The Constitutional Development of Japan 1863 1881 by Toyokichi Iyenaga
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Toyokichi Iyenaga >> The Constitutional Development of Japan 1863 1881
Experience has shown that representative government is the most
efficient in securing the corporate action of the various members of
the body politic against foreign enemies. When a country is threatened
with foreign invasion, when the corporate action of its citizens
against their enemy is needed, it becomes an imperative necessity to
consult public opinion. In such a time centralization is needed. Hence
the first move of Japan after the advent of foreigners was to bring
the scattered parts of the country together and unite them under one
head.
Japan had hitherto no formidable foreign enemy on her shores. So
her governmental system--the regulating system of the social
organism--received no impetus for self-development. But as soon as a
formidable people, either as allies or foes, appeared on the scene in
1853, we immediately see the remarkable change in the state system of
regulation in Japan. It became necessary to consult public opinion.
Councils of Kuges and Daimios and meetings of Samurai sprung forth
spontaneously.
I believe, with Guizot, that the germ of representative government was
not necessarily "in the woods of Germany," as Montesquieu asserts,
or in the Witenagemot of England; that the glory of having a free
government is not necessarily confined to the Aryan family or to its
more favored branch, the Anglo-Saxons. I believe that the seed of
representative government is implanted in the very nature of human
society and of the human mind. When the human mind and the social
organism reach a certain stage of development, when they are placed in
such an environment as to call forth a united and harmonious action
of the body politic, when education is diffused among the masses
and every member of the community attains a certain degree of his
individuality and importance, when the military form of society
transforms itself into the industrial, then the representative idea of
government springs forth naturally and irresistibly. And no tyrant, no
despot, can obstruct the triumphal march of liberty.
Whatever may be said about the soundness of the above speculation, it
is certain that in the great councils of Kuges and Daimios and in the
discussions of the Samurai, which the advent of the foreigners called
into being, lay the germ of the future constitutional parliament of
Japan.
[Footnote 1: Genje Yume Monogatari. Translated by Mr. Ernest Satow,
and published in the columns of the _Japan Mail_.]
[Footnote 2: The original gives names of some prominent officials thus
summoned.]
[Footnote 3: This is also quoted in F.O. Adams's History of Japan,
Vol. I., p. 109. I have compared the passage with the original and
quote here with some modifications in the translation.]
[Footnote 4: Jo-i means to expel the barbarians; Kai-Koku means to
open the country.]
[Footnote 5: Given also in Kai-Koku Simatsu, p. 166; Ansei-Kiji, pp.
219, 220.]
[Footnote 6: Life of Ii Nawosuke Tokyo, 1888.]
[Footnote 7: Dickson's Japan, p. 454.]
[Footnote 8: American Executive Document, Diplomatic Correspondence,
Part 3, 1865-66, p. 233, 1st Sess. 39th Cong.]
[Footnote 9: American Executive Document, Diplomatic Correspondence,
Part 3, 1864-65, p. 502, 2d Sess. 38th Cong.]
[Footnote 10: See Ansei-Kiji, pages 1, 3, 57, 59, 61, 174, 192, 352;
Bosin-Simatsu, Vol. II., pp. 4, 69; Vol. III., pp. 379, 414; Vol. IV.,
pp. 121, 152.]
[Footnote 11: American Executive Document, Diplomatic Correspondence,
Part 3, 1864-65, p. 486, 3d Sess. 38th Cong.]
[Footnote 12: Principles of Sociology, p. 540.]
CHAPTER II.
THE RESTORATION.
In the last chapter we have noticed what a commotion had been caused
in Japan by the sudden advent of Commodore Perry, how the councils of
Kuges and Daimios were called into spontaneous life by the dread
of foreigners and by the sense of national weakness, and how the
bombardments of Kagoshima and Shimonosheki tested these fears and
taught the necessity of national union. I have remarked that free
government is not necessarily the sole heritage of the Aryan race, but
that the presence of foreigners, the change of the military form of
society into the industrial form, the increase in importance of
the individual in the community, are sure to breed a free and
representative system of government.
In the following chapter we shall see the downfall of the Shogunate,
the restoration of the imperial power to its pristine vigor, and the
destruction of feudalism.
"The study of constitutional history is essentially a tracing of
causes and consequences," says Bishop Stubbs, "not the collection of
a multitude of facts and views, but the piecing of links of a perfect
chain."
