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Prince Saionji Kinmochi and His Autobiography

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Prince Saionji Kinmochi and His Autobiography Prince Saionji Kinmochi and His Autobiography 著者 OVSYANNIKOV Nikolay 会議概要（会議名, 国立ロシア人文大学, モスクワ大学, 2007年10月31 開催地, 会期, 主催 日-11月2日 者等） page range 275-285 year 2009-12-15 シリーズ ロシア・シンポジウム 2007 International Symposium in Russia 2007 図書名(英) Interpretations of Japanese Culture : Views from Russia and Japan URL http://doi.org/10.15055/00001358 Prince Saionji Kinmochi and His Autobiography Nikolay OVSYANNIKOV Institute ofAsian andAfrican Studies, Moscow State University The main goal of this essay is to draw a sketch of one of the most prominent politicians and statesmen of Japan before World War 11 and at the same to acquaint readers with an interesting source on modem Japanese history-Saionji's autobiog- raphy. The turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was unquestionably a crucial period for the making of modem Japan, and those years saw the rise of a large number of outstanding political leaders. And yet the political development of Japan from late Meiji to early Sh6wa, let alone specific personalities, has hardly ever been a serious focus of study in the Russian historiography of those years. Possibly this neglect can be explained by the virtual absence of primary sources on the period, either translated into Russian or obtainable in the original language in Russian libraries. As for schol- ars writing in other Western languages, although they have given serious attention to the period as a whole, they have scarcely begun to consider Saionji as an object for independent research. Saionji Kinmochi was bom in 1849 into the Tokudaiji family, one of the noblest in Japan, and was adopted in 1851 as the heir to another aristocratic clan, the Saion- jis. He started his political career in the turbulent days of the Meiji Restoration of 1867-68, and by the beginning of the twentieth century, he had entered the ranks of key statesmen of Japan. He remained one of the pillars of the state until his death in 1940. He served prime minister twice and was the one of the closest advisers to three emperors-Meiji, Taish6, and Sh6wa. What was unique about Saionji's position was that he stayed at the center of Japanese politics for an unprecedented seventy-odd years, and was an active participant in as well as an acute witness of the main devel- opments of that era. Because of his longevity and his centrality, his autobiography, Saionji Kinmo- chi fiden (hereafter, Autobiography or Jiden), first published in 1949, has a double value, both as a source on the modem history of Japan and as a means of acquainting oneself with the author, perhaps Japan's most outstanding leader. Strictly speaking, the Autobiography was not written by Saionji himself. Initially planned as a series of sketches, the book in fact presents a collection of loosely connected memoirs and essays by Saionji in which he recalls certain stages or events of his life and discourses on various topics-from current diplomatic trends to his artistic preferences. These essays and memoirs were written down in the 1920 and '30s by Saionji's confidant Koizumi Sakutar6, one of the leaders of the Seiy5kai political party, which Saionji once headed. 275 Nikolay OVSYANNIKOV Fig. 1. Prime MinisterSaionji Kinmochi in 1906. Koizumi had been contemplating such a series of reminiscences since mid- 1920s, and the first records of his conversations with Saionji were made in 1926. Because of numerous interruptions due to Salonji's activities or poor health, and even due to opposition to the project within Saionji's own household, this work was not completed until 1933. The style of the memoirs had also undergone certain changes over the period: from free conversations-or more precisely transcripts of mono- logues delivered by Saionji without any definite topic-they had gradually evolved into thematic interviews. In total there are ten chapters in the Autobiography, but neither the chapters nor the book have any rigid structure. Saionji arbitrarily switches from subject to subject, and never dwells on a certain topic longer than one or two paragraphs. And one more interesting detail: rather than analyzing crucial and epochal political developments, Saionji tends more to recollect all kinds of curious facts or private happenings involv- ing leading politicians, members of the court and even the imperial family. But it is exactly to this randomness and casual quality of the narration that the Autobiography owes its main value. Although there are quite a number of sources on Saionji, primarily the biog- raphies written by his contemporaries, colleagues, or admirers, inevitably these all present images of Saionji that reflect the general attitude of their authors. In most cases this means they end up praising the great "senpai." Biographies by Takekoshi Yosaburol and Omura Bunjil exemplify this tendency very clearly. No matter how rich they may be in fact and anecdote, these