MEIJI JAPAN THROUGH CONTEMPORARY SOURCES
E. Imperial Rescript on Education, October 30, 1890. V K NOW ye, Our subjects: Our imperial ancestors have founded Our empire on a TREATY REVISION basis broad and everlasting and have deeply and firmly implanted virtue; Our subjects ever united in loyalty and filial piety have from generation to generation illustrated A. On De-Asianization by Fukuzawa Yukichi, March the beauty thereof. This is the glory of the fundamental 16, 1885. character of Our empire, and herein also lies the source of Our education. Ye, Our subjects, be filial to your parents, ‘I’r~r;, world-wide facility of communication has allowed the affectionate to your brothers and sisters; as husbands and wind of Western civilization to blow into the East, where wives hc harmonious, as friends true; bear yoursclvcs in not a single grass or tree has been left unswayed by it. This modesty and moderation ; extend your benevolence to all; is not because the Western man has greatly cllangcd from pursue learning and cultivate arts, and thereby develop what he was in olden times; yet that his movcmcnts, which intellectual faculties and perfect moral powers; furthermore were once sluggish, are now active is simply hrausc hc is advance public good and promote common interests; always taking aclvantagc of the faster means of communication respect the Constitution and observe the laws; should emer- to ovcrwhrlm the othrrs. Under the circumstances, if r gency arise, offer yourselves courageously to the state; and may judge the situation of those nations that live in the thus guard and maintain the prosperity of Our imprrial East, they may be all right if they are rrsolvrcl to defend throne coeval with heaven and earth. So shall ye not only thrmsrlvcs to the end in resistance to the force of the east- be Our good and faithful subjects, but render illustrious ward aclvancc of that civilization; still, to anyone who has the best traditions of your forefathers. seen with his eyes the present state of world affairs and The Way hcrc set forth is indeed the teaching bcqurathccl knows its aclual impossibility there can be no other policy by Our imperial ancestors, to be observed alike by their than to move on with the rest of the world and join them in descendants and thd subjects, infallible for all ages and true clipping into the sea of civilization, joining them in creating in all places. It is Our wish to lay it to heart in all rcver- the wav(‘s of civilization, and joining them in the pains and cncc, in common with you, Our subjects, that We may all joys of civilization. Civilization is like an cpidrmic of thus attain to the same virtue. mcaslcs. The current measles in Tokyo, which has advancccl The 30th clay of the 10th month of the 23rd year of Mciji. rastwarcls horn Nagasaki in Western .Japan, scrms to have OJicial trfmslflfion. begun to claim more victims with thr arrival of springtimc. Will we be able now to fincl a means of cltrcking this cpidc-
128 129 MEIJI JAPAN THROUGH CONTEMPORARY SOURCES TREATY KEVISION mic, even if WC dislike its harmfulness strongly enough? Japan, but also created a new trend in Asia as a whole. It is obvious that we have no way to do so. We cannot Our principle is expressed in *just one word: de-Asianization. put up effective resistance even against an epidemic that ThougIl our land of Japan is situated on the Eastern carries with it only harm; much less against civilization, cdgc of Asia, the spirit of its people has already shaken off which is always accompanied by both harm and good, but the backwardness of Asia to accept the civilization of the by more good than harm. It may be the task of a wise West. Unfortunately, however, we have two ncighbouring man, not only to be against resisting civilization, but even countries, one being called China, the other called Korea. to help its spread with all his might so that his fellow country- The people of these two countries arc no different from us men will be immersed in its ways as soon as possible. Intro- Japanese people in having been brought up since olden times duction of modern Western civilization into Japan began in the Asian culture and customs, and yet, whether bccausc at the time of the opening of our country in the Kaei years they are of another racial origin, or because, while similar [ 1848-541. Since then our countrymen have come to in culture ant1 customs, c1ifi.r from us in the main linrs of recognize the feasibility of its adoption and their ways gradu- their traditional education, a comparison of the three ally turned more active. Still, our road to progress was countries, Japan, China, and