The Constitutional Development of Japan 1863 1881 by Toyokichi Iyenaga
T >>
Toyokichi Iyenaga >> The Constitutional Development of Japan 1863 1881
"The most pressing of your Majesty's pressing duties at the present
moment is not to look at the empire alone and judge carelessly by
appearances, but to consider carefully the actual state of the whole
world; to reform the inveterate and slothful habits induced during
several hundred years, and to give union to the nation....
"Hitherto the person whom we designate the sovereign has lived behind
a screen, and, as if he were different from other human beings, has
not been seen by more than a very limited number of Kuge; and as
his heaven-conferred office of father to his people has been thereby
unfulfilled, it is necessary that his office should be ascertained
in accordance with this fundamental principle, and then the laws
governing internal affairs may be established....
"In the present period of reformation and restoration of the
government to its ancient monarchical form, the way to carry out
the resolution of imitating the example of Japanese sages, and of
surpassing the excellent governments of foreign nations, is to change
the site of the capital....
"Osako is the fittest place for the capital ... For the conduct of
foreign relations, for enriching the country and strengthening its
military power, for adopting successful means of offense and defense,
for establishing an army and navy, the place is peculiarly fitted by
its position ... I most humbly pray your Majesty to open your eyes and
make this reform....
"OKUBO ICHIZO."[7]
The result of the memorial was the ultimate removal of the seat of
government from Kioto to Yedo, which afterwards changed its name to
Tokio, meaning eastern capital.
But the most important event of the Restoration, from the
constitutional point of view, was the charter oath of five articles,
taken by the present Emperor on the 17th of April, 1869, before the
court and the assembly of Daimios. These articles were in substance as
follows:
1. A deliberative assembly should be formed, and all measures be
decided by public opinion.
2. The principles of social and political economics should be
diligently studied by both the superior and inferior classes of our
people.
3. Every one in the community shall be assisted to persevere in
carrying out his will for all good purposes.
4. All the old absurd usages of former times should be disregarded,
and the impartiality and justice displayed in the workings of nature
be adopted as a basis of action.
5. Wisdom and ability should be sought after in all quarters of the
world for the purpose of firmly establishing the foundations of the
empire.
The Emperor's promise henceforth became the watchword of the nation.
And this resolution to form a deliberative assembly was soon put into
practice. In 1869 was convened the Kogisho or "Parliament," as Sir
Harry Parkes translates it in his despatch to the Earl of Clarendon.
But before we proceed to the description of the nature and working of
the Kogisho it is necessary to state that this plan had been already
suggested by the Shogunate. A proclamation of the Shogun Keiki,
issued on February 20, 1868, says: "As it is proper to determine the
principle of the constitution of Japan with due regard to the wishes
of the majority, I have resigned the supreme power to the Emperor's
court, and advised that the opinions of all the Daimios should be
taken.... On examination of my household affairs (the administration
of Shogun's territories), many irregularities may exist which may
dissatisfy the people, and which I therefore greatly deplore. Hence
I intend to establish a Kogijio and to accept the opinion of the
majority. Any one, therefore, who has an opinion to express may do so
at that place and be free of apprehension."[8]
But this attempt of the Shogun to establish a sort of Parliament came
to an end with his fall. This idea, however, was transmitted through
the Shogunate officials to the government of the Restoration. In fact,
this idea of consulting public opinion was, as I have repeatedly said,
in the air. The leaders of the new government all felt, as one of them
said to Messrs. F.O. Adams and Ernest Satow, that "the only way to
allay the jealousies hitherto existing between several of the most
powerful clans, and to ensure a solid and lasting union of conflicting
interests, was to search for the nearest approach to an ideal
constitution among those of Western countries ... that the opinion of
the majority was the only criterion of a public measure."[9]
Sir Harry Parkes was right when he told the Earl of Clarendon that
"the establishment of such an institution (the Kogisho) formed one of
the first objects of the promoters of the recent revolution."[10]
The Kogisho was opened on the 18th of April, 1869,[11] and the
following message[12] from the throne was then delivered:
"Being on the point of visiting our eastern capital, we have convened
the nobles of our court and the various princes in order to consult
them upon the means of establishing the foundations of peaceful
government. The laws and institutions are the basis of government.
