CHAPTER XV

Political Unrest—The Press—Press Laws—Conciliation and Repression—Legal Reforms—Failure of Yezo Colonization Scheme—Ōkuma’s Withdrawal—Increased Political Agitation.

When the main thread of our narrative was interrupted in order to enable the reader to form some idea of Japanese religions, and their relation to the modern progress of the country, the train of events which resulted in the concentration of authority in the hands of the Satsuma and Chōshiū clans, and the formation of a regular opposition party of advanced reformers, had been briefly described. At this time, as was pointed out, there was no great difference of principle, so far as domestic reforms were concerned, between progressive politicians in the Government and those outside. Both were agreed on the importance of widening the basis of administration and of associating the people in the work of government. The idea, also, of what was meant by _the people_ had grown so as to include all classes of the nation. The point of disagreement was simply the rate at which progress in the shape of reform on Western lines should proceed. As between moderate and advanced reformers, therefore, matters should have been open to compromise. But the situation was not so simple as it appeared to be. One circumstance that stood in the way of compromise between the two sections of reformers was the large number of disbanded _samurai_ which the abolition of feudalism had thrown upon the country, and for the absorption of which in other occupations under the new order of things there had not yet been time. Many men of this class had really nothing in common with the advanced reformers save in the matter of discontent. Idle and impecunious, they were ready for mischief of any kind, and joined eagerly in an agitation for things of which they were mostly ignorant. Moved by the mere desire to fish in troubled waters, these people did much harm to the cause they espoused, giving to it a character of turbulence which excited the apprehension of the authorities. A further consideration which may have influenced the situation was the reaction following upon the troubled period through which the country had passed. Fully alive to the serious nature of the crisis it had successfully surmounted, and, at the same time, conscious of its newly found strength, the Government was probably in no mood to brook any opposition, however well-intentioned, to its now settled policy of gradual reform. The fact, too, that the Ministry was now one of two clans, and not, as originally, of four, sharpened the line of cleavage between those who directed affairs and those who, perforce, looked on from outside. Clan feeling embittered the movement set on foot by the advanced reformers not only at the outset, but throughout its whole course. Much of the sympathy and support they received from many quarters, as the agitation progressed, had little connection with their declared objects, being due largely to dislike and jealousy of the continued predominance of men of these two clans in the Ministry, which was nicknamed the “Satchō Government.”

The final withdrawal of Itagaki from the Government in the spring of 1876 has been mentioned as the moment from which the organized agitation for representative government may be considered to have commenced. It is difficult to assign exact dates for political movements of this kind. It may with equal correctness be considered as having begun in 1873, when the Tosa leader first resigned office, which is the view taken by Mr. Uyéhara in _The Political Development of Japan_. The point is of small importance, but it seems permissible to regard the agitation as not having assumed the form of an organized movement until after Itagaki’s final secession from the Ministry.

Before that happened the Government, doubtless well informed of the intentions of the advanced reformers, had taken the first step in a series of repressive measures designed to check the agitation. This was the Press law promulgated in July, 1875. It is difficult to see how the Government could at this time have done otherwise, and remained in power. The attempted assassination of Iwakura by Tosa malcontents had revealed the danger to be feared from extremists of a dangerous class, whose dissatisfaction at the pacific settlement of the Korean difficulty had, it was known, been shared by the Tosa leader. The disturbed condition of the country had also been shown by the abortive provincial risings, and was to be demonstrated still more clearly by the Satsuma rebellion.

Up to that time there had been little interference with the Press. The first newspapers had appeared in the late ’sixties. These were of an ephemeral kind, but a few years later the press in its more developed and permanent form came into existence. It increased very rapidly, while its vitality may be gauged by the fact that some of the papers which then made their appearance are in circulation to-day. In the Capital alone there were soon six or seven daily papers of some standing, all of which, with one exception, lent their aid to the agitation. Into the crusade for popular rights the young Press flung itself with enthusiasm, finding its advantage in the very circumstances which were embarrassing to the Government. Amongst the former military class—the educated section of the nation—which the abolition of feudalism had left stranded with but scanty means of subsistence, there were many men of literary attainments, as such were understood in those days. From these the Press could draw an ample supply of writers, all with real or fancied grievances, some with a bias in favour of popular reforms, others again with a veneer of Western knowledge which did duty for learning. The political articles which appeared in the newspapers of that time were hardly of the quality noticeable to-day. They were full of quotations from European writers on the subject of equality and the rights of man, interspersed with phrases from the Chinese classics, which were the stock-in-trade of all journalists; and, strange as was the contrast presented by materials culled from sources so different, they were all equally effective for the purpose intended, which was to denounce what was described as the tyrannical policy of the Government.

