The best way to proceed with the inquiry is first briefly to recall the circumstances which led Nippon to give up her centuries-old policy of holding herself aloof from the rest of the world, and to trace how, by stepping out of her seclusion, she was led to bring her institutions up to the level of those of Western nations; then to outline just what she has actually achieved in the way of modernizing herself; and finally to determine just how her present-day civilization compares with that of the Western peoples, and judge if it qualifies her to be received into the circle of enlightened countries.

II.

In the middle of the nineteenth century Japan led an isolated life, with a subtle but impenetrable wall erected around her sea-girt kingdom. This barrier had only one opening, the port of Nagasaki. No foreigners were allowed to enter except a few Dutch and Chinese, who traded there under strict official supervision bought at the expense of some bribery and much humiliation. Though some slight attempt was made by a few naturally progressive Japanese to learn from the Dutch something of the world beyond the sea that surrounded Japan on all sides, yet, on the whole, the reactionary elements were much too strong to permit the dissemination of such knowledge amongst the Islanders. The least endeavor made by the Nip

ponese to climb over the barrier or have anything to do with the for eigners was severely punished. The United States of America, anxious to establish friendly intercourse with the natives of the land of the Rising Sun, sent Commodore Perry in charge of two frigates, the Susquehanna and the Mississippi, and two sloops, the Saratoga and the Plymouth-which at that time appeared to be a formidable fleet to the secluded Japanese. The American Commissioner knew that Dai Nippon did not permit alien ships (even including vessels carrying ambassadors) to enter its waters at any other port than Nagasaki, but he boldly sailed into Uraga, then an outport to the Bay of Yedo (Tokyo)—on which was situated the capital of the Shogun, in whose line for about 260 years had reposed the dictatorship of the country, the Emperor having been a mere puppet in the usurper's hands -arriving on July 8, 1853. Perry determined upon this move because he wished to show the Nipponese that he was in no mood to pocket the insults which had been meted out to the meek, money-grubbing Dutch and Chinese. He was asked by the Shogunate authorities to repair to Nagasaki, but he refused point-blank to do so, and took the occasion to inform them of his mission and urge upon them the advisability of meeting his demands. Uncommonly sagacious as he was, the Special Commissioner not only knew how to be firm in extorting respect for himself, but also when and where to yield, and could do so gracefully. Therefore, in view of the conditions that he found confronting him, he deemed it advisable not to press for an immediate response to his overtures, but decided to leave the dispatch which he had brought from Washington, and depart, promising to call for his reply later. Perry's arrival was taken to forebode ill for the

Sunrise Empire, and was made a signal for the usurper to send for the feudal barons and urge them to prepare for war. These preparations continued during the time the American was stationed at Uraga, and were not relaxed after he sailed away. But though the Japanese strove hard to render their defences impregnable, when the Commodore returned after a short time for his reply the Shogunate divined the futility of offering resistance, and after some parleying signed a treaty at Kanagawa on March 31, 1854, in which Japan promised to accord kind treatment to shipwrecked sailors; to permit foreign vessels to obtain stores and provisions within their territories; and to allow American ships to anchor in the ports of Shimoda (100 miles south of the present capital), and Hakodaté (in the northern province of Hokkaido), nothing being said about Japan according trade or diplomatic privileges to America, an omission which again showed the shrewdness of Perry. The commercial treaty came later, in

1858.

America's success in opening up relations with the Japanese in the face of European failures proved the opening wedge which, in a few years, was destined to shatter the conservatism which held Nippon aloof from the world. Shortly after the signing of the Convention at Kanagawa, the Shogun entered into similar agreements with Great Britain and other European Powers. The grant of concessions to foreigners, as was to be expected, threw the nation, hermit as it had heretofore been, into an antialien fever which kept increasing day by day, causing much concern to the Shogunate. This prompted the usurper then in power to endeavor to have his decision ratified by the Court, and thereby strengthen his position. he had counted without his host.

But

The

Emperor Komei, like his immediate predecessors, had been brought up and had lived at Kyoto, his dynastic capital, entirely screened from any influences which might have enlightened him regarding the changes that were going on at the time in the land, and in the great wide world outside Japan, and around him were gathered equally conservative courtiers, many of whom nursed hereditary enmity towards the Shogun. Naturally enough, therefore, the appeal to the Mikado resulted in an adverse decision, which placed the "power behind the throne" in a compromising situation and ruined his prestige in the eyes of those over whom he exercised authority and of the foreigners with whom he had negotiated as the Ruler of the country. The fiasco resulted in untold complications. Some outrages were perpetrated against the pro-foreigner Jap anese and a few aliens, the latter leading to the bombardment of Kaogoshima by the British squadron in 1863, and of Shimonoseki by the combined fleets of England, France, America, and Holland, a year later.

