!i--> re -Tved letter^ informing them of ill'- proposal ol thi- < ho-h:i clan to declare uai "M thi- lorei^n I'o'A'cr-.. Shoiilv att -r tin- new> i'-ai lied Lir.daiid ot th- 1 alta< k on IOMM^II \',at'-lnp- in the Shimo- no -eki St i alt >. 1 1 > iv!a;e> I i . (in- tie. .t vi- ::i!"-i i .| I: - I 'i . i, f.i;;.il\ u ' v. . ;;' / /'. ( / :, , -'iil'lt '. . .1 ',-. t ' i :- .1 ; < ' >:;i I ! : ' ;! i' i . .ur 1 :i S: '.,:,<. \.\ \\ .\ i i * ..... 1 1 . ' 1 ; j i 1 1 1 : : 1 1 i u i : . ! I 1 1 'i t h i u i ^ 1 1 j ' 1 1 l > 1 1 i ^ 1 1 \\ . 1 1 ' 1 1 j * hv ( :. :,u W.ii i iui , \s !ii 1 1 i; j .11 I .1 ivi i I ; !',;( ', > i < .nl t i j .1 j . i ( ittf.:liv. V.'i- \.i;t- .ill .1 ', .',;:i<;i! <.;:n jlui ii:i!ini!i ! u- ! l!,r UK ::.j .i: .il.ic ,i'!\ .1::' c < ( tl.r \\ t !d :i n.C :> ;i , n\ ci |.t; ,111. \\'<- I (.-(.''jMll/cd t!n. cat. i ;i