Educational influences, other than those working through the medium of the Press, lent force to the agitation. The fusion of classes, one of the first results of the Restoration, had the effect of opening public and private schools alike to all sections of the people, thus bringing within reach of everyone the education which before had been the privilege only of the military class and Buddhist clergy. By teachers in these schools, by educationalists writing for the express purpose of disseminating Western ideas, and by lecturers, the work of educating the nation proceeded apace.

By none were greater services rendered in this direction than by Fukuzawa Yūkichi. Conspicuous in each of these rôles, as schoolmaster, author and lecturer, as well as in the double capacity of founder of a school, which has attained the dimensions of a university, and chief teacher therein; and as the proprietor and editor of one of the best Japanese newspapers, the _Jiji Shimpō_, his name will always be famous in the history of his time. The “Sage of Mita,” as he was called from the quarter of the city in which he lived, will be remembered as one who, besides helping the cause of education, strove from the first to give effect to the fusion of classes by encouraging a spirit of independence in those sections of the people whose self-respect had been weakened by centuries of feudalism. For purely party politics Fukuzawa had little taste, owing perhaps to the fact that he had no clan connection with political affairs, nor was his newspaper ever identified with any political association. But it was an active champion of popular rights, and his voluminous writings, the popularity of which was so great that of one book more than three million copies were printed, gave much indirect encouragement to the agitation for popular reforms.

The public indignation excited by the Press law was succeeded by consternation at the rigorous manner in which it was enforced. Imprisonment of editors for what would now be regarded as trifling infringements of the law was of common occurrence, while journals publishing any matter considered by the authorities to be objectionable were promptly suspended. To such lengths was interference with the Press carried that at one time more than thirty journalists were in prison in Tōkiō alone. The constant depletion of the staffs of newspapers which incurred official displeasure resulted in the evolution of a class of dummy editors, whose duty it was to be the “whipping boys” of the papers they represented, and undergo the sentences of imprisonment imposed. The agitation, nevertheless, continued unabated, and political associations, in whose programmes a demand for representative government—never very clearly defined—occupied the first place, sprang up in various places. A leading figure in the movement, who came into notice soon after its inception, and for several years took a prominent part, in company with Itagaki both as a lecturer and in the formation of political clubs, was Kataoka Kenkichi, also a native of Tosa. His arrest and that of other members of the party at the height of the political disturbances which culminated in the Satsuma rebellion, brought about a temporary cessation of agitation, and checked for a time the growth of political clubs. But with the restoration of order in the country the agitators resumed their activity. The leaders made tours of the provinces to stimulate local effort, as a result of which twenty-seven provincial associations, representing some 90,000 members, were formed; and at a meeting held in Ōsaka these were amalgamated under the name of “Union for the establishment of a parliament.” The Government replied by promulgating in 1880 the Law of Public Meetings, which restricted considerably the rights hitherto enjoyed by the public in this respect. But the agitators continued to work with undiminished energy, and the fact that, in spite of the issue of this law, a meeting held in Tōkiō in the autumn of the same year was attended by representatives from more than half of the prefectures into which Japan was then divided shows how strong a hold on the country the movement had by this time acquired.