I shall therefore not dwell upon the details of the events which
led to the downfall of the Shogunate, but immediately enter into an
inquiry concerning the causes.
Three causes led to the final overthrow of the Shogunate:
I. The Revival of Learning. The last half of the eighteenth and
the first half of the present century witnessed in Japan an unusual
intellectual activity. The long peace and prosperity of the country
under the rule of the Tokugawa dynasties had fostered in every way the
growth of literature and art. The Shoguns, from policy or from taste,
either to find a harmless vent for the restless spirit of the
Samura or from pure love of learning, have been constant patrons of
literature. The Daimios, too, as a means of spending their leisure
hours when they were not out hawking or revelling with their
mistresses, gave no inattentive ear to the readings and lectures of
learned men. Each Daimioate took pride in the number and fame of her
own learned sons. Thus throughout the country eminent scholars arose.
With them a new era of literature dawned upon the land. The new
literature changed its tone. Instead of the servility, faint
suggestiveness, and restrained politeness characteristic of the
literature from the Gen-hei period to the first half of the Tokugawa
period, that of the Revival Era began to wear a bolder and freer
aspect. History came to be recorded with more truthfulness and
boldness than ever before.
But as the ancient histories were studied and the old constitution was
brought into light, the real nature of the Shogunate began to reveal
itself. To the eyes of the historians it became clear that the
Shogunate was nothing but a military usurpation, sustained by fraud
and corruption; that the Emperor, who was at that time, in plain
words, imprisoned at the court of Kioto, was the real source of power
and honor. "If this be the case, what ought we do?" was the natural
question of these loyal subjects of the Emperor. The natural
conclusion followed: the military usurper must be overthrown and
the rightful ruler recognized. This was the sum and substance of
the political programme of the Imperialists. The first sound of the
trumpet against the Shogunate rose from the learned hall of the
Prince of Mito, Komon. He, with the assistance of a host of scholars,
finished his great work, the Dai Nihon Shi, or History of Japan, in
1715. It was not printed till 1851, but was copied from hand to hand
by eager students, like the Bible by the medieval monks, or the works
of Plato and Aristotle by the Humanists. The Dai Nihon Shi soon became
a classic, and had such an influence in restoring the power of the
Emperor that Mr. Ernest Satow justly calls its composer "the real
author of the movement which culminated in the revolution of 1868."
The voice of the Prince of Mito was soon caught up by the more
celebrated scholar Rai Sanyo (1780-1833). A poet, an historian, and a
zealous patriot, Rai Sanyo was the Arndt of Japan. He outlined in
his Nihon Guai Shi the rise and fall of the Minister of State and the
Shoguns, and with satire, invective, and the enthusiasm of a patriot,
urged the unlawfulness of the usurpation of the imperial power by
these mayors of the palace. In his Sei-Ki, or political history of
Japan, he traced the history of the imperial family, and mourned with
characteristic pathos the decadence of the imperial power. The labors
of these historians and scholars bore in time abundant fruit. Some of
their disciples became men of will and action: Sakuma Shozan, Yoshida
Toraziro, Gesho, Yokoi Heishiro, and later Saigo, Okubo, Kido, and
hosts of others, who ultimately realized the dreams of their masters.
Out of the literary seed which scholars like Rai Sanyo spread
broadcast over the country thus grew hands of iron and hearts
of steel. This process shows how closely related are history and
politics, and affords another illustration of the significance of
the epigrammatic expression of Professor Freeman: "History is past
politics, and politics present history."
II. Another tributary stream which helped to swell the tide flowing
toward the Emperor was the revival of Shintoism. The revival of
learning is sure to be followed by the revival of religion. This is
shown in the history of the Reformation in Europe, which was preceded
by the revival of learning. Since the expulsion of Christianity from
Japan in the sixteenth century, which was effected more from political
than religious motives, laissez-faire was the steadfast policy of the
Japanese rulers toward religious matters. The founder of the Tokugawa
dynasty had laid down in his "Legacy" the policy to be pursued by his
descendants. "Now any one of the people," says Iyeyasu, "can adhere to
which (religion) he pleases (except the Christian); and there must
be no wrangling among sects to the disturbance of the peace of the
Empire." Thus while the people in the West, who worshipped the
Prince of Peace, in his abused name were cutting each other's throat,
destroying each other's property, torturing and proselyting by rack
and flames, the islanders on the West Pacific coast were enjoying
complete religious toleration. Three religions--Shintoism, Buddhism,
and Confucianism--lived together in peace. In such a state of
unrestricted competition among various religions, the universal law of
the survival of the fittest acts freely. Buddhism was the fittest and
became the predominant religion. Shintoism was the weakest and sank
into helpless desuetude. But with the revival of learning, as Kojiki
and other ancient literature were studied with assiduity, Shintoism
began to revive. Its cause found worthy defenders in Motoori and
Hirata. They are among the greatest Shintoists Japan has ever seen.
