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all feudal lords, from the magistrates down to the lowest vassals, were extremely empoverished, the burgesses were the only class who had great pecuniary resources. If they were unconscious of the influence they exercised upon the military class, they were none the less one of the potent factors which wrought the destruction of feudalism.

דיי.

It is true that, like the European burgesses of the middle ages, they could not be possessed of any great feeling of personal independence. The burgess, "comparing himself with the little baron who dwelt near him, and who had just been vanquished by him, would still be sensible of his own extreme inferiority; he was ignorant of that proud sentiment of independence which animated the proprietor of a fief; the share of freedom which he possessed was not derived from himself alone, but from his association with others from the difficult and precarious succor which they afforded. Hence that retiring disposition, that timidity of mind, that trembling shyness, that humility of speech (though perhaps coupled with firmness of purpose), which is so deeply stamped on the character of the burgesses. What Guizot observed about the burgesses of the middle ages may be applied to the Japanese commons under the magistracy with only a little modification. They secluded themselves in the narrow circles of trade and industry. To them politics was irksome. Moreover, the caste system of the feudal period denied to the masses a development of political thought, the lofty ambition for freedom, and the desire to be employed in public affairs, which are really the offspring of modern democracy. Taking all this into consideration, it may still be insisted that the burgess was an important element in bringing forth the New Japan. As Herbert Spencer points out in his Principles of Sociology the growth of the industrial type of society is incompatible with the militant.2 Where industry grows to a great degree, the militant type of society necessarily disappears, and vice

2

1 1 Guizot, History of Civilization in Europe, lect. VII.

* Spencer, Principles of Sociology, vol. I., pt. II., ch. X.

versa. Apart from such a comprehensive interpretation of the problem, there were not wanting reasons which might have caused the discontent and complaint of the commons against the feudal system. The arbitrary administration of the magistrate and of the minor clans became almost unendurable, and they naturally turned to the Imperial rule for redress.

$34. When all of the elements which I have just mentioned were at work to undermine the grand edifice of the perfect feudalism which had lasted for two hundred and fifty years, the whistle of the foreign steamers startled the Japanese nation like a thunderbolt out of the blue sky. On the 8th day of July, 1853, four men-of-war arrived at Uraga from the United States. "The signal rockets from the forts were anwered by the rattle of cables and the splash of anchors, and Japan's new era began."1

The pressure from outside made the nation aware more fully than ever that a strong central government should be promptly organized to cope with the co-called "foreign invaders." "Deprive the Tokugawa Shogunate of the power, and restore it to the Emperor," was the cry which sounded throughout the length and breadth of the country. By the impact of the cannon-balls from foreign steamers, the downfall of the military magistracy was made easier than it would have been otherwise. The idea of national unity, which was baffled by the internal dissension of the Dark Ages and feudalism for over a millennium was revived and consolidated by the appearance of foreigners. As the wars of Napoleon did a great deal more for Germany than to suppress petty principalities and give rise to a clumsy confederation, as they awakened a sentiment of German nationality, so the sentiment of Japanese nationality was mainly a product of foreign cannon-balls.

1 Griffis, The Mikado's Empire, p. 617.

$35. Thus far, I have tried to make clear what the causes of the reformation were. Let us turn to its tremendous significance. From what has already been said, it is clear that the Restoration signifies the revival of the centralized government, the restoration of the actual sovereignty to the Emperor, the preponderance of the idea of national unity, the recovery of loyal sentiment, and the downfall of feudalism and duarchy. Important and epoch-making as are these changes in the growth of the Japanese nation, they sink into comparative insignificance when we consider other phases of the Restoration. I refer to the appearance of democratic ideas, the appearance of a rudimentary form of representative legislature, and the recognition of the tripartite principle of government. When the Restoration was almost completed, the Emperor appeared before the Council of State and before the nobles and took a solemn oath, promising:

I. That assemblies and councils shall be formed to deliberate on national affairs according to public opinion.

That the government and the people shall be in harmony in order to promote the national welfare.

3. That all classes of people shall be allowed freely to exercise their abilities.

4. That the prejudices of former times shall be broken through in order to adopt the impartiality and justice of Providence as the basis of governmental action.

5. That learning and knowledge shall be sought for throughout the world, in order to add to the glory of the Empire.

This promise has been known ever since as the "Five Oaths of the Emperor," and may be regarded as the basis of our constitutional government which was established in 1890. Previous to the Imperial Oaths, one of the indefatigable toilers for the sake of the Restoration sent in a memorial to the Emperor in which he said: "Since the Middle Ages, our Emperor has lived behind a screen, and has never trodden the earth. Nothing of what went on outside his screen ever penetrated to his sacred ear; the imperial residence was profoundly

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secluded and, naturally, unlike the outer world. Not more than a few court nobles were allowed to approach the throne, a practice most opposed to the principles of nature. Although it is the first duty of man to respect his superior, if he reveres that superior too highly he neglects his duty, while a breach is created between the sovereign and his subjects, who are unable to convey their wants to him. This vicious practice has been common in all ages. But now let pompous etiquette be done away with, and simplicity become our first object It was chiefly through the influence of this memorial that the Emperor decided to cast off the old custom of isolating himself from the outer world. Together with the "Five Oaths," an Imperial Ordinance was promulgated. It was indeed an admirable embodiment of an advanced idea, full of a vigor and spirit which were overwhelming and irresistible at the dawn of the New Japan. Therefore, the Restoration was not only the restoration of centralized government, of the actual rule of the Emperor; it was the real dawn of the democratic spirit.

Like the constitutions of other countries, the constitution of Japan did not spring into being in a day. As the American people repudiate Mr. Gladstone's words in which he said that "the American Constitution is the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man," we Japanese deny the popular assumption of foreigners that our constitution made a sudden appearance in 1889. We admit simply that the period of the growth of our constitutional idea was relatively short, because we had the advantage of making use of many foreign constitutions in our deliberations.

It is indeed remarkable that a nation whose dominion had been honeycombed by numberless clans, whose ruler was regarded as something supernatural, and which had

1 I take the liberty of borrowing the translation of the memorial from Dr. Griffis' Mikado's Empire.

2

* Cf. Fisher, The Evolution of the Constitution of the United States, ch. I.

never dreamed of the possibility of the people sharing political power with the sovereign, should suddenly emerge from the older customs and notions and enter into the arena of universal civilization. How can this radical change be explained without recurring to what has been set forth in the previous chapters in respect to the characteristics of the Japanese nation? For my part, I believe that the impulsive mind and quick feeling, combined with the valor and progressive nature of the Japanese, produced this striking reformation. The advantage of the impulsive mind lies in the fact that it quickly sympathizes with what it deems good and virtuous. But its disadvantages are equally great, and perhaps greater when there is no modifying influence.

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