INTERNATIONALIST in PREWAR JAPAN: NITOBE INAZO, 1862-1933 by George Masaaki Oshiro B.A., University of Hawaii, 1968 M.A., Intern
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1 1 INTERNATIONALIST IN PREWAR JAPAN: NITOBE INAZO, 1862-1933 by George Masaaki Oshiro B.A., University of Hawaii, 1968 M.A., International Christian University (Tokyo, Japan), 1977 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Asian Studies Department We accept this thesis as conforming tiL the required standard THE UNIVERS-^TY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA July, 1985 © George Masaaki Oshiro, 1985 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 DK-6 r^/R-n ABSTRACT Nitobe Inazo (1862-1933) ranked among the elite in prewar Japan. He had won early fame, before he was forty years old, as a scholar and a master of the English language with his book Bushido, the Soul of Japan. Subsequently, his career as an administrator in Taiwan, headmaster of the prestigious First Higher School, a scholar of Colonial Policy at Tokyo Imperial University, a noted writer of popular literature for youth, and later Under Secretary-General at the League of Nations and Japanese Chairman of the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR) made him a well-known personage both within Japan and abroad. He was constantly in the public's eye, and was frequently invited to address diverse audiences on inter- cultural topics. But after his death in Victoria, British Columbia in 1933, his work fell into obscurity. Most Japanese in 1985 do not know who he is, except for the fact that his portrait now adorns the 5000 yen note. There are several published biographies of Nitobe, in Japanese and in English, but thus far, no one has attempted to reconstruct his career upon an investigation of primary materials. Therefore, much of the facts concerning his life are inaccurate, as they stem mainly from anecdotes published after his death. Though Nitobe authored over twenty books--in English, Japanese, and German—and hundreds of articles, only one ii work, Bushido, has survived the ravages of time. He was not, in my opinion, a "thinker" who held and expressed subtle and profound thoughts. Rather, he was a man of action who, by his behavior, influenced a great many people, especially the young. For this reason, I deal only summarily with his ideas. Scholars disagree on Nitobe's importance in history. His many disciples still adore him as a great man who contributed much to the development of internationalism and liberal thought in postwar Japan. But many others see him as a misguided moralist and reactionary who buckled when he encountered militarism within his country in the 1930s. This dissertation is a biographical study of Nitobe. It is divided into three main parts: Part One, "The Making of the Internationalist" deals with the first 44 years of Nitobe's life. Part II, "Educator East and West," which focuses on Nitobe in middle age, examines his activities as a charismatic Japanese educator during the late Meiji and Taisho periods; and in Part III, "Diplomat in International Limelight" the focus is upon the activities that Nitobe engaged in during the last 14 years of his life. The theme that runs throughout the dissertation is the "internationalist." Except for the Introduction and Conclusion, I utilize a narrative style. I have relied upon diverse sources of information, including archives in Japan and North America, as well as interviews and letters with people who knew Nitobe personally. I portray Nitobe as a man who, early in life, became obsessed with achieving honors for himself, on the one hand, iii and a place of respect among the leading nations of the world for his country, on the other. He was a highly idealistic man who, nevertheless, acted always in a pragmatic way. Ideals were things to be worked for. In a world of conflicting values and demands, Nitobe knew that ideals realize themselves slowly. His actions, thus, whenever they appear to be a compromise of his higher principles, have to be seen in light of the circumstances that surrounded him. / CONTENTS Abstract i Introduction 1 PART I: THE MAKING OF AN INTERNATIONALIST 11 Chapter 1 Childhood, Boyhood and Youth: 1862-1883 13 Morioka: 1862-1871 14 English Studies in Tokyo: 1872-1876 17 Sapporo: 1877-1883 21 Chapter 2 Graduate Studies Abroad: 1883-1890 28 Search for Fame and Honor: the Path to America 28 Studies at the Johns Hopkins University 33 Training in Germany: the Launching of a Career 42 Mary P. Elkinton: Romance and Marriage 51 Chapter 3 Building Edinburgh: Sapporo, 1891-1897 57 Religious Colonizer 58 The Moralist Educator 64 Scholar and Official 72 Crisis! 