The petitions of the people at large cannot be lightly decided. It has
been reported to us that brief rules and regulations have been fixed
upon for the Parliament, and it seems good to us that the House should
be opened at once. We exhort you to respect the laws of the House,
to lay aside all private and selfish considerations, to conduct your
debates with minuteness and firmness; above all things, to take the
laws of our ancestors as 'basis,' and adapt yourselves to the feelings
of men and to the spirit of the times. Distinguish clearly between
those matters which are of immediate importance and those which may
be delayed; between things which are less urgent and those which are
pressing. In your several capacities argue with careful attention.
When the results of your debate are communicated to us it shall be our
duty to confirm them."
The Kogisho was composed mostly of the retainers of the Daimios, for
the latter, having no experience of the earnest business of life,
"were not eager to devote themselves to the labors of an onerous and
voluntary office." Akidzuki Ukio No Suke was appointed President of
the Kogisho.
The object of the Kogisho was to enable the government to sound public
opinion on the various topics of the day, and to obtain the assistance
of the country in the work of legislation by ascertaining whether the
projects of the government were likely to be favorably received.
The Kogisho, like the Councils of Kuges and Daimios, was nothing but
an experiment, a mere germ of a deliberative assembly, which only time
and experience could bring to maturity. Still Kogisho was an advance
over the council of Daimios. It had passed the stage resembling a
mere deliberative meeting or quiet Quaker conference, where, for hours
perhaps, nobody opens his mouth. It now bore an aspect of a political
club meeting. But it was a quiet, peaceful, obedient debating society.
It has left the record of its abortive undertakings in the "Kogisho
Nishi" or journal of "Parliament." The Kogisho was dissolved in
the year of its birth. And the indifference of the public about its
dissolution proves how small an influence it really had.
But a greater event than the dissolution of the Kogisho was pending
before the public gaze. This was the abolition of feudalism, which we
shall consider in the next chapter.
[Footnote 1: The Mikado's Empire. Griffis, p. 301.]
[Footnote 2: American Executive Document, Diplomatic Correspondence,
1867, Part II., p. 78, 2d Sess. 40th Cong. See also Bosin-Simatsu,
Vol. I., p. 2.]
[Footnote 3: American Executive Document, Diplomatic Correspondence,
Vol. I., 1868-69, p. 620, 3d Sess. 40th Cong.]
[Footnote 4: American Executive Document, Diplomatic Correspondence,
Vol. I., 1868-69, 3d Sess. 40th Cong.]
[Footnote 5: Translation from the Kioto Government Gazette of March,
1868. It is given in Diplomatic Correspondence of the U.S.A., 3d Sess.
40th Cong., Vol. I, 1868-69, p. 725.]
[Footnote 6: He afterwards changed his name into Toshimitsu Okubo.]
[Footnote 7: Translation is given in American Executive Document,
Diplomatic Correspondence, Vol. I, 1868-69, p. 728, 3d Sess. 40th
Cong.]
[Footnote 8: American Executive Document, Diplomatic Correspondence,
Vol. I., 1868-69, p. 687, 3d Sess. 40th Cong.]
[Footnote 9: F.O. Adams' History of Japan, Vol. II., p. 128.]
[Footnote 10: English State Papers, Vol. LXX., 1870, p. 9.]
[Footnote 11: 29th of the 2d month in the second year of Meiji,
according to the old calendar.]
[Footnote 12: Translation is given in English State Papers, Vol. LXX.,
1871, p. 12.]
CHAPTER III.
THE ABOLITION OF FEUDALISM.
The measure to abolish feudalism was much discussed in the Kogisho
before its dissolution. Prince Akidzuki, President of the Kogisho, had
sent in the following memorial:
"After the government had been returned by the Tokugawa family
into the hands of the Emperor, the calamity of war ensued, and the
excellence of the newly established administration has not yet been
able to perfect itself; if this continues, I am grieved to think how
the people will give up their allegiance. Happily, the eastern and
northern provinces have already been pacified and the country at large
has at last recovered from its troubles. The government of the Emperor
is taking new steps every day; this is truly a noble thing for the
country. And yet when I reflect, I see that although there are many
who profess loyalty, none have yet shown proof of it. The various
princes have used their lands and their people for their own purposes;
different laws have obtained in different places; the civil and
criminal codes have been various in the various provinces. The clans
have been called the screen of the country, but in truth they have
caused its division. The internal relations having been confused, the
strength of the country has been disunited and severed. How can our
small country of Japan enter into fellowship with the countries beyond
the sea? How can she hold up an example of a flourishing country? Let
those who wish to show their faith and loyalty act in the following
manner, that they may firmly establish the foundations of the Imperial
Government:
"1. Let them restore the territories which they have received from the
Emperor and return to a constitutional and undivided nation.