We have seen how the work of reconstruction carried on by the Government, though hindered, never stopped during the period of civil commotions. It was the same during the long course of popular agitation which followed it. Side by side with repression there went always reform. Steady progress was made with the long and difficult business of land-tax revision. Involving, as it did, a resurvey and the valuation of all land, as well as the investigation of titles to land, and boundaries, this was a task of the first magnitude. At the same time attention was given to the reorganization of local government. This included, besides the readjustment of local taxation, the arrangements necessary for the eventual establishment of the prefectural and other local assemblies, forming part of the general scheme of local self-government, which, it was considered, must necessarily precede the creation of a national parliament. It was not until after the restoration of order, when it was at length possible for the task of reconstruction to proceed more rapidly, that the results of this tedious and little-noticed work became apparent.

In the spring of 1878 the first of these results was seen in the completion at the second conference of Prefects, to which reference has already been made, of drafts of the “three great laws,” as they were called at the time. These, which conceded a large measure of local autonomy, concerned local taxation, prefectural assemblies, and similar smaller bodies to be created in urban and rural districts, towns and villages.

The law establishing prefectural assemblies came into force in 1880; the arrangements relating to smaller bodies not until some years later. These measures will be referred to again when we come to deal with the whole question of the revision of local government.

It has been said that in the earlier stages of agitation for popular reforms no concession was ever made by the Government till it was compelled to do so by the force of circumstances. And the assertion has been supported by the suggestion of a connection in point of time between certain manifestations of popular feeling, and some of the liberal measures adopted by the Government. The attempted assassination of Iwakura was certainly followed shortly afterwards by the decree establishing the annual conferences of Prefects. On the other hand the completion of the drafts of the three laws above mentioned at the second of these conferences occurred only a month before Ōkubo’s assassination. In that case there was no possible connection. Nor in subsequent years does it seem possible to establish any connection of the kind suggested. If traceable at all, it may be regarded as due simply to coincidence.

A somewhat similar view as to the pressure put upon the Government by the agitation is taken by Mr. Uyéhara, the author already quoted, who does not conceal his sympathy with the advanced reformers. He speaks of the movement as being from its inception a struggle for constitutional reform, in which the agitators were successful, and regards the introduction of representative government when it came as a proof of their success. It is indeed more than probable that the agitation they conducted for so long, fortified as it was by an increasing measure of support from the public, hastened in some degree the establishment of the representative institutions for which they clamoured. But the impression one derives from studying the course of action adopted by the Government is that, while not hesitating to control the agitation by repressive measures, as occasion demanded, they were ready to conciliate public feeling by meeting the views of the advanced party whenever it seemed expedient to do so; thus pursuing on the whole, consistently, under circumstances of unusual difficulty, the policy of gradual reform which it had marked out for itself. Assuming the correctness of this impression, the progressive stages by which the establishment of representative government was eventually reached may with more reason be regarded as a successful vindication of that policy, than as a triumph for the agitators. It is important to bear in mind that the latter were not the only advocates of reform. The Government itself was a government of reformers, who had more than justified their title to be regarded as such. Some of its members had thought of representative institutions even before the Restoration. The men in power were in a better position than others to estimate correctly the extent of preparation, the spade-work which was necessary before any step of practical reform could be accomplished; and if they were reluctant to move as fast as more eager, and, possibly, ill-balanced enthusiasm desired, their hesitation may not unfairly be ascribed to prudent statesmanship.

Nevertheless, in the adoption by the Government of this twofold policy of conciliation and repression the influence of the conservative element in the Ministry should not be overlooked. It doubtless modified earlier ministerial impulses towards a more advanced programme; increased the hesitation to make what were regarded as dangerous experiments in view of the nation’s recent emergence from feudalism; and created the tendency which ultimately showed itself in the decision to look for guidance in framing representative institutions, as well as in other matters of administrative reorganization, to countries less governed by democratic ideas than those from which the leaders of the Restoration movement had drawn their first inspiration. Another reason for the cautious trend of ministerial policy may also be found in the experience gained by some, at least, of the members of the Government in studying the growth and development of the Western institutions it was proposed to copy.

The year 1880 saw the completion of the first legal reforms. In the course of that year a new Penal Code, and a Code of Criminal Procedure, in the preparation of which the services of a French jurist, Monsieur Boissonade, had been utilized, were promulgated. The first steps in the framing of these important laws, based, it should be noted, on French models, had been taken seven years before, when a committee of investigation had been formed in the Department of Justice. Both of these Codes came into operation early in 1882. The Code of Criminal Procedure was replaced by a later Code in 1890. The Penal Code also underwent subsequent revision, coming into force in its revised form in 1908.