works fail to show the real person, but rather produce an image of an infallible and superhuman hero. The famous diaries of Saionji's close ally, Hara Takashi, present another extreme: most of Hara's com- 276 Prince Saionji Kinmochi and His Autobiography ments on Saionji have a negative coloring, as if it was hard for Hara to hide either his jealousy or his desire to prove that he was ultimately right in those instances when he had disputed with Saionji.1 In his autobiographical essays, absolutely free in structure, content, and style, Saionji appears exactly the man he was. Being unrestricted by any specific genre Saionji could fully reveal his humour, intellect, and liberal manner of thinking. He could also offer very acute commentary on the characteristics of the leading figures of his age. For many years, records of those conversations between Saionji and Koizumi , entitled "Saionji ka zuihitsu," remained part of the private archive of Koizumi. They were published as a book only nine years after Saion i passed away. In 1949, the cen- tennial year of Saionji's birth, these memoirs were unified, systemized chronologi- cally and thematically, and divided into chapters by the historian Kimura Tsuyoshi . Thus, we can say that Saionji's Autobiography is in fact the result of efforts of three men: Saionji, Koizumi, and Kimura. Having touched upon the text of the Autobiography, let us return to its author and hero. In the beginning we have already mentioned some of the titles that Saionji held. Perhaps it would be worth adding that Salonji is also famous as the last of the genr5, or senior statesmen, confidants and lifelong advisers of the emperor, which was the highest step in a political career that a mortal could reach. Saionji was both the last person to be granted this informal but prestigious title and the last man to take this title to grave, having served as the sole genr5 for sixteen years. Even judging by mere results one can see that Saionji really was a pivotal figure for pre-World War 11 Japan. But it would be a mistake to limit oneself to simple recitation of Saionji's nu- merous titles, appointments, and career steps. Detailed information of this kind can easily be obtained from almost any encyclopedia, Kokushi da~iten , for instance. But what encyclopedias and historical dictionaries fail to show is the scale of Saionji's personality, the personality that attracts and charms even out of the context of his high position as a statesman. In this essay I would prefer to concentrate mostly on those features of Saionji's personality that allow us to single him out from a series of bril- liant and successful politicians of his age and appreciate him as a unique phenomenon in modem Japanese history. So saying, I by no means mean to try to exaggerate the achievements of Saionji as a political or state leader. Neither do I intend to attribute to him any exclusive po- litical role. Among Salonji's contemporaries we can find men who were more politi- cally skillful and energetic, such as Hara Takashi, and men who could boast greater achievements as statesmen, such as Ita Hirobumi or Yamagata Aritomo . Or those who had more political will, shrewdness, and courage, like Saionji's partner and rival Katsura Tar6. And still, reading the Autobiography one cannot help being impressed by Salonji's high intellect and philosophical perception of things, by his broad interests 277 Nikolay OVSYANNIKOV stretching from foreign languages to ancient Chinese classics, by his wide range of acquaintances that included leading artists, politicians, and even revolutionists of his age, by his liberal and progressive mindset, clearly revealed in his Jiden. Given all that, Saionji remains, probably, the most vivid leader of his age. And the most contro- versial one, for Saionji combines in himself incompatible, at first sight, features. First of all, Saionji presents a remarkable composition of Japanese culture and the most advanced western education, sharing the love for artistic and academic tra- ditions of Japan with open interest and deep understanding of the Western culture. Being a descendant of one of the oldest families in Japan, inferior in nobility perhaps only to the Royal family, Saionji received splendid classical education at the court. The level of this education, together with the high intellectual abilities of the young man, allowed him to open a private academy in Kyoto at the age of twenty-the Rit- sumeikan academy (the forerunner of the present Ritsumeikan University). "I man- aged to gather together the best Confucian scholars of Kyoto," he recalled many years later, "so my Academy gained very high reputation and many students from various domains came to study there. 114 As we can see from the Autobiography, Saionji was much more than an amateur in many traditional Japanese and Chinese arts, not only in "customary" calligraphy or poetry, but even in such sophisticated genres like seal carving, the art of bonsai dwarf trees, and many others.
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