A Handbook of Modern Japan

by Ernest W. Clement

In 1901, however, thousands of foreigners of many nationalities travelled and resided in Japan; and thousands of Japanese were travelling and residing in many parts of the globe. Foreign vessels, flying many different flags, freely entered the harbors of Japan; and Japanese ships conducted freight and passenger services to Asia, Australasia, America, and Europe. The figures of the small amount of the foreign trade of Nagasaki in 1801 are not at hand; but the exports and imports of Japan for 1901 amounted respectively to 252,349,543 yen and 255,816,645 yen.

A Japanese of 1801 would have travelled, if he were one of the common people, by foot, and, if he were of sufficient rank or wealth, by norimono, or kago, or on horseback. The Japanese of 1901 might continue to travel by foot, and, in mountainous districts, might still use the kago; but they might also travel by jinrikisha, horse-car, stage, steam-car, steamboat, horse and carriage, electric car, and bicycle. The letter of 1801 was despatched by courier or relays of couriers; that of 1901 by mail, and communication by telegraph and telephone was becoming more and more common. There were over 3,600 miles of railway, 9,500 miles of telegraph, and, in Tōkyō alone, over 6,000 telephones. An electric railway was actually disturbing and desecrating the hallowed precincts of Kyōto, once sacred to the Emperor. And even His Majesty’s Palace in Tōkyō had been put into telephonic and telegraphic communication with the rest of the city and even of the world.

Nor was travel throughout the empire itself free and unimpeded to all in 1801. The country was split up into feudal fiefs, of which each lord was intensely jealous of other lords and had to act on the defensive. Every traveller was under considerable surveillance, and had to be able to give a strict account of himself; and many “barriers” were erected where travellers were challenged by guards. The large places where the lords lived were walled towns, entered by gates carefully guarded by sentinels. In Kyōto and Yedo the palaces of the Emperor and the Shōgun were protected by moats and gateway. But in 1901 those historic castles and gateways had mostly crumbled into ruins or been destroyed in war, or demolished by the hands of coolies working under the direction of the Board of Public Works or the Bureau of Street Improvements.

We cannot refrain from referring more particularly to the great change that has been effected in the whole constitution of Japanese society. In 1801, below the Court nobles and the feudal lords, there were four classes of society,—the knight, the farmer, the mechanic, and the merchant, besides the outcasts. In 1901, below the nobility, there were only two classes,—the gentry and the common people; and the distinction between these two is one of name only. In official records and on certain occasions the registration of the nominal rank is necessary; but in actual life few questions are asked about a man’s standing, and merit finds its reward.

FOUR GATES: PALACE, TŌKYŌ; PALACE, KYŌTO; SAKURADA, TŌKYŌ; NIJŌ CASTLE, KYŌTO

In 1801 the samurai (knight) was the beau ideal of the Japanese. His courage was unimpeachable; he was the model, not only of a warrior, but also of a gentleman, and before him the common people had to bow their heads to the ground. But now the sword which was his “soul” is a curio, the bow and arrows are also curiosities, and the panoply either hangs rusty in a storehouse or is offered for sale by a dealer in second-hand goods. The samurai is now only an historical character; and when feudalism was abolished, many an individual of that class fell into a pauper’s grave, or, forced into unaccustomed manual labor, learned the culinary art, and entered service in the despised foreigner’s kitchen!

Indeed, although the soldier is still highly honored, and deeds worthy of the best of the old samurai are still performed,[174] the merchant, formerly despised because he bartered for profit, has risen in esteem and become one of the most important factors in Japanese society and civilization. The age of 1801 was feudal and æsthetic; the age of 1901, democratic and commercial. In 1801, the swords; in 1901, the soroban (abacus): in 1801, the castle; in 1901, the counting-house: in 1801, bushi (knights); in 1901 budgets.

In 1801 the Japanese wore nothing but their own national costume, with strictly prescribed uniforms for every occasion. In hot weather a scarcity or utter lack of clothing was the prevailing style. In 1901 the latter style, though no longer conventional, prevailed under certain limitations,—when and where the police were not strict constructionists of the law! And in 1901 there was a great variety of styles, ranging from pure native to pure foreign, with all kinds of fits and misfits and ludicrous combinations.

Japanese houses of 1801 and 1901 show some differences. The native style has been more or less modified by foreign architecture. Glass, of course, is largely taking the place of paper for doors and windows; carpeted floors are often preferred to matted floors; stoves, chairs, tables, lamps, and bedsteads are coming more and more into use; and brick and stone are more largely employed in the construction of residences, offices, and stores.