Now, according to Shintoism, Japan is a holy land. It was made by the
gods, whose lineal descendant is the Emperor. Hence he must be revered
and worshipped as a god. This is the substance of Shintoism. The
political bearing of such a doctrine upon the then existing status of
the country is apparent. The Emperor, who is a god, the fountain of
all virtue, honor, and authority, is now a prisoner at the court of
Kioto, under the iron hand of the Tokugawa Shoguns. This state
of impiety and irreverence can never be tolerated by the devout
Shintoists. The Shogun must be dethroned and the Emperor raised to
power. Here the line of arguments of the Shintoists meets with that
of the scholars we have noted above. Thus both scholars and Shintoists
have converted themselves into politicians who have at heart the
restoration of the Emperor.
III. Another cause which led to the overthrow of the Shogunate was the
jealousy and cupidity of the Southern Daimios. Notably among them were
the Daimios of Satsuma, Choshiu, Tosa, and Hizen. Their ancestors "had
of old held equal rank and power with Iyeyasu, until the fortunes
of war turned against them. They had been overcome by force, or had
sullenly surrendered in face of overwhelming odds. Their adherence
to the Tokugawas was but nominal, and only the strong pressure of
superior power was able to wring from them a haughty semblance of
obedience. They chafed perpetually under the rule of one who was in
reality a vassal like themselves."[1] They now saw in the rising tide
of public sentiment against the Tokugawa Shogunate a rare opportunity
of accomplishing their cherished aim. They lent their arms and money
for the support of the patriots in carrying out their plan. Satsuma
and Choshiu became the rendezvous of eminent scholars and zealous
patriots. And in the council-halls of Satsuma and Choshiu were hatched
the plots which were soon to overthrow the effete Shogunate.
Thus everything was ready for the revolution of 1868 before Perry
came. We saw the Shogun, under the bombastic title of Tycoon, in spite
of the remonstrance of the Emperor and his court, conclude a treaty
with Perry at Kanagawa in 1854. Here at last was found a pretext for
the Imperialists to raise arms against the Shogun. The Shogun or his
ministers had no right to make treaties with foreigners. Such an act
was, in the eyes of the patriots, heinous treason. The cry of "Destroy
the Shogunate and raise the Emperor to his proper throne!" rang from
one end of the empire to the other. The constant disturbance of the
country, the difficulty of foreign intercourse, the sense of necessity
of a single and undoubted authority over the land, and the outcry
of the Samurai thus raised against the Shogun, finally led to his
resignation on November 19, 1867. His letter of resignation, in the
form of a manifesto to the Daimios, runs thus:
"A retrospect of the various changes through which the empire has
passed shows us that after the decadence of the monarchical authority,
power passed into the hands of the Minister of State; that by the
wars of 1156 to 1159 the governmental power came into the hands of the
military class. My ancestor received greater marks of confidence than
any before him, and his descendants have succeeded him for more than
two hundred years. Though I perform the same duties, the objects of
government and the penal laws have not been attained, and it is
with feelings of greatest humiliation that I find myself obliged to
ackowledge my own want of virtue as the cause of the present state of
things. Moreover, our intercourse with foreign powers becomes daily
more extensive, and our foreign policy cannot be pursued unless
directed by the whole power of the country.
"If, therefore, the old regime be changed and the governmental
authority be restored to the imperial court, if the councils of the
whole empire be collected and the wise decisions received, and if
we unite with all our heart and with all our strength to protect and
maintain the empire, it will be able to range itself with the nations
of the earth. This comprises our whole duty towards our country.
