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The Asiatic Society of Japan Its Formative Years

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The Asiatic Society of Japan Its Formative Years <講 演 1 > THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF JAPAN ITS FORMATIVE YEARS Anthony Farrington* When I was Invited to speak at the Annual Conference of the Nihon-Ei Gakushi Gakukai it seemed particularly appropriate to devote my paper to a society which, almost like a Meiji period counterpart of yourselves, devoted itself to Japanese studies. 'Asiatic Societies' pursuing the language, literature, history, geography, botany, zoology and 'industrial arts' of the host community were an interesting feature of the British presence in Asia. The first was the Asiatic Society of Bengal, formed in 1784. It led to an Asiatic Society in London in 1834, which was followed throughout the century by similar bodies, mostly affiliated to the London Society-Bombay in 1841, Ceylon n 1843, Shanghai in 1847, Japan in 1872, and the Straits Settlements in 1878. In South and South-East Asia the societies drew their strength from the British administrative class—judges, magistrates and senior civil servants, sharing a common social and educational background-plus a sprinkling of non-official professional residents, military officers and clergymen. The Far Eastern pattern was slightly different because of the combined European and American presence and the absence of direct colonial rule. Diplomats re- placed administrators, while in Japan during the 1870's there was an important group of professional men who had come out as government employees to take part in the modernisation programme. These scientists, teachers, engi- * Senior Assistant Keeper, India Office Library & Records, London 81 英 学 史 研 究 第9号 neers, military and naval officers, doctors and lawyers were mainly based on Tokyo, the new capital. It was there that the first Western-style government departments were formed, the military, medical and technical colleges were established, and the railway, postal and telegraph services operated. However, like those elsewhere in Asia, the Asiatic Society of Japan was predominantly British in its membership, and it did not attract the merchants and traders of the treaty ports. The Society was founded at a meeting held on 8 October 1872 at the Grand Hotel, Yokohama, when Robert Grant Watson of the British Legation was elected the first President, and the first papers were read there on 30 October- Notes on Loochoo by Ernest Mason Satow, then Japanese Secretary at the British Legation, and The Hyalonema Mirabilis, a marine biological study by Henry Hadlow, a Royal Navy surgeon. The opening papers were significant for two reasons: the subjects themselves, and the presence of Satow at the very beginning of the Society's life. Travel into the interior of Japan or to the outlying islands was regarded as a combination of exploration and high adventure, and the new Society was treated to numerous papers with such titles as Itinerary of a journey from Yedo to Kusatsu (27 October 1873), Notes of a journey in Hitachi and Shimosa (13 May 1874), A journey in North-East Japan (17 June 1874), DescriPtion of a trip to Niigata (18 November 1874), An excursion into the interior parts of Yamato Province (17 February 1875). The first ten volumes of the Society's Transactions, 1872-1882, print 146 papers, of which 25 can be roughly classified as geographical/topographical. However, they are far outnumbered by the largest subject grouping; the 'scientific' papers during the same period, as exemplified by Hadlow's study, total 52 items, with topics ranging from The typhoons of September and October 1872 (10 May 1873) to Useful minerals 82 THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF JAPAN-ITS FORMATIVE YEARS and metallurgy of the Japanese (October-December 1874), Cotton in Japan (14 June 1876), Notes on the manufacture of oshiroi (21 March 1878) and Contributions to the agricultural chemistry of Japan (8 June 1880). But to take the figures further, during the second decade, 1882-1892, 107 papers were printed, of which only 4 were geographical and 18 scientific, a reflec- tion of the end of the 'exploration' phase and of changing interests among the membership. Satow is, of course, a familiar figure to all students of the period. Arriving in Yokohama in September 1862, he rapidly acquired fluency in written and spoken Japanese and his linguistic ability made a major contribution to the power and authority of the British Legation. But perhaps more significant for the future were his studies of the language, history and culture of Japan, which found a partial outlet in the new Asiatic Society. Satow was among the first members of the Society's Council, he served as Corresponding Secretary 1877-1882, he continued his interest during diplomatic service postings to Bangkok, Montevideo and Morocco 1884-1895, and when he returned to Japan as Minister Plenipotentiary 1895-1900 he headed the Society as its President. The