Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852’1912 (40 page)

There has long been gossip about Meiji’s love life, and even today some people proudly insist that they are illegitimate descendants. Extremely little evidence supports such claims.
¹⁶
Gossip has it that the emperor was often attracted by pretty geishas and commanded them to share his bed that night. This may actually have happened, but nothing written by the men who knew the young emperor personally confirms this supposition. Meiji was always provided with a half-dozen young ladies of the aristocracy who were his concubines. Those who displeased him were easily replaced; he had no need to look elsewhere.

It is easy to imagine that a young man, still not twenty, who was under pressure to beget children, the sooner the better, might throw himself into physical pleasures to the detriment of his studies. Kido’s diary, especially from 1874, frequently mentions that the emperor’s education was at a standstill, implying that his mind was on other matters. That year, at the request of the imperial tutors, Kido urged the emperor to demonstrate by devotion to his studies that he was worthy of his divine lineage. Perhaps this was an indirect way of advising him not to spend too much time with his ladies.

Although by this time a fairly comprehensive plan for the emperor’s education had been drawn up, including not only the classics of Chinese philosophy and Japanese history but also European history and the German language, the emperor’s progress was slow. Kido reported in his diary after a meeting with Fukuba Bisei, who lectured on Japanese history, and Kat
ō
Hiroyuki (1836–1916), who lectured on German law,

They are anxious about the emperor’s progress in his studies; so, taking advantage of my service with the imperial household, they asked me to make certain that his study schedule is better organized, and to assist him in directing more serious attention to his books. I gave them my opinions, and all agreed; therefore, I have decided to report our findings directly to the throne.
¹⁷

Kido apparently felt emboldened by the affability the emperor had always shown him to recommend that he exert himself even more than before to “fulfill his divinely appointed task.” A year later Kido bluntly told the emperor that “unless he concentrates his efforts on fulfilling his divinely appointed task, we, his humble subjects shall have no end of worry.”
¹⁸

A prime source of concern was the emperor’s indulgence in drinking. Kido described how, after a performance of
ky
ō
gen
at the house of Nakayama Tadayasu, some of those present feared the emperor might go “too far in his merriment” at the drinking bout that followed.
¹⁹
Many of those who served the emperor, including the chamberlain Takashima Tomonosuke (1844–1916), attested to his capacity for liquor. Takashima recalled that no matter how heavily the emperor might have been drinking the night before, the next morning he never showed the slightest sign of a hangover. Not only had the emperor an exceptionally strong constitution, but he seems to have required less sleep than an average man. When he awoke, even after only four or five hours of sleep, he would go promptly to his office, ready for work. Takashima mentioned with admiration,

His diligence was extraordinary. Every morning he would rise early and go to his office, not retiring to his private quarters until five or six in the afternoon. Sometimes he did not leave even then but would command, “This evening let’s have a party in my office.” He would talk for hours, until late at night. Then, when it was time for His Majesty to go to bed, people would at once bring bedding from the back palace. It was by no means unusual for us chamberlains to spend the night in the corridors on night duty.
²⁰

The empress worried about her husband’s drinking. That interpretation has been given to her poem:

The empress seems to have mentioned springtime flowers and colored autumn leaves because these were (and still are) the seasons when the largest quantities of saké are consumed.

During his youthful years, Meiji drank Japanese saké by preference, but in later years he switched to French wine and champagne. His capacity for drink was exceptional, but he was not always able to hold it. Hinonishi Sukehiro, who served the emperor as a chamberlain from 1886, recalled that Meiji drank two bottles of champagne at one sitting. When he drank that heavily, he had trouble walking, so the chamberlains did everything they could to restrict the amount of champagne he imbibed.
²²
The emperor never left the dinner table as long as there was anything left to drink. Normally, he would retire to his private quarters by eleven at night, but anecdotes relate how he sometimes drank until very late at night.

Yet as all sources agree, he went early every morning to his office to conduct business of the day. Although he may at times have neglected his studies, to the disappointment of Kido and others of his advisers, his strong sense of duty never permitted him to neglect state business. His profound awareness of what it meant to be the emperor of Japan deeply impressed foreign commentators, who compared him favorably with the reigning monarchs of Europe. Charles Lanman, writing in 1882, was typical in his praise:

Unlike many of the princes and royal personages of Europe, he is not addicted to self-indulgence, but takes delight in cultivating his mind; sparing no pains nor personal inconvenience to acquire knowledge. Although still young he frequently presides at the meetings of his Privy Councillors, … He often visits his executive departments, and attends at all the public services where the Imperial presence is desirable. While prosecuting his literary as well as scientific pursuits, he subjects himself to the strictest rules, having certain hours for special studies, to which he rigidly conforms. In his character he is said to be sagacious, determined, progressive and aspiring; and from the beginning of his reign he has carefully surrounded himself with the wisest statesmen in his Empire, and these have naturally assisted in his own development; so that it is almost certain that the crown of Japan has been worn in this century by one who was worthy of the great honor.
²³

Lanman went on to commend Meiji for “his zealous aspirations, almost free from prejudices, to adopt from other nations all that he deems beneficial for the promotion of the national welfare” and declared that he bore a striking resemblance to Peter the Great. Kido might have found such praise excessive, but anyone acquainted with the foibles of European royalty was likely to admire Meiji’s dedication to his office.