Finally the last Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, desiring to settle the whole controversy and get rid of the complexities that were harassing him and causing a constant uproar in the land, listened to the counsel of some of his sagacious advisers and issued a proclamation. This was remarkable because it showed that there existed at that time men who realized that dual authority was weakening the country and preparing the way for the swallowing up of the Empire by the landhungry foreigners. But unfortunately for Japan, some of the followers of the usurper were not so willing as were those who counselled Yoshinobu to end the existing state of affairs. They protested against his surrender, and persuaded him to join with them. This action provoked their feudal

enemies to open fight, which resulted in the definite defeat of the Shogun. This civil war came to an end in about a year, and as a result of it, the dual régime was gone, once for all, and the Emperor's rights were restored to him.

The Mikado, his Imperial Majesty the late Mutsuhito (a compound word meaning affectionate and humane) whom the turn of the wheel of Fate thus made supreme, had been born a year prior to the date when Commodore Perry landed at Yedo, and was therefore, at this time, about sixteen years old. He had succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, the Emperor Komei, on February 13, 1867. He was again crowned on October 13, 1868, to mark the change signified by the submergence of the usurper, on which occasion he took a solemn oath in which he promised that

1. Public councils shall be organized, and all governmental affairs shall be decided by general discussion. 2. All classes, both rulers and ruled, shall with one heart devote themselves to the advancement of the national interests.

3. All the civil and military officials and all the common people shall be allowed to realize their own aspirations, and to evince their active characteristics.

4. All base customs of former times shall be abolished, and justice and equity as they are universally recognized shall be followed.

5. Knowledge shall be sought for throughout the world, and thus the foundations of the Empire shall be established.1

This is considered to be the Magna Charta of Japan, and well it may be so regarded, for in addition to laying down an embryonic constitution for the country, it boldly admitted the necessity of wiping out evil institutions and sitting at the feet of the

1 "Fifty Years of New Japan," vol. 1, p. 141.

enlightened nations to gain knowledge. When it is borne in mind that until five years previously the Nipponese had refused to have anything whatsoever to do with foreigners, the revolutionary change of attitude implied by this declaration of principles is better grasped, and makes one marvel at the wonderful adjustability displayed by the Mikado (and of his councillors) while their neighbors on the mainland of Asia were calling the aliens "devils" and "barbarians," and disdaining their civilization-something which many of them continue to do in this, the second decade of the twentieth century.

In November, 1868, the birthday of the Mikado was celebrated with much éclat throughout Japan, and on that day commenced the Meiji (literally "Restoration") era, which, as its name signifies, meant the period in which, on the break-down of the Shogunate, the power of the Emperor had been restored to him.

III.

When this change occurred, the or ganization of the Japanese government and society was extremely inefficient. The land was split up into some 270 petty baronies. Each lord (daimyo) was semi-independent. He assessed and collected taxes and paid the stipends of his retainers (samurai), out of them. These followers bore two swords on their persons, acquired little else than "ornamental" culture, disdained all productive work, considered themselves far superior to the farmers and artisans, who were not allowed to bear arms, and formed themselves into a rigid caste. Just prior to the fall of the Shogun some effort had been made to organize them into corps drilled and equipped in the Occidental style, and even to build battleships plied by steam; but not much progress had

been made in this direction when the change came. The cultivators and craftsmen worked without the aid of power-driven machinery, and employed the most primitive implements and methods. Below them was a class of people known as the eta, very much like the "untouchables" of modern India, who were despised like lepers by their social betters. Such a state of affairs promoted jealousies and discord amongst the ruling class, gave an exaggerated opinion of their importance to the military men, and kept them from following any useful occupation; while it subjected the real producers of wealth to the injustice of being compelled to bear the whole burden of taxation on their shoulders," made it impossible for them to acquire the ability to defend their own rights, and, by crushing their spirit, condemned them to continue to be beasts of burden, without any ambition to improve their condition by using better methods and implements in their farm work and trades. disunited, inefficient organization was wofully ill-prepared to stem the tide of Occidental aggression which had already submerged an important part of Asia, and was at that time lapping against the shores of Japan.

