TWENTIETH CENTURY JAPAN
OUTLINE OF TOPICS: Japan in 1801 and 1901; eras; Emperor
and Court; Shōgun.—Sealed and wide-open Japan.—Travel and
barriers.—Social changes.—_Samurai._—Ideals of 1801 and
1901.—Costume.—Architecture.—Diet.—Education.—Newspapers.—Manufactures.
—Status of woman.—Christianity.—Permanent transformations.—Prophecy.
In order to understand as clearly as possible the progress made by New
Japan during the past fifty years, it will be profitable to institute
some comparisons between conditions then and now. As a matter of fact
the greater part of this wonderful advancement was achieved during the
last third of the nineteenth century; but it suits our purpose better
to compare 1801 and 1901, the first years of the two centuries. Thus
can we appreciate fully with how much difference in conditions and
prospects Japan has entered upon the twentieth century than she entered
upon the nineteenth century.
By the Japanese calendar, the year 1801 was the first of the Kyōwa
Era, a short and uneventful period; but the year 1901 was the
thirty-fourth of the Meiji Era, or Period of Enlightened Rule,—a most
appropriate name for the first era of the New Empire.
The Emperor in 1801 had been known before his ascension of the throne
as Prince Kanin Kanehito (from whom the present Prince Kanin has
descended); but he is now known by his posthumous title of Kōkaku. He
is said to have been “a sovereign of great sagacity”; but he was, as we
know, only a nominal ruler, like the fainéant kings of France, while
the actual authority was held, and the real power was exercised, by a
Mayor of the Palace, a Shōgun of the Tokugawa family. The Emperor was
“powerless and lived in splendid poverty.”
The Imperial Court was organized in Kyōto “with all pomp and
circumstance; it had its Ministers, Vice-Ministers, and subordinate
officials; it had its five principal, as well as more than a hundred
ordinary, Court nobles; but the sovereign’s actual power did not
extend beyond the direction of matters relating to rank and etiquette,
the classification of shrine-keepers, priests and priestesses, and
professionals of various kinds,—in a word, actual functions of no
material importance whatever.” In an absolute empire Kōkaku was Emperor
in name and fame only.
“He was practically confined in sacred seclusion; his person must
neither touch the earth nor be polluted by contact with common mortals.
The most scrupulous care was exercised about his dress, food, even the
very dishes themselves; he was, to the common people, a real invisible
deity. It is reported that the Emperors of the olden days must sit
motionless upon the throne for a certain number of hours each day, in
order that the empire might have peace. Their persons were sacred, so
that nobody was permitted to lay hands thereon; therefore their hair
and nails might have grown to an unseemly length, had they not been
clandestinely trimmed during sleeping hours. The dishes from which
they had partaken of food were forthwith dashed in pieces, in order
that nobody else might ever use them. And the very rice that they ate
was picked over kernel by kernel, in order that no broken or imperfect
grain might find lodgment in the Imperial stomach.” It is also said
that no one was allowed to speak the name of the Emperor or to write in
full the characters of his name; in the latter case, for clearness, at
least one stroke must be omitted from each character.
But the late Emperor, whose name was Mutsuhito, was an entirely
different personage. He did not live in seclusion, but frequently
showed himself in public to his subjects, who could look upon his
face without fear of being smitten with death. He was, none the less,
revered and loved by all the people, and was the real ruler of the
land. He had, however, voluntarily surrendered to the people some of
his prerogatives, so that the Japanese to-day enjoy constitutional
government, parliamentary and representative institutions, and local
self-government. And in 1901 the Empire, instead of being divided
up, as in 1801, into about 300 feudal fiefs, in each of which a
_Daimyō_ was more or less a law unto himself, is divided into about
50 Prefectures, Imperial Cities and Territories, in each of which the
people have more or less a voice in the administration.
The Empress Dowager, too, although brought up and educated in the
old-fashioned way, had yet adopted modern ideas with great ease. She
did not have shaven eyebrows and blackened teeth, like her predecessor
of 1801. She often appears in public, and continues a generous
patron of female education, the Red Cross Society, and artistic and
philanthropic enterprises.
The Shōgun of 1801 was Iyenari, who exercised that authority for about
half a century. He lived in glory and splendor in Yedo (now Tōkyō)
with his vassals around him. Theoretically he was only Generalissimo
under the Emperor, and, as a matter of policy, kept up the practice of
occasional visits to Kyōto, where he humbled himself before his nominal
superior; but, as the highest administrative officer, he was ruler in
act and fact. Very appropriately has he been called “the Emperor’s
vassal jailer.” During his Shōgunate “the military class remained
perfectly tranquil, and the feudal system attained its highest stage of
efficiency.”
In 1901 there was no Shōgun; the last of the Tokugawa dynasty
abdicated in 1867, and has spent most of his life since then in
retirement in Mito and Shizuoka. He is now living quietly in Tōkyō,
without much regard, apparently, to the new-fangled ways of these
times, except that he is reported to ride a bicycle!