Japanese found other aspects of Meiji’s character to praise. His simplicity and avoidance of extravagance and display were often mentioned. One chamberlain recalled that the writing brush he used was worn away at the end and that he used sticks of ink to the last morsel, grinding the ink himself. Year after year he wore the same old-fashioned uniform, decorated with “frogs,” long after everyone else had shifted to more modern uniforms. The uniform was often mended. When his shoes became old and loose, the chamberlains bought him new ones, but he commanded them to repair the old ones. The emperor was aware that it sometimes cost more to repair old clothes and shoes than to replace them with new ones, but he consistently followed the principle: “If something can be repaired and used again, it should be repaired.”
²⁴
Many memorialists commented on the dustiness of the curtains in the palace and on the blackened condition of the
sh
ō
ji
, the results of Meiji’s insistence on thrift (and on the use of candles rather than electricity).

Although none of his tutors described Meiji as scholarly, Takatsuji Osanaga (1840–1921) recalled that he listened to lectures with rapt attention and that whenever he did not understand something, he would ask questions until the meaning was perfectly clear.
²⁵
Kat
ō
Hiroyuki delivered lectures on constitutional and international law each week before the emperor, but unfortunately, the emperor’s obligation to deal with state business took precedence over his lessons, and he fell behind the schedule Kat
ō
had set. Accordingly,

it was arranged to increase by one hour each day the time of his study, and for him to be in his office every day at seven in the morning in summer and half-past eight in winter. His Majesty’s diligence was truly inspiring. He rose every morning at five and was waiting in his office when the tutors arrived.
²⁶

Kat
ō
made extract translations from Western books concerning constitutions; the division of powers into legislative, executive, and judiciary; the system of self-government of cities, towns, and villages; and the history of constitutions in Europe from the end of the eighteenth century to the middle of the nineteenth century. At first he used as his teaching materials his translations of various German authorities, especially Johann Bluntschli, but he feared that if the emperor depended exclusively on translations, he would not acquire a real understanding. Kat
ō
therefore decided to switch to reading texts in the original German, but it soon became evident that the emperor had no time (and perhaps no aptitude) for learning a foreign language. But, Kat
ō
insisted, he was a diligent pupil:

His late Majesty was by nature extremely thorough and steady. He seemed unwilling ever to stop halfway; he refused to stop until he had understood to his own satisfaction the basics. If, for example, I stated something one day which he did not understand, he would ask questions the next day until he fully understood. Progress was slow, but once he had grasped something, he never forgot it and would always make full use of it. This ability always made me marvel. As an educator, I have come in contact with many students over the years, but I have never encountered anyone like His Majesty who, though there was never an examination, would apply himself to his studies in this way entirely for the sake of mental training.
²⁷

The emperor’s remarkable memory was mentioned by many who knew him. Vice Admiral Ariji Shinanoj
ō
(1843–1919) recalled:

There was not one palace ritual or ceremony or any other historical fact with which he was unfamiliar. He never forgot the name of anyone to whom he had ever granted an audience, however humble the person’s station might be. He attended the graduation ceremonies at the army and navy academies and at the university, and he never failed to remember the names of graduates who received a prize for scholarly excellence or who delivered a lecture in his presence…. When he invited someone to dine with him, he would describe what had happened when he last met that person and everything that had been discussed on the occasion, all as vividly as if he could see before his eyes long-ago memories.
²⁸

Even allowing for a certain amount of exaggeration in Ariji’s praise as he recalled the recently deceased emperor, it is clear that Meiji had a retentive memory. He was not an intellectual; the accounts of those who knew him recall words of the
Analects
: “The firm, the enduring, the simple and the modest are near to virtue.”

The “firm” aspect of Meiji’s personality was conspicuously displayed in his active participation in military maneuvers; he even led the troops on horseback with drawn sword. During his first maneuvers, there was violent wind and rain, but the emperor remained completely unperturbed, an inspiration to the troops. This sangfroid would be typical of his behavior throughout the rest of his reign. No matter how uncomfortable or even tragic the circumstances, he was never known to complain or feel sorry for himself.

At this stage of his reign, Meiji was an inexperienced youth who had no choice but to depend on the brilliant men around him. Although these men were deferential and unquestionably revered him as their sovereign, they may also have rather intimidated him by their knowledge of not only politics and warfare but also literature and philosophy. Perhaps the emperor’s apparent lack of enthusiasm for his studies, about which Kido complained, was occasioned by feelings that he could never attain their level of accomplishment.

As yet Meiji had few occasions to demonstrate his mettle. If he had died young or had lived no more than the thirty-six years of his father, he might be remembered only vaguely as the emperor who reigned at the time of the Restoration. A combination of longevity and dedication to duty, however, eventually made this youth the most celebrated of the long line of emperors.

Chapter 20