"2. Let them abandon their titles, and under the name of Kuazoku
(persons of honor) receive such small properties as may suffice for
their wants.
"3. Let the officers of the clans abandoning that title call themselves
officers of the Emperor, receiving property equal to that which they
have hitherto held.
"Let these three important measures be adopted forthwith, that the
empire may be raised on a basis imperishable for ages ... 2nd year of
Meiji (1869).
(Signed) "AKIDZUKI UKIO NO SUKE."[1]
But politics is not an easy game--a game which a pedant or a
sentimental scholar or an orator can leisurely play. It has to deal
with passions, ambitions, and selfish interests of men, as well as
with the moral and intellectual consciousness of the people. Tongue
and pen wield, undoubtedly, a great influence in shaping the thought
of the nation and impressing them with the importance of any political
measure. But the tongue is as sounding brass and the pen as useless
steel unless they are backed by force and money. Even in such a
country as England, where tongue and pen seem to reign supreme, a
prime minister before he forms his cabinet has to be closeted for
hours with Mr. Rothschild. Fortunately this important measure of
abolishing feudalism, which a few patriots had secretly plotted and
which the scholars had noised abroad, was taken up first by the most
powerful and wealthy Daimios of the country.
In the following noted memorial, after reviewing the political history
of Japan during the past few hundred years, these Daimios said: "Now
the great Government has been newly restored and the Emperor himself
undertakes the direction of affairs. This is, indeed, a rare and
mighty event. We have the name (of an Imperial Government), we must
also have the fact. Our first duty is to illustrate our faithfulness
and to prove our loyalty. When the line of Tokugawa arose it divided
the country amongst its kinsfolk, and there were many who founded the
fortunes of their families upon it. They waited not to ask whether
the lands and men that they received were the gift of the Emperor; for
ages they continued to inherit these lands until this day. Others said
that their possessions were the prize of their spears and bows, as if
they had entered storehouses and stolen the treasure therein, boasting
to the soldiers by whom they were surrounded that they had done this
regardless of their lives. Those who enter storehouses are known by
all men to be thieves, but those who rob lands and steal men are not
looked upon with suspicion. How are loyalty and faith confused and
destroyed!
"The place where we live is the Emperor's land and the food which we
eat is grown by the Emperor's men. How can we make it our own? We
now reverently offer up the list of our possessions and men, with the
prayer that the Emperor will take good measures for rewarding those
to whom reward is due and for taking from those to whom punishment is
due. Let the imperial orders be issued for altering and remodelling
the territories of the various clans. Let the civil and penal codes,
the military laws down to the rules for uniform and the construction
of engines of war, all proceed from the Emperor; let all the affairs
of the empire, great and small, be referred to him."
This memorial was signed by the Daimios of Kago, Hizen, Satsuma,
Choshiu, Tosa, and some other Daimios of the west. But the real
author of the memorial is believed to have been Kido, the brain of the
Restoration.
Thus were the fiefs of the most powerful and most wealthy Daimios
voluntarily offered to the Emperor. The other Daimios soon followed
the example of their colleagues. And the feudalism which had existed
in Japan for over eight centuries was abolished by the following
laconic imperial decree of August, 1871:
"The clans are abolished, and prefectures are established in their
places."