78 Chapter 4 The Rise to Prominence: 1898-1906 81 Recuperation: Life as a Semi-invalid 81 America Again 84 With Kodama and Goto in Formosa 91 Bushido and the Russo-Japanese War 98 PART II: EDUCATOR EAST AND WEST 110 v Chapter 5 Internationalist at Home and Abroad: 1906-1912 112 The Inner Circle: Life at Kobinatadai Machi 114 The Public Figure: Educator for Modern Japan 125 Carnegie Endowment for Peace Exchange Professor 135 Chapter 6 Taisho Liberal: 1913-1919 148 Colonial Policy Professor 148 Heimindo: the Way of the Commoner 157 The Spirit Democracy 170 PART III: DIPLOMAT IN INTERNATIONAL LIMELIGHT 179 Chapter 7 At the League of Nations: 1919-1926 181 The Path to the League: Travels with Goto Shinpei 183 Work at the International Secretariat 187 Spokesman for the League 195 Life in Geneva: the Glorious Years 205 Chapter 8 The Final Years, 1927-1933 213 Activities in Retirement, 1927-1931 213 Nitobe, the IPR, and the Manchurian Crisis, 1929-31 220 The Matsuyama Incident 230 Emissary to North America, April 1932-March 1933 235 The Final Months in Japan and Death in Canada 249 Conclusion 262 Abbreviations Used in the Notes and Bibliography 278 Notes 280 Annotated List of Works Cited 352 vi How many worthy men have we known to survive their own reputations! Montaigne, Essays Introduction A map of the Pacific Ocean, bordered on the edges by Japan and North America, is imprinted on the lower left side of the new 5,000 yen currency that features Nitobe Inazo. It symbolizes the "taiheiyo no hashi" (Bridge across the Pacific) metaphor that is associated with Nitobe's name, and graphically captures his importance in Japanese history."'" The currency selection, however, surprised everyone. Unlike Fukuzawa Yukichi or Natsume Soseki, who adorn the 10,000 and 1,000 yen notes, Nitobe was unknown to the public. He had been forgotten. High school history textbooks today do not even mention him. And many Japanese, says Professor Sato Masahiro, the leading scholar on Nitobe, have difficulty 2 reading his name; not a few write it incorrectly. Outside of Japan, Nitobe is a complete stranger. No standard biographical reference book in English lists him, though he ranked among the best known Japanese abroad in his day. Yet hints of his past glory are still present. At the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada, a lovely Japanese garden, reputedly the best-crafted in North America, 3 commemorates his memory. In the garden stands a tall grey 1 lantern inscribed with the following dedication: Inazo Nitobe Apostle of Good Will Between Nations My study is a commentary on this inscription. Nitobe devoted himself to a mission to win for Japan and the Japanese a place of respect and honor in the world. Details of his life are subsumed under this internationalist motif. * * * Internationalism is an ambiguous concept that could 4 pertain to one of several different ideas. In the lexicon of international relations, it is a relatively new term. The Webster New Collegiate Dictionary defines it as "a policy of cooperation among nations and esp. of the development of close international political and economic relations."^ An internationalist, thus, is one who advocates and supports such policies. But when I apply the term "internationalist" to Nitobe, I do so with its Japanese connotation. Kokusaij in, the Japanese translation for internationalist, include peculiar cultural characteristics that are missing in the English; in Japanese the word has a "positive ring," and signifies a person fluent in a foreign language (usually English), who has strong connections abroad, and who possesses the manners and tastes of a foreigner (ga.iJAH) • 1 urge my readers to keep in mind that I use internationalist in this latter, culture-bound sense. Historians of Japan, however, have avoided the word. They prefer the adjective "westernized" to label Japanese such as Nitobe. Ivan Hall, writing of Mori Arinori, quoted Ito Hirobumi who called Mori a "Ninon ga unda seiyo j in" (a 7 Westerner born of Japan). The young Inazo of early Meiji Japan could be described in a similar manner. But "westernized" does not fit Nitobe's latter years. In 1919, at age fifty-seven, Nitobe participated in the creation of a new world order that emphasized different rules in the relationship between nations. This plan's failure is not of concern here. My point is that Nitobe, by association with the League of Nations and later with the Institute of Pacific Relations, was a different kind of man from earlier Japanese such as Mori and Fukuzawa Yukichi.