Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852’1912 (181 page)

31
. Sasaki Takayuki,
Hogo Hiroi
, 14, p. 495. The account in
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 558, is based on Sasaki, but differs in wording and minor details. I have incorporated elements from both versions in my translation.

Chapter 35

1
. There had been opposition earlier to the idea of a popularly elected assembly. See, for example, Kat
ō
Hiroyuki, “An Abridged Translation of Bluntschli’s ‘
Allgemeines Staatsrecht
’ on the Inappropriateness of Establishing a Popular Assembly,” in William R. Braisted, trans.,
Meiroku zasshi
, pp. 47–49. Kat
ō
followed the translation with these remarks: “I beg the readers to believe that this translation is in no sense an effort to deny the validity of public discussion and public opinion. I only desire to explain the error of recklessly trying to expand public discussion without reference to the times and the condition of the people.” See also Got
ō
Yasushi,
Jiy
ū
minken
, p. 39.

2
. The price of rice doubled between 1877 and 1880, and other commodity prices also soared (Got
ō
,
Jiy
ū
minken
, p. 135).

3
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 4, pp. 832–36.

4
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 228.

5
. Ibid., 5, p. 229.

6
. Ibid., 5, p. 231. See also Sakamoto Kazuto,
It
ō
Hirobumi to Meiji kokka keisei
, pp. 42–43.

7
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 309.
Ō
kuma was obviously much influenced by the British parliamentary system, which was a lingering source of antagonism between him and statesmen who preferred the Prussian model.

8
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 310. There was, of course, nothing new in
Ō
kuma’s proposals; he was merely describing how the British Parliament functioned. However, the concept of a government run in response to the wishes of the people (or, at any rate, the electorate) was still quite unfamiliar to the Japanese. I have omitted some of
Ō
kuma’s explanatory details.

9
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 313.

10
. Got
ō
,
Jiy
ū
minken
, p. 162.

11
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 314. For Iwakura’s version of the events and the text of It
ō
’s letter, see Tada K
ō
mon, ed.,
Iwakura-k
ō
jikki
, 3, pp. 698–700. Iwakura says that he asked
Ō
kuma if his views on the matter were the same as It
ō
’s, as expressed in It
ō
’s memorial presented on December 14, 1880.
Ō
kuma replied that the differences were minor. A few days later, Iwakura met Sanj
ō
and suggested that
Ō
kuma’s proposals be shown to It
ō
in order to verify whether or not his views were more or less the same as
Ō
kuma’s. Sanj
ō
agreed and obtained the document from the emperor. When It
ō
read it, he was dismayed and asked to resign his post as councillor. I have followed the account in
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, based on many contemporary sources.

12
. Sakamoto,
It
ō
Hirobumi
, p. 44.

13
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, pp. 318–19.

14
. Sasaki Takayuki,
Hogo Hiroi
, 10, pp. 152–53. See also
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 319; the wording is somewhat dissimilar, but the meaning is essentially the same as in Sasaki’s account.

15
. Braisted, trans.,
Meiroku zasshi
, p. 90.

16
. Got
ō
,
Jiy
ū
minken
, p. 45. The generals were Yamada Akiyoshi, Torio Koyata, and Miura Gor
ō
.

17
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 4, p. 464.

18
. Got
ō
,
Jiy
ū
minken
, pp. 144–45.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 47, briefly mentions the proclamation of the sixteen regulations but does not enter into details. It mentions, however, that Sasaki Takayuki (with the support of Iwakura Tomomi and
Ō
ki Takato) had earlier opposed adoption of the regulations because of the public anger they were likely to arouse, but their advice was not taken.

19
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 602.

20
. Various dates are given for the formation of the Jiy
ū
-t
ō
. Some sources state that it was on December 15, 1880, when delegates of the Kokkai kisei d
ō
mei met in Tokyo. At this gathering, Ueki Emori delivered an address in which he proposed changing the name of the organization to Jiy
ū
-t
ō
. He met with considerable opposition but, in the end, succeeded getting a vote in favor of a promise to form the Jiy
ū
-t
ō
. On this occasion, a program for the party in four articles was drawn up. It was agreed to meet again the following October (
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 235; Yonehara Ken,
Ueki Emori
, p. 96).

A more frequently given date is October 29, 1881, when the Kokkai kisei d
ō
mei and the Jiy
ū
-t
ō
merged to form (the augmented) Jiy
ū
-t
ō
. This marked a more formal establishment of the party than the agreement reached in December 1880. Its announced program remained the same (
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 566; Got
ō
,
Jiy
ū
minken
, pp. 173–74).

21
. Got
ō
,
Jiy
ū
minken
, p. 171.

22
. Yonehara,
Ueki Emori
, p. 24.

23
. He was sent to a military academy in Tokyo after the domain school in K
ō
chi was abolished. The instruction at the academy was largely in French. Ueki dropped out of the school, possibly because he could not learn French. For details of his early life, see Yonehara,
Ueki Emori
, pp. 17–26.

24
. This school of Confucianism prescribed a combination of knowledge and action.

25
. Yonehara,
Ueki Emori
, p. 32.

26
. Ibid., pp. 44, 52.

