Our own hands, and We desire you to look upon Us as your Head, so that
the relation between Us may be one of absolute and sincere confidence
and trust. Whether We perform Our duty or not, depends entirely on the
manner in which you perform yours. If Our country fails to stand high
in the opinion of other nations, We desire you to share in Our sorrow.
If it rises with honor, We will enjoy the fruits of it with you. Stand
firm in your duty: assist Us in protecting the country; and the result
must be the prosperity of the nation, and the enhancement of Our
country’s reputation.
This is not all We wish to say to you. We have more advice for you, as
follows:—
1. The principal duty of soldiers is loyalty to Sovereign and Country.
It is not probable that any one born in this country will be wanting in
patriotism; but for soldiers this virtue is so essential that unless
a man be strong in patriotism he will be unfitted for this service.
Disloyal men are like dolls, however expert and skillful they may be
in their military art and science; and a troop which is well trained
and led, but lacks patriotism, is like a band without a chief. The
protection of the country and the maintenance of its prestige must rest
upon Our military and naval forces: their efficiency or deterioration
must affect, for good or for ill, the fate of Our nation; and it is
therefore your duty not to entangle yourselves with social matters
or political questions, but strictly to confine yourselves to the
observance of your principal duty, which is loyalty, remembering always
that duty is heavier than a mountain (and so to be much regarded), while
death is lighter than a feather (and therefore to be despised). Never
spoil your good name by a violation of good faith.
2. Soldiers must be polite in their behavior and ways. In the army and
navy, there are hierarchical ranks from the Marshal to the private or
bluejacket which bind together the whole for purposes of command, and
there are also the gradations of seniority within the same rank. The
junior must obey the senior, the inferior must take orders from the
superior, who transmits to them Our direct command, and inferior and
junior officers and men must pay respect to their superiors and seniors,
even though they be not their direct superiors and seniors. Superiors
must never be haughty or proud towards those of a lower rank, and
severity of discipline must be reserved for exceptional cases. In all
other cases superiors must treat those beneath them with kindness and
especial clemency, so that all men may unite as one man in the service
of the country. If you do not observe courtesy of behavior, if inferiors
treat their superiors with disrespect, or superiors their inferiors with
harshness, if, in a word, the harmonious relations between superiors and
inferiors be lost, you will be not only playing havoc with the army, but
committing serious crimes against the country.
3. It is incumbent on soldiers to be brave and courageous. These two
virtues have in this country been always held in very high esteem, and
are indeed indispensable to Our nation: soldiers, whose profession it is
to fight against the foe, should never for one instant forget that they
must be brave. But there is a true bravery and a false one, which is
totally different, and the rough behavior of youth cannot be called true
bravery. A man of arms must always act with reason and make his plans
with _sang-froid_ and care. You must never despise even a small body of
the enemy; on the other hand, you must never be afraid of large numbers;
it is in the accomplishment of duty that true bravery lies. Those who
thus appreciate true bravery will always behave with moderation towards
others and will earn the respect of all men. If you act with violence
you are not truly brave, and will be hated by others like a tiger or a
wolf.
4. Soldiers are required to be faithful and righteous. Faithfulness and
righteousness are among the ordinary duties of men: the man of arms
can scarcely exist in the army without them. By the former is meant
the keeping of one’s word, by the latter, the accomplishment of duty.
Hence, if you wish to be faithful and righteous, you must first consider
whether a thing may be done or not. If you promise to do something the
nature of which is uncertain, and so entangle yourself with others,
you will be in an embarrassing situation which may drive you to become
unfaithful or unrighteous; and in such a case you will have no remedy,
but only vain regrets.
Before embarking on any action, you must first consider whether it is
right or wrong to do such a thing, and then take a firm stand upon
reason. If you have reason to think that you cannot keep your word, or
that the duty is too heavy, it will be wise if you refrain from action.