"However, if you (the Daimios) have any particular ideas on the
subject, you may state them without reserve."[2]
The resignation of the Shogun was accepted by the Emperor by the
following imperial order, issued on the 10th day of the 12th month:
"It has pleased the Emperor to dismiss the present Shogun, at his
request, from the office of Shogun."
As to the full intent and motive of the Shogun in resigning his
power, let him further speak himself. In the interview of the British
minister, Sir Harry S. Parkes, and the French minister, M. Leon
Koches, with the Shogun, it is stated that he said: "I became
convinced last autumn that the country would no longer be successfully
governed while the power was divided between the Emperor and myself.
The country had two centres, from which orders of an opposite nature
proceeded. Thus, in the matter of the opening of Hiogo and Osako,
which I quote as an example of this conflict of authority, I was
myself convinced that the stipulations of the treaties must be
observed, but the assent of the Emperor to my representations on
this subject was given reluctantly. I therefore, for the good of my
country, informed the Emperor that I resigned the governing power,
with the understanding that an assembly of Daimios was convened for
the purpose of deciding in what manner, and by whom, the government in
future should be carried on. In acting thus, I sunk my own interests
and power handed down to me by my ancestors, in the more important
interests of the country.[3]....
"My policy, from the commencement, has been to determine this question
of the future form of government in a peaceful manner, and it is in
pursuance of the same object that, instead of opposing force by force,
I have retired from the scene of dispute.....
"As to who is the sovereign of Japan, it is a question on which no
one in Japan can entertain a doubt. The Emperor is the sovereign. My
object from the first has been to take the will of the nation as to
the future government. If the nation should decide that I ought to
resign my powers, I am prepared to resign them for the good of my
country.....
"I have no other motive but the following: With an honest love for
my country and the people, I resigned the governing power which I
inherited from my ancestors, and with the mutual understanding that I
should assemble all the nobles of the empire to discuss the question
disinterestedly, and adopting the opinion of the majority, decide upon
the reformation of the national constitution, I left the matter in the
hands of the imperial court."[4]
Thus was the Shogunate overthrown and the Restoration effected. The
civil war which soon followed need not detain us, for the war itself
had no great consequence as regards the constitutional development of
the country.
Let us now consider the form of the new government. It is essentially
that which prevailed in Japan before the development of feudalism. It
is modelled on the form of government of the Osei era.
The new government was composed of:
1. Sosai ("Supreme Administrator"). He was assisted by Fuku, or
Vice-Sosai. The Sosai resembled the British Premier, was the head of
the chief council of the government.
2. Gijio, or "Supreme Council," whose function was to discuss all
questions and suggest the method of their settlement to the Sosai. It
was composed of ten members, five of whom were selected from the list
of Kuges and five from the great Daimios.
3. Sanyo, or "Associate Council." They were subordinate officers, and
were selected from the Daimios as well as from the retainers.
This council finally came to have great influence, and ultimately
transformed itself into the present cabinet.
The government was divided into eight departments:
1. The Sosai Department. This soon changed into Dai-jo-Kuan.
2. Jingi-Jimu-Kioku, or Department of the Shinto Religion. This
department had charge of the Shinto temples, priests, and festivals.
3. Naikoku-Jimu-Kioku, or Department of Home Affairs. This department
had charge of the capital and the five home provinces, of land and
water transport in all the provinces, of post-towns and post-roads,
of barriers and fairs, and of the governors of castles, towns, ports,
etc.
4. Guaikoku-Jimu-Kioku, or Department of Foreign Affairs. This
department had charge of foreign relations, treaties, trade, recovery
of lands, and sustenance of the people.
5. Gumbu-Jimu-Kioku, or War Department. This department had charge of
the naval and military forces, drilling, protection of the Emperor,
and military defences in general.
6. Kuaikei-Jimu-Kioku, or Department of Finance. This department had
charge of the registers of houses and population, of tariff and taxes,
money, corn, accounts, tribute, building and repairs, salaries, public
storehouses, and internal trade.
7. Keiho-Jimu-Kioku, or Judicial Department. This department had
charge of the censorate, of inquisitions, arrests, trials, and the
penal laws in general.
8. Seido-Jimu-Kioku, or Legislative Department. This department
had charge of the superintendence of offices, enactments, sumptuary
regulations, appointments, and all other laws and regulations,
"It is easy to destroy, but difficult to construct," is an old adage
of statesmen. The truth of this utterance was soon realized by the
leaders of the new government.
