A Fantasy of Far Japan; Or, Summer Dream Dialogues

by Kencho Suematsu

—'I do. Why not? I know it. No sooner had I landed on the American soil last year, having left Japan immediately after the outbreak of the war, than I gave my views to the American press on the then existing situation, as well as on our probable future, showing the true motives and aspirations of my country. They were widely circulated. My meaning was identical in every case, though the words and matters touched upon were not necessarily identical. I will recite you one specimen which was then published in an American weekly.

'As to our fight with Russia, we are as able to meet her army on land as we are her fleets on the sea. We have just the same confidence in our army as in the navy. But we would be very sorry to be regarded by the world as only fighting men. We have been for many years striving for the assimilation of everything materially and mentally good that belongs to the best type of the American and European civilisation. We aspire to be a nation, but our endeavour for the realisation of that idea is based on a larger peaceful acquisition of intellectual culture. We have no ambition for territorial aggrandisement. We have not the least idea of making any difference on account of race. We desire to govern ourselves and advance in the world in peace—not to conquer and tyrannise over another people. We come into the comity of nations, but that entirely on the occidental basis of civilisation. Some people speak of us as pagan, but the conscience of the people is perfectly free in our country, and it is guaranteed by our constitution. We believe in toleration and absolute liberty of religious conviction, and I may safely say that religion is many times freer in our country than it is in the country which is now our foe. We are disposed to be, and earnestly wish and strive to be, liberal and tolerant in all things. This fact, I am glad to see, is already so widely recognised by those Americans and Europeans who are connected with and know about such matters. We hope to advance to that place in the world where our beautiful little country will be a leader among the nations of the world in science, industry, arts, and intellectual achievements, and an example of peace and harmony towards all races, all nations, and all men.

—'I still hold the same views. I have no reason to fear that I shall have to change them after the war. It might perhaps be more interesting and convincing if you were to see what some people, other than ourselves, who are capable of giving an idea on the point, say. Mr. Seppings Wright, an English ex-naval officer and an artist, is one. He was on board one or other of the ships of Admiral Togo's fleet for many months under exceptional circumstances. He returned to England quite recently. An interesting interview with him was published in a recent number of the English press. Here is the part bearing on the subject:

'THE MOST WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.

'"I gather that you formed a very high opinion of the Japanese character?"

'"They are," said Mr. Seppings-Wright, with animation, "the most wonderful people in the world. I make no exception. Neither the statesmen nor the peoples of Europe have yet learned to estimate the Japanese at their true value. They are destined to play a magnificent rôle in the future development of the world. At present people are talking of their courage, their great military qualities. These are, indeed, now sufficiently self-evident. I rate the Japanese army above any other army in the world. As for the navy, I cannot use language too strong to express my admiration for it. Yet what most impressed me was not the personal bravery of the Japanese soldier and sailor, or the splendid organisation of their naval and military forces, it was the character of the people—their unique simplicity, their chivalrous courtesy, their kindness of heart, their sweetness of disposition, their unaggressiveness. They have none of the lust of conquest for conquest's sake. They have never fought save to protect their territory or their vital interests—but they have never been beaten. Chinese, Koreans, and now Russians—they have resisted all, and beaten all in turn; and now that they have proved their right to be regarded as one of the Great Powers of the world, their influence will, I am convinced, be all on the side of peace and peaceful development."

'"You make the Japanese out to be a new variety of the human race?"

'"No, not a new variety—an old variety—a variety untainted by the commercialism of European civilisation. They have not yet learned the creed of individualism—of every man for himself. They will lay down their lives cheerfully and willingly for their country—for their emperor, who is almost a god in their eyes, since he embodies their fatherland. What new traits they may develop I cannot pretend to say."

'WHAT JAPAN CAN STILL DO.

'"It would be strange," I interrupted, "if, after the unbroken series of victories they have won on land and sea, they did not develop some symptom of 'swelled head'?"

—'I saw not the slightest sign of that. Very rarely you see even incipient symptoms in an individual. Their great successes have not apparently turned their heads in the least. They began this war in the most absolute confidence of victory. They can, if need be, do much more than they have done. No one knows the number of men Oyama has in Manchuria—no one, that is, outside the Government and the Headquarters' Staff.'"

—'Of the navy,' said another, 'it is truly amazing that you should have such an efficient one, which you have built up in the course of no more than two or three decades. Assiduous and energetic as you must have been, there must have been some other circumstances which have helped you in arriving at that result, or at least I cannot think otherwise when I reflect calmly on the matter.'