The history of all ages gives us examples of the truth of this: many
great men and heroes have perished or dishonored themselves by trying
to be faithful and righteous in small things and mistaking fundamental
reason, or by observing individual faithfulness at the expense of
justice. You must take heed not to fall in this way.
5. It is incumbent upon soldiers to be simple and frugal. If you
do not observe simplicity and frugality, you will become weak and
false-hearted, and accustom yourself to luxurious habits which lead to
cupidity. In that case your mind will become ignoble, and neither your
loyalty nor your bravery will avail to save you from the contempt and
hatred of your fellow men. This is one of the greatest sources of human
misery, and if this evil be once allowed to seize hold of the army and
navy, it will promptly spread like an epidemic, and all _esprit de
corps_ and discipline will be broken through.
We have been very much concerned about this, and have issued
disciplinary regulations designed for the prevention of luxury; and now
Our constant concern leads Us to tender you this advice which We desire
you to keep in mind.
The above Five Articles must never for a moment be neglected by you,
and you will require a true heart to put them into practice. The Five
Articles are the spirit of the man of arms, and the true heart is the
spirit of the Five Articles. If the heart be not true, good words and
good conduct are nothing but useless external ornaments. If the heart
be true, you can accomplish everything.
The Five Articles form indeed the ordinary path of human society, and
there is nothing in them that cannot be easily practiced and observed.
If you serve Our country in accordance with this Our Advice you will
give satisfaction not only to the Nation but to Ourselves.
APPENDIX C
IMPERIAL PROCLAMATION OF WAR
WE, by the Grace of Heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on the Throne
occupied by the same Dynasty from time immemorial, do hereby make
proclamation to all Our loyal and brave subjects as follows:—
We hereby declare war against Russia and We command our army and navy
to carry on hostilities against that Empire with all their strength,
and We also command all Our competent authorities to make every effort
in pursuance of their duties, and in accordance with their powers, to
attain the national aim with all the means within the limits of the law
of nations.
We have always deemed it essential to international relations and made
it our constant aim to promote the pacific progress of Our Empire in
civilization, to strengthen Our friendly ties with other states, and
to establish a state of things which would maintain enduring peace in
the Extreme East and assure the future security of Our Dominion without
injury to the rights and interests of other Powers. Our competent
authorities have also performed their duties in obedience to Our will,
so that our relations with the Powers have been steadily growing in
cordiality. It was thus entirely against Our expectation that we have
unhappily come to open hostilities against Russia.
The integrity of Korea is a matter of constant concern to this Empire,
not only because of Our traditional relations with that country, but
because the separate existence of Korea is essential to the safety of
Our Realm. Nevertheless, Russia, in disregard of her solemn treaty
pledges to China, her repeated assurances to other Powers, is still
in occupation of Manchuria and has consolidated and strengthened her
hold upon three provinces, and is bent upon their final annexation. And
since the absorption of Manchuria by Russia would render it impossible
to maintain the integrity of Korea and would in addition compel the
abandonment of all hope for peace in the Extreme East, We determined
in those circumstances to settle the question by negotiation, and to
secure thereby permanent peace. With that object in view, Our competent
authorities, by Our order, made proposals to Russia, and frequent
conferences were held during the course of six months. Russia, however,
never met such proposals in a spirit of conciliation, but by her
wanton delays put off the settlement of the question and by ostensibly
advocating peace on the one hand while she was on the other extending
her naval and military preparations, sought to accomplish her own
selfish designs.
We cannot in the least admit that Russia had from the first any serious
or genuine desire for peace. She has rejected the proposals of Our
Government; the safety of Korea is in danger, the vital interests of
Our Empire are menaced. The guarantees for the future which We have
failed to secure by peaceful negotiations We can only now seek by an
appeal to arms.
It is Our earnest wish that by the loyalty and valor of Our faithful
subjects, peace may soon be permanently restored and the glory of Our
Empire preserved.
[Imperial Sign Manual.]
[Privy Seal.]
_February 10, 1904._
[Signed by the Minister of State.]