The first thing which the new government had to settle was its
attitude toward foreign nations. The leaders of the government who had
once opposed with such vehemence, as we have seen, the foreign policy
of the Tokugawa Shogun, now that he had been overthrown, urged the
necessity of amicable relations with foreign powers in the following
memorable memorial[5] to the Dai-jo-Kuan (Government):
"The undersigned, servants of the Crown, respectfully believe that
from ancient times decisions upon important questions concerning
the welfare of the empire were arrived at after consideration of the
actual political condition and its necessities, and that thus results
were obtained, not of mere temporary brilliancy, but which bore good
fruits in all time....
"Among other pressing duties of the present moment we venture to
believe it to be pre-eminently important to set the question of
foreign intercourse in a clear light.
"His Majesty's object in creating the office of administrator of
foreign affairs, and selecting persons to fill it, and otherwise
exerting himself in that direction, has been to show the people of
his empire in what light to look on this matter, and we have felt the
greatest pleasure in thinking that the imperial glory would now be
made to shine forth before all nations. An ancient proverb says that
'Men's minds resemble each other as little as their faces,' nor have
the upper and lower classes been able, up to the present, to hold with
confidence a uniform opinion. It gives us some anxiety to feel that
perhaps we may be following the bad example of the Chinese, who,
fancying themselves alone great and worthy of respect, and despising
foreigners as little better than beasts, have come to suffer defeats
at their hands and to have it lorded over themselves by those
foreigners.
"It appears to us, therefore, after mature reflection, that the
most important duty we have at present is for high and low to unite
harmoniously in understanding the condition of the age, in effecting
a national reformation and commencing a great work, and that for this
reason it is of the greatest necessity that we determine upon the
attitude to be observed towards this question.
"Hitherto the empire has held itself aloof from other countries and is
ignorant of the affairs of the world; the only object sought has been
to give ourselves the least trouble, and by daily retrogression we are
in danger of falling under foreign rule.
"By travelling to foreign countries and observing what good there
is in them, by comparing their daily progress, the universality of
enlightened government, of a sufficiency of military defences, and of
abundant food for the people among them, with our present condition,
the causes of prosperity and degeneracy may be plainly traced....
"Of late years the question of expelling the barbarians has been
constantly agitated, and one or two Daimios have tried to expel them,
but it is unnecessary to prove that this was more than the strength of
a single clan could accomplish....
"How ever, in order to restore the fallen fortunes of the empire and
to make the imperial dignity respected abroad, it is necessary to make
a firm resolution, and to get rid of the narrow-minded ideas which
have prevailed hitherto. We pray that the important personages of
the court will open their eyes and unite with those below them in
establishing relations of amity in a single-minded manner, and that
our deficiencies being supplied with what foreigners are superior
in, an enduring government be established for future ages. Assist
the Emperor in forming his decision wisely and in understanding the
condition of the empire; let the foolish argument which has hitherto
styled foreigners dogs and goats and barbarians be abandoned; let the
court ceremonies, hitherto imitated from the Chinese, be reformed,
and the foreign representatives be bidden to court in the manner
prescribed by the rules current amongst all nations; and let this be
publicly notified throughout the country, so that the countless people
may be taught what is the light in which they are to regard this
subject. This is our most earnest prayer, presented with all reverence
and humility.
"ECHIZEN SAISHO,
TOSA SAKIO NO SHOSHO,
NAGATO SHOSHO,
SATSUMA SHOSHO,
AKI SHOSHO,
HOSO KAWA UKIO DAIBU."
The advice of these notables was well received. A formal invitation to
an audience with the Emperor was extended to the foreign ambassadors.
They soon accepted the invitation. Their appearance in the old
anti-foreign city of Kioto, before the personage who was considered
by the masses as divine, was significant. It put an end to the
all-absorbing, all-perplexing theme of the day. The question of
foreign policy was settled.
The next act of the statesmen of the Restoration was to sweep away
the abuses of the court, and to establish the basis of a firm internal
administration. The most effectual means of accomplishing this, it
seemed to the sagacious statesmen, was to move the court from the
place where those abuses had their roots. Ichizo Okubo,[6] a guiding
spirit of the Restoration, presented the following memorial to the
Emperor: