For a decade after the Restoration of 1868, an outright dictatorship
functioned in Japan. The powers of the clansmen were almost unlimited.
Within the ruling group itself, however, there were wide differences of
opinion on some points. One important question was what institutional
forms the new government should adopt. Headed by Itagaki (a Tosa
_samurai_), the more liberal reformers wanted to set up a fully
representative government modeled on the advanced Western democracies.
But most of the clansmen opposed such a radical step. In the end,
however, the conservatives accepted the necessity of a _written_
constitution--which they drew up themselves.
Even this concession was made grudgingly, and only after it had become
absolutely necessary. But several factors worked in favor of the
liberals. The prestige of Western institutions was high at this period.
An article in the Emperor’s Charter Oath, moreover, was interpreted as
a pledge to inaugurate a “deliberative assembly.” Quoting this pledge,
the liberals started a political campaign which won considerable
support. Finally, the rising capitalists needed a representative system
in order to secure a real voice in the government. Despite all these
advantages, in the end the liberals were outmaneuvered in the political
arena. They obtained a constitution, it is true, but one which was
written and imposed by the conservative clansmen. The result was not a
democratic Bill of Rights but a highly autocratic document. With but
few exceptions, the liberals’ failure at this time was characteristic
of Japan’s later history.