The Making of Modern Japan / An Account of the Progress of Japan from Pre-feudal Days to Constitutional Government & the Position of a Great Power, With Chapters on Religion, the Complex Family System, Education, &c.

by John Harington Gubbins

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.