Had the Satsuma insurgents triumphed when they rose in rebellion, the new direction given to Japanese policy would have been arrested, with results very different from anything we see to-day. With the establishment of parliamentary government, which came into force together with the Constitution, Japan broke finally with her past traditions and came into line with Western countries. The conclusion of the new Treaty between Great Britain and Japan, which was followed by the conclusion of similar treaties with other foreign Powers, put a stop to the mischievous agitation concerning Treaty revision which had long troubled the Government. The war with China, which increased Japanese territory and material resources, revealed a military strength unsuspected abroad, and gave Japan a new and commanding position in the Far East. Of still greater importance were the results of the Russo-Japanese war. It changed the whole face of Far Eastern affairs, and won for Japan admission to the ranks of Great Powers. By the annexation of Korea Japan added to her military security, and removed what in past years had been a constant source of disturbance in Far Eastern affairs. How the financial position of Japan has been affected by the Great War, and the expansion of territory she has acquired, we have seen. As to what further consequences for her may result from the defeat of Germany, the collapse of Russia and the newly awakened interest of the United States in foreign questions, all that can safely be said is that indulgence in speculations on this point will find little assistance from analogies looked for in the past.

To the question, How much in Japan has been changed? an answer is difficult. Outwardly, of course, the effects of the wholesale adoption of much of the material civilization of the West are very plain. Whether these effects extend much deeper is another matter. Japan, it must be borne in mind, is in a state of transition. The new ideas imported from abroad exist side by side with the old, so that the former balance of things has disappeared. Two instances taken from the highest and lowest circles will serve to illustrate the conflict still going on between the old and new cultures. The Gregorian Calendar adopted in 1873 for official purposes counts for little in agricultural operations, and in the pilgrimages and religious festivals which play so important a part in Japanese life. These are still conducted according to the old calendar. This is not surprising, for the interior of Japan has only been open to foreign residence and trade since 1899, the date when the revised treaties came into operation. Since then, moreover, foreign trade has continued to move in the grooves first created, the so-called Treaty ports, the rest of the country having been affected but little by foreign intercourse. A similar contrast is noticeable in ceremonial procedure. On certain State occasions the Sovereign performs the functions of a European monarch in accordance with the formalities of European Courts. On others, acting as high priest in the shrine attached to the palace, he conducts a Shintō service according to a ritual so ancient as to be almost unintelligible, and quite out of keeping with the modern ideas which the nation has adopted. It would be in no way surprising to those who have studied Japanese progress in the last fifty years of foreign intercourse if in the not distant future the present Civil Code, based on that of Saxony, were to be revised with the object of bringing it more into harmony with Japanese tradition and sentiment.

INDEX

Printed in Great Britain at

The Mayflower Press, Plymouth. William Brendon & Son, Ltd.

1922


Demy 8vo. With Illustrations & Plans. Price 32s. Nett

A DIPLOMAT IN JAPAN