Bushido: the Creation of a Martial Ethic in Late Meiji Japan
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BUSHIDO: THE CREATION OF A MARTIAL ETHIC IN LATE MEIJI JAPAN by OLEG BENESCH A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) FEBRUARY 2011 © Oleg Benesch, 2011 ABSTRACT This study examines the development of the concept of “bushido,” or the “way of the warrior,” in modern Japan, focusing on the period between the mid-nineteenth century and the early 1930s. The popular view holds that bushido was a centuries-old code of behavior rooted in the historical samurai class and transmitted into the modern period, where it was a fundamental component of Japanese militarism before 1945. In fact, the concept of bushido was largely unknown before the last decade of the nineteenth century, and was widely disseminated only after 1900, especially after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5. This study argues that modern bushido discourse began in the 1880s, and was dependent on political and cultural currents relating to Japan’s modernization and the nation’s attempts to redefine itself in the face of foreign “others,” primarily China and the West. Following more than a decade of largely unquestioned thrusts towards modernization and Westernization after 1868, Japanese thinkers looked to their own traditions in search of sources of national identity. The first discussions of bushido at this time were not the work of conservative reactionaries, however, but were conceived by relatively progressive individuals with considerable international experience and a command of Western languages. Some of the first modern writings on bushido clearly posit the concept as a potential native equivalent to the English ethic of “gentlemanship,” which was widely admired in late-nineteenth century Japan, and much of early bushido discourse should be seen primarily as a response to outside stimuli. This study examines the causes and effects of the “bushido boom” that took place between 1898 and 1914, which firmly established the concept not only in Japan, but throughout the world. In this context, this study analyzes the use of bushido by the Japanese military and educational system, as well as its popularization by prominent figures in the early twentieth century. This study also examines the reasons for the decline in the popularity of bushido between 1914 and the early 1930s, thereby providing points of departure for future research on the trajectory of bushido from 1932 to the present day. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................................................ii TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………………….iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………...v INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1 The etymology and historiographical uses of bushidō ..........................................................5 Warrior behavior in Japanese history before 1600..............................................................14 Pre-modern writings on bushidō..........................................................................................20 Overview of the existing literature on modern bushidō ......................................................28 The goals of this study.........................................................................................................30 CHAPTER 1 Bridges between Tokugawa and Meiji Bushidō.............................................37 Yoshida Shōin......................................................................................................................38 Yokoi Shōnan ......................................................................................................................45 The curious case of Yamaoka Tesshū .................................................................................51 CHAPTER 2 First Explanations of Bushidō in the Meiji 20s ..............................................68 Theoretical considerations...................................................................................................68 Development of Japan’s views of itself and its relationships with China and the West .....72 The bushidō of Ozaki Yukio ...............................................................................................76 Fukuzawa Yukichi’s view of martial honor ........................................................................86 Suzuki Chikara: bushidō, militarism, and the rise of Japanese cultural nationalism ..........96 Uemura Masahisa and early connections between bushidō and Christianity....................107 The redefinition of budō and the evolution of the term bushidō between 1885 and 1895 118 CHAPTER 3 The Early Bushidō Boom, 1898-1905..........................................................126 Currents in Japanese thought in the late 1890s..................................................................127 The Middle Kingdom becomes peripheral ........................................................................129 Reconsideration of the West and the production of national culture.................................131 A first collection of writings on bushidō ...........................................................................137 Prominent contributors to the Bushidō zasshi ...................................................................142 The impact and limitations of the Bushidō zasshi .............................................................148 Nitobe Inazō and the internationalization of bushidō........................................................151 Looking at Bushido: The Soul of Japan ............................................................................159 Nitobe and contemporary intellectual trends.....................................................................166 Nitobe’s impact on bushidō discourse...............................................................................168 Inoue Tetsujirō: the doyon of 20th-century bushidō .........................................................170 Intellectual currents that flowed into Inoue’s bushidō ......................................................173 Inoue’s entry into bushidō discourse .................................................................................177 iii A Collection of Bushidō Theories by Prominent Modern Thinkers...................................183 Inoue’s influence on the bushidō boom.............................................................................192 CHAPTER 4 The Late Bushidō Boom, 1905-1914............................................................195 Orthodox bushidō after the Russo-Japanese War..............................................................204 The appearance of bushidō in spiritual education .............................................................212 Bushidō in literature in late Meiji and early Taishō ..........................................................221 Adoption of bushidō for historical and patriotic legitimization ........................................233 The development of bushidō outside of Japan ..................................................................256 Conclusions regarding the late bushidō boom...................................................................270 CHAPTER 5 The End of the Bushidō Boom .....................................................................272 Nogi Maresuke and the end of the bushidō boom .............................................................273 Taishō bushidō...................................................................................................................283 The resurgence of bushidō in Shōwa.................................................................................289 Considering the end of the Meiji bushidō boom ...............................................................298 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................................300 WORKS CITED ....................................................................................................................312 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to the faculty, staff, and students at the University of British Columbia who have offered me constant support, guidance, and insight from my arrival in Vancouver onward. I owe special thanks to Dr. Nam-lin Hur and Dr. Peter Nosco, whose astute guidance and incisive questions are responsible for any contributions this study may make to the field, and whose excellent practical advice and support has made my research possible. I thank Dr. William Wray for introducing me to valuable and methods and resources for Japanese historical research. I am also indebted to Dr. Tomoko Kitagawa and Hidemi Shiga for their engaging and challenging discussions in various courses and seminars we attended together, and also for directing me towards several sources that proved to be most useful to my project. I owe a great debt of gratitude to Jasmina Miodragovic, whose tireless and outstanding efforts on behalf of graduate students in Asian Studies have allowed this and many other theses and dissertations to be realized. In Japan, I extend my thanks to Dr. Shuntarō Itō for initially encouraging me to conduct research on bushidō as the subject of my MA thesis at Reitaku University. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Yutaka Yoshida for invaluable advice