The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE · MASSACHUSETTS
U · S · A
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Dogs and monkeys are proverbially unfriendly in Japan, as dogs and
cats are with us.
[2] “Death is returning home.” Quotation from the Chinese classics.
[3] _Meiji_ (Enlightenment). The era beginning with the reign of the
present emperor.
[4] Quoted from a war-song.
[5] The cherry-blossom is the flower of the warrior, because of its
beauty, its short life, and its glorious death.
[6] Quoted from the Imperial Rescript on Education. This may be called
the Japanese Gospel on Education, and is read with all possible tokens
of reverence in all Japanese schools on all ceremonial occasions. For
full text, see Appendix A.
[7] _Go_, a measure of capacity equal to a little more than a gill.
[8] _Sen_, equal to half a cent.
[9] Rice is a banquet to people so poor that they live ordinarily on
millet.
[10] “Banzai!” “Hurrah!” (Literally, “Ten thousand years!”)
[11] This refers, not as it may seem, to the thought of coming back
disabled, but to the idea of returning without the body after death.
[12] The sheath and hilt of whitewood indicates the ceremonial dagger
used in committing hara-kiri.
[13] _Yamato-damashii_, the spirit of Yamato, an expression that
contains in itself the idea of all that is heroic in Japanese history
and character. Yamato was the province first conquered by Jimmu Tenno,
and where he established his empire. The name is still used for that
province, and poetically, to mean all Japan.
[14] _Koto_, the Japanese word used here, means, literally, “arms and
legs.”
[15] Quoted from the Imperial Rescript to the Army and Navy upon which
the moral education of the military and naval men of Japan is founded.
For the full text, and the five articles, see Appendix B.
[16] Quoted from the Imperial Declaration of War against Russia. For
full text see Appendix C.
[17] _Oni_, a goblin or devil.
[18] The farewell cup of water (_mizu-sakazuki_, “water-wine-cup”),
to which reference is made frequently in Lieutenant Sakurai’s story,
is a religious ceremony, probably of Shinto origin, of the nature of
a sacrament. At the moment of death, the nearest relative present
administers water to the dying person, an act of purification for the
next life. Hence, on the departure of any member of the family on an
errand to which he has vowed his life, the farewell cup that is given
him is not the _saké_, typifying joy and good-fellowship, but water,
the symbol of purification. In one of the Japanese classical dramas,
_Taikoki_, the scenes of which are laid in the time of Hideyoshi, the
Taiko (1582-98 D.D.), a young man is about to depart on a forlorn hope,
with the certainty of ending his life in battle. He is betrothed, and
before he leaves his home the wedding is celebrated; but the marriage
cup which bride and bridegroom share is filled with water instead of
_saké_, as a sign that the union is not for this life but for the
next. The bridegroom leaves immediately after the ceremony and dies
fighting; the young wife at once commits suicide and rejoins him in the
new life to which they pledged themselves in the “death-cup” of their
wedding-day.
[19] The mark over a grave, for a year after burial, is a wooden post,
cut square, and bearing the name, and the posthumous Buddhistic name,
of the deceased. At the end of the year, a stone is substituted for the
post.
[20] A classical Chinese expression meaning war.
[21] Quoted from a war-song.
[22] The hawk is always the symbol of victory and is associated in the
early legends with Jimmu Tenno’s victorious progress through Yamato.
[23] The game of _go_, played with white and black counters on a board
ruled into small squares, requires an immense amount of intellectual
effort. In this respect it surpasses all games played in America,
even chess. It is characteristic of the intellectual activity of the
Japanese that this is a favorite game of all classes and all ages.
[24] Kudan, the name of a hill in Tokyo upon which stands the
Shokonsha, or “Spirit-Invoking-Temple,” wherein are enshrined the
spirits of all those who have died for their country. It is one of the
religious centres of the New Japan.
[25] _Ri_, about two and a half miles.