This rather off-hand way of destroying an institution, whose overthrow
in Europe required the combined efforts of ambitious kings and
emperors, of free cities, of zealous religious sects, and cost
centuries of bloodshed, has been made a matter of much comment in the
West. One writer exclaims, "History does not record another instance
where changes of such magnitude ever occurred within so short a time,
and it is astonishing that it only required eleven words to destroy
the ambition and power of a proud nobility that had with imperious
will directed the destiny of Japan for more than five hundred
years."[2]
But when we examine closely the circumstances which led to the
overthrow of feudalism and the influences which acted upon it, we
cannot but regard it as the natural terminus of the political flood
which was sweeping over the country. When such a revolution of thought
as that expressed in the proclamation of 1868 had taken place in the
minds of the leaders of society, when contact with foreigners had
fostered the necessity of national union, when the spirit of loyalty
of the Samurai had changed to loyalty to his Emperor, when his
patriotic devotion to his province had changed to patriotic devotion
to his country, then it became apparent that the petty social
organization, which was antagonistic to these national principles,
would soon be crushed.
If there is any form of society which is diametrically opposed to the
spirit of national union, of liberal thought, of free intercourse, it
is feudal society. A monarchical or a democratic society encourages
the spirit of union, but feudal society must, from its very nature,
smother it. Seclusion is the parent of feudalism. In our enlightened
and progressive century seclusion is no longer possible. Steam and
electricity alone would have been sufficient to destroy our Japanese
feudalism. But long before its fall our Japanese feudalism "was an
empty shell." Its leaders, the Daimios of provinces, were, with a few
exceptions, men of no commanding importance. "The real power in each
clan lay in the hands of able men of inferior rank, who ruled their
masters." From these men came the present advisers of the Emperor.
Their chief object at that time was the thorough unification of Japan.
Why, then, should they longer trouble themselves to uphold feudalism,
this mother of sectionalism, this colossal sham?
[Footnote 1: Translation given in the English State Papers.]
[Footnote 2: Consular Report of the U.S.A., No. 75, p. 626.]
CHAPTER IV.
INFLUENCES THAT SHAPED THE GROWTH OF THE REPRESENTATIVE IDEA OF
GOVERNMENT.
We have seen in the last two chapters how the Shogunate and feudalism
fell, and how the Meiji government was inaugurated. We have also
observed in the memorials of leading statesmen abundant proof of
their willingness and zeal to introduce a representative system of
government. We have also seen the Kogisho convened and dissolved.
John Stuart Mill has pointed out, in his Representative Government,
several social conditions when representative government is
inapplicable or unsuitable:
1. When the people are not willing to receive it.
2. When the people are not willing and able to do what is necessary
for its preservation.
"Representative institutions necessarily depend for permanence upon
the readiness of the people to fight for them in case of their being
endangered."
3. When the people are not willing and able to fulfil the duties and
discharge the functions which it imposes on them.
4. When the people have not learned the first lesson of obedience.
5. When the people are too passive; when they are ready to submit to
tyranny.
Now when we look at the Japan of 1871, even her greatest admirers must
admit that she was far from being able to fulfil the social conditions
necessary for the success of representative government. Japan was
obedient, but too submissive. She had not yet learned the first
lesson of freedom, that is, when and how to resist, in the faith that
resistance to tyrants is obedience to truth; that the irrepressible
kicker against tyranny, as Dr. Wilson observes, is the only true
freeman. In her conservative, almost abject submission, Japan was
yet unfit for free government. The Japanese people were willing to
do almost anything suggested by their Emperor, but they had first to
learn what was meant by representative government, "to understand
its processes and requirements." The Japanese had to discard many old
habits and prejudices, reform many defects of national character, and
undergo many stages of moral and mental discipline before they could
acclimatize themselves to the free atmosphere of representative
institutions. This preparation required a period of little over two
decades, and was effected not only through political discipline, but
by corresponding development in the moral, intellectual, social, and
industrial life of the nation.
I remarked in the beginning that the political activity of a nation is
not isolated from other spheres of its activities, but that there is a
mutual interchange of action and reaction among the different factors
of social life, so that to trace the political life of a nation it is
not only necessary to describe the organ through which it acts, the
governmental machinery, and the methods by which it is worked, but
to know "the forces which move it and direct its course." Now these
forces are political as well as non-political. This truth is now
generally acknowledged by constitutional writers. Thus, the English
author of "The American Commonwealth" devotes over one-third of his
second volume to the account of non-political institutions, and says
"there are certain non-political institutions, certain aspects of
society, certain intellectual or spiritual forces which count for
so much in the total life of the country, in the total impression it
makes and the hopes for the future which it raises, that they cannot
be left unnoticed."[1]
If this be the case in the study of the American commonwealth, it is
more so in that of Japanese politics. For nowhere else in the history
of nations do we see "non-political institutions" exerting such a
powerful influence upon the body politic as in New Japan. In this
chapter we shall therefore note briefly the growth of so-called
"non-political institutions" during a period of about a decade and
a half, between 1868 and 1881, and mark their influence upon the
development of representative ideas.