27
. Ibid., p. 56.

28
. Diary entry, February 2, 1881, in
Ueki Emori sh
ū
, 7, p. 258.

29
. Diary entry, March 13, 1884, in ibid., 7, p. 338.

30
. Diary entry, August 2, 1879, in ibid., 7, p. 205.

31
. Yonehara,
Ueki Emori
, p. 14. See also Ienaga Sabur
ō
,
Ueki Emori kenky
ū
, p. 300.

32
. Sonezaki Mitsuhiro,
Ueki Emori to onnatachi
, p. 53.

33
. Yonehara,
Ueki Emori
, p. 112. The entry in his diary concerning his writing of the constitution is simplicity itself: “
Nihon koku kemp
ō
wo s
ō
su
” (I drafted a constitution for Japan) (diary entry, August 28, 1881, in
Ueki Emori sh
ū
, 7, p. 273).

34
. The date chosen followed the recommendation of Sanj
ō
Sanetomi and the councillors from Satsuma. Iwakura had proposed a delay of seven years before opening a parliament, and
Ō
ki Takat
ō
had recommended a delay of thirty years. For the text of the emperor’s message, see
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 547. He stated that he had long desired to establish a constitutional form of government and mentioned the gradual steps that he had caused to be taken in this direction, such as the establishment of the Genr
ō
-in in 1875 and the opening of assemblies at the prefectural level in 1878. He said that the opening of a parliament in 1890 would represent the realization of long-standing wishes.

35
. See the excerpts from Baba’s diary in Hagihara Nobutoshi,
Baba Tatsui
, pp. 145–46. Hagihara points out that the diary was written in 1885, after Baba had broken with Itagaki Taisuke, so his account of the formation (and especially of his relations with Itagaki) should be read with caution. See also Yonehara,
Ueki Emori
, pp. 117–18.

36
. According to
Ō
hashi Akio, Itagaki (who was off on a speaking tour of the T
ō
hoku region when the vote was taken) wished Got
ō
to become the
s
ō
ri
, and the meeting actually chose him, but Got
ō
declined the post (
Got
ō
Sh
ō
jir
ō
to kindai Nihon
, p. 217).

37
. Watanabe Ikujir
ō
,
Ō
kuma Shigenobu
, p. 93. Translation from Ry
ū
saku Tsunoda, Wm. Theodore de Bary, and Donald Keene,
Sources of Japanese Tradition
, p. 693. When he wrote about those who claimed their party stood for “respect for the emperor,”
Ō
kuma may have been thinking of the Rikken teiseit
ō
(Constitutional Imperial Rule Party). This right-wing political party favored a constitution bestowed by the emperor rather than one originating with the people. It was founded in March 1882 by Fukuchi Gen’ichir
ō
(
Ō
chi). For a concise statement of Fuku-chi’s views as of 1880, see “Kokuyaku kemp
ō
kaigi wo hiraku no gi,” in
Fukuchi
Ō
chi sh
ū
, pp. 364–66. The party, supported largely by the Shinto and Buddhist clergy, was disbanded in September 1883 but, like other political parties, died only to be revived again and again, breathing its last in 1940.

38
.
Ō
hashi comments that (despite the fame of this outcry), it is not known whether it was actually pronounced (
Got
ō
, pp. 221–22). The assailant was an elementary-school teacher who had been influenced by the harsh criticism of Itagaki published in the
Tky
ō
nichinichi shimbun
(edited by Fukuchi
Ō
chi). It was reported that because the local doctors knew that the governor of Gifu was anti-Jiy
ū
-t
ō
, they declined to treat Itagaki’s wounds, fearing this might stigmatize them as pro-Jiy
ū
-t
ō
. He was treated instead by Got
ō
Shimpei, a physician who later became a prominent political figure.

39
.
Meiji tenn
ō
ki
, 5, p. 687. At first it was suggested that he send the chief chamberlain, Tokudaiji Sanetsune, as
chokushi
, but the emperor disagreed, saying that an ordinary chamberlain would be more appropriate. This suggests a certain coldness toward Itagaki, but the governor of Gifu (notoriously anti-Jiy
ū
-t
ō
) was far colder. He acted as if he knew nothing of the incident and refrained even from asking about Itagaki’s condition. This enraged supporters of the Jiy
ū
-t
ō
, who claimed that the attempted assassination had been instigated by the government. Some of Itagaki’s followers believed that he should not have accepted the 300 yen that the emperor gave to Itagaki to comfort him, but he, reproving them, declared that it was out of the question for a mere subject to decline a gift bestowed by the emperor. It was only after the governor heard of the emperor’s gift that he sent someone to ask about Itagaki’s condition.

40
.
Ō
hashi,
Got
ō
, p. 223.

41
. The interpreter, Imamura Kazuo, had studied in France and was a competent interpreter of French. Shortly before, he had been appointed by Inoue to a position in the government (
Ō
hashi,
Got
ō
, p. 229).

42
.
Ō
hashi,
Got
ō
, pp. 227–28.

43
. Ibid., p. 236. The account of Spencer’s reaction to Itagaki’s theories is found in a letter sent by Mori Arinori, then Japanese minister in London, to It
ō
.