In the autumn of 1881 the ranks of the advanced party were reinforced by the retirement from the Ministry of Ōkuma. Since the rupture of 1873, when the leading Tosa and Hizen politicians withdrew from office, he had been the sole representative of the province and clan of Hizen. Rumour assigned more than one reason for his withdrawal. Disagreement on various questions with Chōshiū statesmen, whose influence was increasing; umbrage at the conduct of affairs by two clans; the holding of views on reform which were in advance of those of the Government as a body; and intrigues with the Court were points to which prominence was given in the political gossip of the day. That Ōkuma’s liberalism was of a more pronounced type than that of his colleagues seems very probable in the light of after events. Personal considerations, however, had possibly something to do with his leaving the Government. The force of character, coupled with exceptional and versatile talent, which marked him out as a leader, made it hard for him to accept the leadership of others, and detracted from his usefulness as a colleague.

Shortly before his resignation an administrative scandal had occurred in connection with the abolition of the Board for the development of the _Hokkaidō_, to which reference has already been made. Its abolition involved the disposal of Government property, and in the course of the examination of a scheme for this purpose which had been submitted to the Government grave official irregularities were disclosed. The scheme, which he had been among the first to condemn, was consequently abandoned, but the incident brought discredit on the Ministry.

The retirement of Ōkuma was followed almost immediately by the issue of a decree fixing the year 1890 as the date for the establishment of a Parliament.

This definite promise at this juncture of a Parliament was interpreted in some quarters as a concession necessitated by the discredit which the Government had incurred through the administrative scandal, and from its position being weakened by Ōkuma’s retirement. But the almost simultaneous issue of the law imposing restrictions on public meetings, and freedom of speech, seems to justify the view that both measures were simply an illustration of the twofold policy of repression alternating with reform which the Government was pursuing.

With the important concession now made by the Government the first period, so to speak, of the agitation for popular rights may be regarded as drawing to its close. The chief features of this period have been noted; the outbreak and suppression of grave disorders, which at one time threatened to put a stop to all national progress; the creation of a strong Government of two clans; the growth of a political movement which derived a large measure of support from public feeling; and the measures taken for its control by the Government. We have also seen how little homogeneous in its character was the opposition party conducting the movement; how it comprised genuine reformers, others actuated mainly by clan jealousy, disappointed politicians, and impecunious _shizoku_, the wreckage of the feudal system, who were long a disturbing element in politics, and developed later on into the class of political rowdies known as _sōshi_.

For all of these ill-assorted associates the demand for popular rights was a convenient rallying cry. To the opposition thus formed, which grew gradually more compact as it shed its less desirable elements, the withdrawal of Ōkuma from the Ministry meant the accession of a powerful ally, though his independence of thought and somewhat uncompromising temperament never allowed him to identify himself too closely with the views of other politicians. With the energy and versatility that marked all his actions he threw himself into the movement led by the advanced reformers, and soon appeared in the new rôle of educationalist. Following the example set by Fukuwaza fifteen years earlier, he established the Waséda College, now a University, which remains a monument to his abilities. Like his predecessor, he was a voluminous author, never, however, writing himself but dictating to an amanuensis, and founded a daily paper which is still in circulation. Like him, again, he could lay claim to having trained a very large number of those who now fill official posts in Japan.

The political creeds of the advanced reformers, with whom Ōkuma was to be associated for the seven years during which he remained in opposition, were necessarily shaped to some extent by the foreign influences with which the Japanese people first came into touch after the reopening of the country to foreign intercourse. Western political literature of all kinds, in which the product of advanced American thought figured largely, was then eagerly studied by a people shut out for centuries from contact with the outside world. Under these circumstances it is only natural that the republican atmosphere of Japan’s nearest Western neighbour—the first to enter into Treaty relations with her—should have coloured in some degree the political aspirations of those who were clamouring for popular reforms, and have even affected the studies of students in the educational institutions to which attention has been drawn.