I.--MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.
1. Telegraph. At the time of the Restoration there was no telegraph
in operation, and "for expresses the only available means were men and
horses." In 1868 the government began to construct telegraphs, and
the report of the Bureau of Statistics in 1881 shows the following
increase in each successive year:
Telegraph Number
Year. Offices. Miles. of Telegrams.
Ri Cho.
1869-1871 8 26.04 19,448
1872 29 33.11 80,639
1873 40 1,099.00 186,448
1874 57 1,333.20 356,539
1875 94 1,904.32 611,866
1876 100 2,214.07 680,939
1877 122 2,827.08 1,045,442
1878 147 3,380.05 1,272,756
1879 195 3,842.31 1,935,320
1880 195 4,484.30 2,168,201
All the more important towns in the country were thus made able to
communicate with one another as early as 1880.
In 1879 Japan joined the International Telegraph Convention, and since
then she can communicate easily with the great powers of the world
through the great submarine cable system. "Compared with the state of
ten years ago, when the ignorant people cut down the telegraph poles
and severed the wires," exclaims Count Okuma, "we seem rather to have
made a century's advance."
2. Postal System. "Previous to the Restoration," to quote further
from Count Okuma, "with the exception of the posts sent by the Daimios
from their residences at the capital to their territories, there
was no regularly established post for the general public and private
convenience. Letters had to be sent by any opportunity that occurred,
and a single letter cost over 25 sen for a distance of 150 ri. But
since the Restoration the government for the first time established
a general postal service, and in 1879 the length of postal lines was
15,700 ri (nearly 40,000 English miles), and a letter can at any time
be sent for two sen to any part of the country. In 1874 we entered
the International Postal Convention, and have thus obtained great
facilities for communicating with foreign countries."[2]
3. Railroad. The first railway Japan ever saw was the model railway
constructed by Commodore Perry to excite the curiosity of the people.
But it was not until 1870 that the railroad was really introduced into
Japan. The first rail was laid on the road between Tokio and Yokohama.
This road was opened in 1872. It is 18 miles long. The second line was
constructed in 1876, and runs between Hiogo and Kioto via Osako. And
the year 1880 saw the opening of the railroad between Kioto and Otsu.
This line between Hiogo and Otsu is 58 miles long. So at the end of
the period which we are surveying Japan had a railway system of 31 ri
and 5 cho (about 78 English miles).
This was nothing but a child-play compared with the railroad activity
which the later years brought forth, for now we have a railway system
extending over one thousand two hundred miles. But this concerns the
later period, so we shall not dwell upon it at present.
4. Steamers and the coasting trade. In 1871 the number of ships
of foreign build was only 74, but by 1878 they had reached 377. The
number of vessels of native build in 1876 was 450,000, and in 1878 had
reached 460,000.[3]
"Since the Restoration the use of steamers has daily increased,
and the inland sea, the lakes and large rivers are now constantly
navigated by small steamers employed in the carrying trade."
With the increased facility of communication, commerce and trade
were stimulated. In 1869 the total amount of imports and exports was
33,680,000 yen, and in 1879 64,120,000 yen. Imports had grown from
20,780,000 yen to 36,290,000 yen, and exports from 12,909,000 yen to
27,830,000 yen; in the one case showing an advance from 2 to 3-1/2, in
the other from 2 to 5.[4]
II.--EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
Previous to the Restoration, the schools supported by Daimios and
the private schools were few in number; but since that epoch the
educational system has been vastly improved, with a resulting increase
in the number of schools and pupils. In 1878, of high, middle, and
primary schools there were altogether 27,600, with 68,000 teachers and
2,319,000 pupils.[5] The following table shows the comparative history
of educational institutions within three years, 1878-1880 (inclusive):