This

Happily for Dai Nippon, the exigencies of the times roused a spirit of patriotism in the ruling classes which, until then, had remained an unknown source of strength, and which was destined to regenerate the nation in course of time, and render it secure against alien machinations. The Emperor, though a mere lad (or, if you insist upon it, those who advised him and acted in his name at that time), perceived that a revolutionary change was needed in Imperial life, and that unless he discharged the duties which

According to Captain Brinkley, the average rate of taxation during the Shogunate was not less than 40 per cent of the gross produce, and fell altogether upon the lower classes.

the transformed circumstances had thrust upon him as Ruler, a dire fate would befall the land. Realizing this, he did not hesitate to give up treading in the primrose path of dalliance pursued by his predecessors. He removed his court from the tainted atmosphere of the ancient capital, Kyoto, which, for over two centuries, had been associated with the impotence of the monarch, to the freer environment of Tokyo, which had served as the governmental seat of the Shogunate and which, during the later years of that régime, had become the centre of foreign influence, where, unhampered by past Court precedents, the foundations of the new administration could be laid. He also received the diplomatic corps, thereby shattering the tradition which held his person too sacred to be gazed upon by others than his immediate relations and the nobles. Similarly, the powerful feudal barons, alive to the danger that threatened them without, conquered their inordinate pride, cast aside their petty, personal jealousies, and, of their own free will, laid their fiefs at the feet of their Emperor and begged him to reorganize the Empire.

Taking advantage of the patriotic offers of the barons, all but seventeen of whom had joined in petitioning the sovereign, the feudalistic basis of government was gradually demolished. At first the lords were set up as provincial governors, and charged with the collection of the taxes, as of old, which they remitted to the Treasury minus one-tenth, allotted to them for themselves and their retainers. On August 29, 1871, this system was changed by the eviction of the barons from their gubernatorial positions and by ordering that the taxes be paid directly to the Imperial Treasury, the peers being allowed to enjoy their onetenth tithe of the imposts and asked to live in Tokyo. The administration

or

was organized into a bureaucracy by departmentalizing the governmental activities after the European fashion, with this exception, that the heads of the various bureaus were not responsible to a popularly elected assembly, but directly to the Emperor, who appointed them, and could dismiss punish them. As was natural, the higher offices were filled with the barons and nobles who had been instrumental in the restoration of the Emperor's power; and this arrangement was destined to continue for many years.

Quite early in the Meiji era the Government took in hand the matter of settling the status of the samurai, offering to commute their pensions on the basis of four years' purchase for a life pension, and six years' purchase for a hereditary stipend. In 1872, when the war department was bifurcated into the Army and Navy Bureaus, these retainers were relieved of their obligation to serve in the force, and the conscript system was introduced, requiring every male, irrespective of his class or rank, capable of bearing arms, to render military service. The men belonging to the old warrior caste naturally resented drilling beside those whom they had always despised as their social inferiors: and the conservatives openly doubted the wisdom of admitting into the army men who lacked hereditary skill. But the Government went ahead, firm in the faith that in the end all difficulties would disappear, and the policy would justify itself by its results. An edict issued in 1876 made it compulsory for the feudal retainers to commute their pensions; while another forbade them to wear two swords, which theretofore had been their birthright.

So far this reconstruction had proceeded in peace, but in 1877 Saigo Takamori, a leader of the Satsuma

clan, made an insult offered to the nation by Korea a pretext to stir up all those who, lacking patriotism and far-sight, had resented the innovations that had been introduced, and embroiled the country in a civil war. The forces of order and progress were ranged on the Emperor's side, and these, within six months, subdued the insurrection. The rebellion, however, cost the lives of 30,000 men on both sides. But finally when the Imperial forces, whose ranks included the sons of peasants and artisans, vanquished the samurai, the ascendancy of the barons and their henchmen was shattered, and the foundation on which the feudalistic structure had rested was destroyed. The feudal barons (daimyo) and the court nobles (kuge) were shorn of their titles, and both were amalgamated into a class styled kwazoku (later partitioned into four subdivisions), as distinguished from the commoners, who were called

heimin.

Simultaneously with this, the pariahs (eta) were socially uplifted and their disabilities removed. The Buddhist Church was deprived of the distinction of being the State religion, and freedom of conscience was granted to all.

While these socio-administrative changes were being inaugurated, the authorities were busy opening up internal and external means of communication, developing agriculture and home crafts, installing improved machinery to ply industries and work mines, laying out forests, establishing an efficient army, navy, police, and judiciary, codifying laws, building prisons and systematizing their administration, organizing medical, sanitary, and educational systems, and, in the wake of literacy, decentralizing the Government by the institution of local boards, municipalities, and representative bodies. In other words, the task that the Japanese Govern