In 1801 Japan was still a sealed country, but not hermetically,
because there was one chink at Nagasaki, where occasional intercourse
was allowed with the Chinese and the Dutch. Not only were foreigners
forbidden to enter, but natives were also forbidden to leave, this
“holy land.” Already, however, efforts were being made spasmodically to
break down the policy of seclusion, with its two phases of exclusion
and inclusion.
In 1901, however, thousands of foreigners of many nationalities
travelled and resided in Japan; and thousands of Japanese were
travelling and residing in many parts of the globe. Foreign vessels,
flying many different flags, freely entered the harbors of Japan;
and Japanese ships conducted freight and passenger services to Asia,
Australasia, America, and Europe. The figures of the small amount of
the foreign trade of Nagasaki in 1801 are not at hand; but the exports
and imports of Japan for 1901 amounted respectively to 252,349,543
_yen_ and 255,816,645 _yen_.
A Japanese of 1801 would have travelled, if he were one of the common
people, by foot, and, if he were of sufficient rank or wealth, by
_norimono_, or _kago_, or on horseback. The Japanese of 1901 might
continue to travel by foot, and, in mountainous districts, might still
use the _kago_; but they might also travel by _jinrikisha_, horse-car,
stage, steam-car, steamboat, horse and carriage, electric car, and
bicycle. The letter of 1801 was despatched by courier or relays of
couriers; that of 1901 by mail, and communication by telegraph and
telephone was becoming more and more common. There were over 3,600
miles of railway, 9,500 miles of telegraph, and, in Tōkyō alone,
over 6,000 telephones. An electric railway was actually disturbing
and desecrating the hallowed precincts of Kyōto, once sacred to the
Emperor. And even His Majesty’s Palace in Tōkyō had been put into
telephonic and telegraphic communication with the rest of the city and
even of the world.
Nor was travel throughout the empire itself free and unimpeded to all
in 1801. The country was split up into feudal fiefs, of which each lord
was intensely jealous of other lords and had to act on the defensive.
Every traveller was under considerable surveillance, and had to be able
to give a strict account of himself; and many “barriers” were erected
where travellers were challenged by guards. The large places where the
lords lived were walled towns, entered by gates carefully guarded by
sentinels. In Kyōto and Yedo the palaces of the Emperor and the Shōgun
were protected by moats and gateway. But in 1901 those historic castles
and gateways had mostly crumbled into ruins or been destroyed in war,
or demolished by the hands of coolies working under the direction of
the Board of Public Works or the Bureau of Street Improvements.
We cannot refrain from referring more particularly to the great
change that has been effected in the whole constitution of Japanese
society. In 1801, below the Court nobles and the feudal lords, there
were four classes of society,—the knight, the farmer, the mechanic,
and the merchant, besides the outcasts. In 1901, below the nobility,
there were only two classes,—the gentry and the common people; and
the distinction between these two is one of name only. In official
records and on certain occasions the registration of the nominal rank
is necessary; but in actual life few questions are asked about a man’s
standing, and merit finds its reward.
[Illustration: FOUR GATES: PALACE, TŌKYŌ; PALACE, KYŌTO; SAKURADA,
TŌKYŌ; NIJŌ CASTLE, KYŌTO]
In 1801 the _samurai_ (knight) was the _beau ideal_ of the Japanese.
His courage was unimpeachable; he was the model, not only of a warrior,
but also of a gentleman, and before him the common people had to bow
their heads to the ground. But now the sword which was his “soul” is a
curio, the bow and arrows are also curiosities, and the panoply either
hangs rusty in a storehouse or is offered for sale by a dealer in
second-hand goods. The _samurai_ is now only an historical character;
and when feudalism was abolished, many an individual of that class
fell into a pauper’s grave, or, forced into unaccustomed manual
labor, learned the culinary art, and entered service in the despised
foreigner’s kitchen!
Indeed, although the soldier is still highly honored, and deeds
worthy of the best of the old _samurai_ are still performed,[174] the
merchant, formerly despised because he bartered for profit, has risen
in esteem and become one of the most important factors in Japanese
society and civilization. The age of 1801 was feudal and æsthetic;
the age of 1901, democratic and commercial. In 1801, the swords;
in 1901, the _soroban_ (abacus): in 1801, the castle; in 1901, the
counting-house: in 1801, _bushi_ (knights); in 1901 budgets.
In 1801 the Japanese wore nothing but their own national costume,
with strictly prescribed uniforms for every occasion. In hot weather
a scarcity or utter lack of clothing was the prevailing style. In
1901 the latter style, though no longer conventional, prevailed
under certain limitations,—when and where the police were not strict
constructionists of the law! And in 1901 there was a great variety of
styles, ranging from pure native to pure foreign, with all kinds of
fits and misfits and ludicrous combinations.
Japanese houses of 1801 and 1901 show some differences. The native
style has been more or less modified by foreign architecture. Glass,
of course, is largely taking the place of paper for doors and windows;
carpeted floors are often preferred to matted floors; stoves, chairs,
tables, lamps, and bedsteads are coming more and more into use; and
brick and stone are more largely employed in the construction of
residences, offices, and stores.