Society held its first Annual General Meeting at the Grand Hotel on 8 October 1873, electing James Curtis Hepburn, the missionary and linguist, as President, and Sir Harry Smith Parkes, Satow's chief, as Vice-President for the forthcoming year. The Council were able to report a total of 64 members risident in Japan and that a start had been made towards establishing a Library and Museum by the presentation of a few books and specimens. The Society's rules were not finally authorised until the second Annual General Meeting, on 15 July 1874. It was then agreed that the officers should consist of a President, a Senior and a Junior Vice-President, five Councillors, 83 英 学 史 研 究 第9号 a Corresponding Secretary, a Recording Secretary and a Treasurer, all to be elected or re-elected annually. The membership was divided into three classes; Honorary, Corresponding and Ordinary, the last being residents and paying $ 5 annual subscription. The aims of the Society were formally defined as: (a) the collection of information and the investigation of subjects relat- ing to Japan or other Asiatic countries (b) the formulation of a Library and Museum adapted to the above purposes (c) the publication in a Journal of original papers and information read before or collected by the Society. From February 1874 minutes of the discussions which invariably followed papers read to the Society were reported in the Transactions, which had begun to reach the academic market in London and New York. During the session 1875-76 the Society obtained the use of a room at the Imperial Uni- versity in Tokyo, where its growing collection of books and objects was deposited for the use of members and their friends from 2-5 p. m. daily. The latest additions included 'an ancient bell presented by the Kenrei of Kobe, numerous specimens of clothing, shoes etc worn by the peasants of the Yone- zawa District' and 'a collection of Japanese butterflies'. Sensibly, however, the museum was soon brought to an end and the objects were distributed to the Tokyo Museum, the Imperial University and the Education Department. The library went on to flourish. A catalogue was first printed in the 1877- 78 Transactions. Ten years later the Society had exchange agreements with no less than 57 institutions in Britain, Holland, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Russia, America, Australia and India, and books were pouring in. The 1875-76 session also saw meetings held alternately in Yokohama and 84 THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF JAPAN-ITS FORMATIVE YEARS My-6 plus a change in the Society's constitution to give five Councillors and one Recording Secretary for each of the two centres of activity. Although the dual arrangement persisted for many years the Yokohama connection quickly declined in importance; from 1879 only occasional meetings were held there, at the most one or two a year. The transfer to Tokyo and the Society's growth brought accommodation problems; from 1878 until 1890, when it found a permanent home at No 17 Tsukiji, the foreign residential area of Tokyo, the Society was successively housed at the Department of Public Instruction, the Chamber of Commerce, No 33 Tsukiji, the Imperial College of Engineering, the Geographical Society of TOkya, and St Paul's School in Tsukiji—almost an annual move. But at least it remained free from financial problems. The 1878 Council report contains an interesting and quotable statement of how the Society began to initiate research in unknown areas, a statement which bears the influence of Satow. It reads: 'We want before all things to learn more about the religions of Japan. Concerning Buddhism in this country we have been up to the present entirely in the dark, and our knowl- edge of Shinto is still extremely meagre The introduction of Chinese learning and its influence upon the language and ideas of the Japanese people is a subject which has never been treated ... It cannot be said either that we possess in any European language a useful account of the history of Japan previous to the middle of the present century, and the nature of the laws, civil, penal and ceremonial, by which the people have been governed in successive ages has still to be ascertained from the original writings and traditions. A few specimens of the pure literature have fortunately been made known already, but there still remain treasures of thought and artistic expression hidden away in the poems and romances of the classical period; 85 - 英 学 史 研 究 第9号 while of the dramatic literature in all its various forms, only a small part has been made accessible to Europeans unacquinted with the Japanese lan- guage. In the department of Natural Science a great deal has already been achieved, especially in Botany and Zoology, yet those branches are far from being fully exchausted. Japanese meteorology is still in its infancy, and concerning the physical geography and geology of the country scarcely any information has hitherto been accessible in print.
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