Korea, reveals that the latter blocked by an aged and outmoded government, about two rcsrmble each other more closely than they do Japan. which we coulcl do nothing. If we were to keep the govcrn- T11c pcoplc of those two countries do not know how to go ment, civilization could by no means be introduced. For about rclbrming and makiq progress, whether indiviclually modern civilization was incompatible with the old customs or as a country. It is not that they have not seen or llcarcl of Japan, and if we were to reject the old customs the govern- of civilized things in the prrscnt world of facile communica- ment too would be abolished at the same time. However, tion; yet what their eyes and cars perceive have failecl to if we were to resist civilization and prcvcnt its introduction, stimulate their minds, ancl their emotional attachment to Japan would not remain an independent state. For the ancirnt manners and customs has changed little for tlic past squabblings and bustlings of world civilization would not hundrrcls and thousands of years. In this livrly thcntrr of allow the isolated islands of the East to enjoy an undisturbed civilizaticm, whrre things change daily, they still speak of sleep. Thereupon $e gentlemen of our Japan, on the great education in terms of Confucianism, cite humanity (je,z), principle of putting the country ahcad of the government, justice (i), civility (ii), ancl wisdom (chih) as tllcir principles and fortunately with the help of the sanctity and majesty of of school ctlucation, are cornpletcly ol~cssctl only \vitli the Imperial House, resolutely overthrew the old govtrn- outwn~-tl appearance, arc in reality not only ignorant of mcnt and cstablishcd a new one, ancl adopted tl~c modern truths and principlrs 1x11 so rxtrcmc in their cruelty and Western civilization for everything within our bortlc,rs, shamclcssncss that for thrm morality is coniplctcly non-csis- with no distinction between the government and the pcoplc. lent, ant1 yrt arc as arrogant as if llicy ncvrr ga\rc a thou&t Thus we have not only gotten rid of the old customs of to self-csaniination. In our view, these two countries liavc 130 131 RIEIJI JAPAN THROUGH CONTEMPORARY SOURCES TREATY REVISION
.no likelihood of maintaining their independence in the Japancsc too arc surmisccl to be just as inhuman. SlKll current tide of civilization’s castward advance. Let there examples are too numerous to count. This may bc com- not bc the slightest doubt that, unless they are fortunate pared to the case in which most of those in a string of houses enough to have motivated men appear in their lands who, within a village or town arc foolish, lawless, cruel, ant1 as a first step to improve the condition of their countries, inhuman ; an occasional family that heeds what is just and will plan such a great enterprise of overall reform of their right will bc eclipsed by the others evil ancl its virtue will governments as our Restoration was, and succeed in altering never be noticed. It is indeed not infrequent that somc- their peoples’ minds through political reforms, those coun- thing similar happens in our foreign relations and indirectly tries will meet their doom in but a few years, with their tcr- interferes with them. This should be regarded a great ritories divided among the civilized countries of the world. misfortune for our country of Japan. To plan our course The reason is that China and Korea, confronted 1)~ an now, therefore, our country cannot afford to wait for the epidemic of civilization comparable to measles, arc impos- enlightcnmcnt ofour neighbours and to co-operate in building sibly attempting to ward it off, despite its inevitability, by Asia up. Rather, we sl~oulcl leave their ranks to join tllc shutting themselves up in a room, with the result being that camp of the civilized countries of the West. Even \vhcn they are cutting off their supply of fresh air and asphyxiating dealing with China and Korea, we need not have special thcmsclvcs. Though mutual help between ncighbouring scruples simply because they are our neighbours, but should countries has been likened to the relationship bctwecn the brhave towards them as the Westerners do. One who lips and the teeth, China and Korea of to-day cannot bc bcfricncls an evil person cannot avoid being invol\.ccl in of any assistance at all to our country of Japan. Moreover, his notoriety. In spirit, then, WC break with our evil civilized Western man is not without a tendency to regard friends of Eastern Asia. all three countries as identical because of their geographical Tradakl hv Hiclchiro Okacln. prosimity and to apply his evaluation of China and Korea to