—'Your views are not far from fact,' I answered. 'It would be certainly amazing if a people who had only known perhaps canoes in a small stream, having no seafaring experience or tradition, built up a new navy as we have done. Many people have carelessly looked upon Japan as such, hence the misconception. Japan abounds in history and traditions of the sea from the dawn of her history. Our fleets often made distant expeditions, and fought battles far out of our own waters. The ships were, no doubt, rude and primitive compared with the modern ones. From the model of a warship made about three hundred years ago, which I have seen in a temple not far from Tokio, I think that our ships of those days were not much inferior to those of the West of a corresponding time. From the period when foreign intercourse was suspended, the construction of large ships was prohibited, be it a warship or a merchantman. The country was in perfect peace, and the navy was in use even less than the army, and this, therefore, is why such an enormous difference between the European system and ours had come into existence. Nevertheless, some feudal lords whose seats were situated on the sea-coast had a certain number of retainers specially destined for seafaring purposes. And, moreover, Japan being a country surrounded by the sea on all sides, merchantmen and fishing boats, rude as they were, were abundant; hence the stock of sailors has never been wanting. With the new advent of the Western nations to the Far East some fifty years ago, with their "black ships," the country awoke to the necessity of having strong ships, and the Shogunate, jealous as it was in the ascendency of the feudal lords, abolished the prohibition against building large ships. Towards the later years of the Shogunate it possessed a small but creditable navy in the European style. Many feudal lords also possessed some kind of Western ships, several of them possessing eight or nine ships. Of course, many of these ships were only corvettes, or schooners, or ordinary commercial steamers, but they were all used by those lords and manned chiefly by their retainers, and were called their navy. They differed from ordinary merchantmen. These ships were mostly bought from Western merchants; a few were the presents of the Western monarchs to the Shogun; some were constructed in Japan. The earliest steamship constructed in Japan was a steam-launch built about 1862 in the province of Ise for the Prince of Chosiu. It was navigated from there to Hagi, the old capital of Chosiu, on the coast of the Japan Sea. I do not know what became of it after that, but the fact that it navigated that distance would show that the Japanese were already gaining some capacity for building steamships after the European style. When the Shogun submitted to the Imperial order and vacated the castle of Tokio, the navy of the Shogunate, declining to share the fate of the Shogun, raised anchor and fled to Hakodate under the leadership of Yenomoto. Several of the best ships were lost by storm and some in fighting, and practically no ship was left of the revolting fleets. With the submission of Yenomoto and his participators, the country regained a complete peace. Then began the construction of the new navy. The feudal lords presented to the Imperial government their ships, most of which had already done their service during the preceding war. Most of the officers and sailors took service under the Imperial government just as they were. Many men who were engaged in naval affairs under the Shogunate were given suitable positions under the new government; even Yenomoto, the chief of the rebel fleet, was made an admiral after he had been pardoned. The navy being more expensive in every way than the army, we had more difficulty in its development; but in one way or another the Imperial government has exerted its energy until we have obtained the navy of the present moment. It has required much patience and ingenuity from both technical and political points of view, but somehow or other we have managed so far. I may add a few words more. In the early days of the Imperial government a large number of English naval officers were engaged by our government, who did much service in the organisation of our navy, for which we feel much indebtedness. I may also add that later on Monsieur Bertin of France, whom we have engaged for some years, has also done much service in the matter.'

—'You now have several shipbuilding yards, both governmental and private,' said one, 'and you can construct big ships yourselves. How was it brought about at first?'

—'Yokosuka is our oldest dockyard. It was begun when the Shogunate was already tottering. Oguri, an able man, was the finance minister of the Shogunate at the time. It was due to his efforts that the Yokosuka dockyard was constructed. It is said Oguri told his friend one day, "When one becomes a bankrupt it is desirable he should leave behind a Dozo, so Yokosuka will be the Dozo of the Shogunate when it comes to an end." "Dozo" is the name for a storehouse, constructed very solidly; with us almost every house, excepting those of the lower classes, has one or more such buildings, and it was considered an additional disgrace to a man of better class if he became a bankrupt without any such storehouse for the creditors. Oguri evidently foresaw the downfall of the Shogunate, and yet ordered the construction of the dockyard, so that it would be useful for the future rulers of Japan. Such is the early history of our dockyards on the European style, which has expanded itself in the course of time, so that we now have several shipbuilding yards, as you know.'

—'What do you say about the future of China?' said another. 'Don't you think she will also renovate herself like your country and become a formidable power.'

—'She may do so,' I answered, 'in one way or other in the course of time, but I do not think a sudden and thorough transformation of the kind that has taken place in Japan is possible in China. I do not think it is possible even in Russia, where so much movement for internal reform is going on. To begin with, they have no feudal system in existence.'