“HONOURED SIR,
“An unfortunate turn of events has made us enemies:
but as the warfare of to-day does not imply animosity
between each and all individuals, we hope our former
friendship is still warm enough to assure Your
Excellency that these lines, which we address to you
with your kind permission, are dictated by a motive
higher than that of a mere challenge to surrender. This
motive is that of submitting to the calm consideration
of a friend a reason for an action which seems to
be truly conducive to the good of his country and
of himself, although stress of circumstances might
temporarily conceal this from him. To whatever cause
the successive failures of Chinese arms on both sea
and land may be attributed, we think Your Excellency’s
sound judgement will not fail in assigning them
to their true cause, which must be apparent to
any unprejudiced observer. In China the literary
class is still the governing section, and literary
accomplishment is the chief if not the sole way to rank
and power now as it was a thousand years ago. We do
not venture to deny that this system is excellent in
well be permanent and sufficient if China were to
stand alone in the world. But national isolation is no
longer a possibility. Your Excellency must know what a
hard experience the Japanese empire had thirty years
ago, and how narrowly she escaped the awful calamity
which threatened. To throw away the old principle and
to adopt the new, as the sole condition of preserving
the integrity of your empire, is as necessary with
your government now as it was with ours. The necessity
must be attended to, or fall is inevitable sooner or
later. That the crisis is being brought about by the
Japanese arms is mere chance. It might have been caused
by other political difficulties, which are equally
destructive. Now at such a juncture is it the part
of a truly patriotic man, upon whom the necessity of
action devolves, to allow himself to be simply dragged
along by force of circumstances? Compared with the
re-establishment on a sound working basis of the oldest
empire in the world, with its glorious history and its
extensive territories, what is the surrender of a fleet
or the loss of a whole army? If Your Excellency be
truly patriotic and loyal to the cause of your country,
we beg you to listen to the words of sympathetic hearts
filled with the sense of honour representative of the
fighting men of Japan; words which ask you to come and
stay in Japan until the time arrives when your services
shall be required for the good cause. Not to speak of
the numerous instances of final success after temporary
humiliation in your own history of the ancient dynasties,
let me call your attention to the case of the French
Marshal Macmahon, who allowed himself to be detained
in the enemy’s land till it was expedient that he
should return and aid in reforming the government,
which instead of dishonouring him raised him to the
presidency: or to the case of Osman Pasha whom the
unfortunate event of Plevna did not prevent from
subsequently filling the post of minister of war and
rendering important services in reforming the army. As
to the way in which Your Excellency may be received
in Japan, let us assure you of the magnanimity of
our sovereign. His Majesty not only pardoned his own
subjects who fought against the imperial side, but
even raised them to important positions according
to their personal merits, as in the case of Admiral
Enomoto, Privy Councillor Otori, and others. Surely he
would be more magnanimous to one who is not his own
subject, and whose glorious career is so well known to
the world. The great problem with Your Excellency now
is whether to submit to the great calamity which must
be the inevitable consequence of further adherence
to the old principle, or to survive it for the sake
of future reform. We know it is the custom of your
officials to meet any communication from an opponent
with a pride designed to show consciousness of strength
or to conceal weakness, but we hope Your Excellency
will understand that the present communication is not
made without due consideration of the vast interests
at stake, but that it is the outcome of the truest
sincerity and of feelings which should lead to the
realisation of those interests, and we hope you will
kindly consider it in that light.
“Should the present communication meet with your
approval, the carrying out of its import will, with
Your Excellency’s permission, be arranged through
further communications, and we have the honour to be,
etc., etc.
“_Signed_: COUNT ŌYAMA,
“_Signed_: ADMIRAL ITO.
“_20th January, 1895._”