The diet of the Japanese has also changed considerably within 100
years. Whereas in 1801 they were practically vegetarians, in 1901 they
had learned to eat and drink anything and everything. Foreign cooking
had become very popular and also cheap; in many Japanese families
foreign food was eaten at least once a day.
A Japanese student of 1801 was compelled to study at night by the dull
light of a pith wick floating in vegetable oil, or by the fitful flame
of fifty fireflies imprisoned in a small bamboo cage. The student of
1901 burned midnight oil from Russia or America, or studied by the
aid of gas or electric light. The studies in 1801 were confined to
Japanese and Chinese classics. It was considered practically a crime
to seek learning outside of Japan and China, but in 1901 the studies
included the whole range of Oriental and Occidental learning; and one
school in Tōkyō tried to attract students by assuming the name “School
of One Hundred Branches.” And while in 1801 Dutch books were read only
by a very select few, and mostly in secret at the risk of one’s life,
in 1901 it was possible to find readers of Dutch, English, French,
German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit, and
other books. In 1801 education was practically confined to the priestly
and military classes, but in 1901 there were no such limitations, and
elementary education was made free.
In 1801 there were no newspapers in Japan; in 1901 papers and
magazines galore, printed in almost all parts of the empire. Indeed,
in 1801, books were either copied laboriously by hand or printed from
wood-cuts; but in 1901 all the modern improvements in printing were
utilized. Moreover, fonts of type of many languages might be found; and
in fact, anything needed in the printing line could be manufactured at
the Tsukiji Type Foundry, Tōkyō.
The mention of this foundry suggests also the immense number of
manufacturing plants that were to be found in Japan in 1901 against
none in 1801. Cotton, woollen, and paper mills, iron foundries,
electrical apparatus manufactories, engine works, steamships, docks are
only a few examples of the development along this line. And in Tōkyō
the grounds which in 1801 were entirely devoted to the æsthetic gardens
of the Prince of Mito are now partially given over to the practical but
sooty purposes of an arsenal.
There is a great difference also between the Japanese woman of 1801
and her descendant of 1901. The former had practically no rights that
her husband was bound to respect; she must be respectfully obedient to
her husband and his parents, and she could be divorced at will. But,
according to the new codes which went into effect in 1899, “a woman can
now become the head of a family and exercise authority as such; she
can inherit and own property and manage it herself; she can exercise
parental authority; she can act as guardian or executor and has a voice
in family councils.” Thus her legal and social status has greatly
improved.
In 1801 Christianity was under the ban of a strict prohibition,
publicly advertised on the official bulletin-boards; and although
believers in secret were transmitting the faith which had been secretly
handed down to them, it was supposed that “the corrupt sect” had
been wiped out. But in 1901 there were more than 120,000 enrolled
believers, who represented a Christian community of about twice that
number. Christian preachers and churches were all over the empire,
and a Gospel ship was cruising about in the Inland Sea. According to
the Constitution, religious belief is free; so that Christianity was
becoming more and more a power in the land and wielding in society an
influence that cannot be measured. And in 1901 Japanese troops, in
alliance with those of nations of Christendom, had rescued Christian
missionaries and Chinese converts from the fury of mobs and soldiery,
and Christian missionaries, driven out of China, had found safe and
comfortable places of refuge in Japan.
Such comparisons might be carried out with regard to many other
items and in greater detail; but these will, perhaps, suffice as
illustrations of the extent to which Japan was transformed during the
nineteenth century. In some points, of course, especially in modern
inventions, there has been no greater change than in Occidental
nations during the same period. But it should be carefully borne
in mind that these transformations, in geographical, agricultural,
mineral, industrial, commercial, manufacturing, social, economic,
political, legal, educational, moral, and religious affairs, so far as
they have gone, are not temporary or superficial, but permanent and
thorough; there is to be no retrogression. Japan has deliberately and
firmly started out, not only to march along with the other so-called
civilized nations, but also to contribute toward further progress
in civilization. The only question is, What will be the record of
Twentieth Century Japan?
The full answer to this question we must pass on to the man who one
hundred years hence may write on “Japan in 1901 and 2001.” But though
we do not lay claim to any special gift of prophecy, we venture to
indulge in some general predictions which no one, to-day at least,
can challenge. We feel sure, for instance, that Twentieth Century
Japan will keep apace with the progress of the world in material
civilization. We doubt not that during this century the Japanese
people, becoming better fitted, will gradually be admitted to a greater
share in the administration of the government, local and national. We
feel quite certain that the social conditions of Japan will be greatly
ameliorated, and education become very widely diffused, so that an
immense intellectual improvement will be attained during the next
hundred years. We also dare to predict that by 2001 Shintō will have
entirely disappeared as a religion, Buddhism will have lost its hold
upon the people, and Japan will have become _practically_ a Christian
nation.