[26] The Mongol invasion here referred to is the one of 1274 A.D., when
Kublai Khan, having made himself master of China and Korea, undertook
the invasion of Japan. His fleet reached the Bay of Hakata, on the
coast of Kyushu, but was dispersed by a storm after the first battle
with the Japanese had driven the invaders back to their ships.
[27] _Ho_, a fabulous bird of gigantic size, like the roc of the
Arabian Nights.
[28] _Tamashii_, spirit, the same word that in composition with Yamato
becomes _damashii_.
[29] Yen, the monetary unit, equal to one hundred sen, or fifty cents.
[30] _Amé_, candy made from wheat gluten.
[31] _Kwan_, a little over eight and a quarter pounds.
[32] In Japanese poetry the cuckoo’s rare cry in the moonlight is
treated as particularly sad and dismal.
[33] A species of epic, or heroic ballad, sung to the accompaniment of
the lute, or _biwa_, which has always been the music of the Japanese
soldier.
[34] A Buddhist priest.
[35] Kwanon is the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. Bato-Kwanon, or the
Horse-headed Kwanon, is the special patroness of horses. In the
country districts one may see rude images of Bato-Kwanon set up by
the roadside, to which horses are brought and offerings made by their
masters in their behalf.
[36] The _ken_ measures about six feet.
[37] Japanese proverb: The frog in the well knows not the great ocean.
[38] Kimi ga yo, the national hymn, which may be roughly translated
thus:—
May our Lord’s dominion last,
Till ten thousand years have passed
And the stone
On the shore at last has grown
To a great rock, mossy and gray.
[39] The words tokkwan, translated “final assault,” and this word,
Tokkan, meaning the war-cry, belong close together in thought as in
sound. The “Tokkan!” which has been retained in the translation, is
onomatopoetic, and gives force to the words that immediately follow it.
[40] “Medetashi!” Glorious!
[41] _Tsurugi_, sword.
[42] A saying of Iyeyasu, the great soldier and lawgiver,—“In the
moment of victory, tighten your helmet-strings.”
[43] From the Imperial Rescript to the Army and Navy. See Appendix B.
[44] The word translated here “sincere” is in its primary meaning
“red,” hence the symbolism of the bloodstained garment.
[45] To enable his spirit to see the fall of the fortress.
[46] The Japanese code of knightly honor. For further particulars see
“Bushidō, or The Soul of Japan,” by Inazo Nitobe, published by G. P.
Putnam’s Sons.
[47] Ni-ō, the two kings, Indra and Brahma, who keep guard at the
gateways of Buddhist temples, to scare away demons. They are noted for
their grimness of expression. Fudō, the “Immovable,” the God of Wisdom,
who is represented of stern expression, and surrounded by a halo of
flames.
[48] _Kachi-guri_, dry chestnuts. The word _kachi_ also means victory,
hence it is one of the articles given to a departing soldier as a wish
for his success.
[49] “Ten thousand years for His Majesty the Emperor!”
[50] A Chinese expression.
[51] One _cho_ equals .07 of a mile.
[52] The large earthenware jar, or reservoir, used for holding the
water supply of a Japanese kitchen. They vary in size, but the smallest
will hold several gallons.
[53] The distinction between elder and younger brother is so great in
the Japanese mind that there is no common word for the relationships,
but _ani_, elder brother, and _ototo_, younger brother, are as distinct
as brother and sister with us. _Ani_ in address is softened to “Nii
San.”
[54] The _saké_-cask, contains about sixteen gallons.
[55] The annual festival of the “Opening of the River,” held at Ryogoku
Bashi in Tokyo, is the occasion for a great display of fireworks.
[56] _Tabi_, the Japanese sock, made with a separate place for the
great toe.
[57] The “first aid” bandages, prepared by the Red Cross Society,
issued to every soldier as part of his equipment.
[58] “I adore thee, O Eternal Buddha!”
[59] The “Buddha Shelf,” the shrine in the house where are kept the
tablets of the dead.