others at his house, and in a brief and very impressive address tell them that such differences can be finally settled neither by law nor by diplomacy, but by religion. It seemed to many like a counsel of perfection beyond

the reach of a generation still blinded by ignorance and race prejudice; but those who faced the fundamental issue knew that it was that simple truth which is the practical wisdom of to-morrow.

T

HE most obvious fact about modern Japan is its newness. Of course there are other new countries, America being the foremost; Germany as an empire is new, and Italy as a kingdom is new. But Japan is new in a deeper sense; the changes here have been more radical. In the West newness means some form of renewal in a new birth. In politics, art, and society there are differences between the peoples of Teutonic and the peoples of Latin blood, but these differences are comparatively superficial; all these peoples have drunk at the same wells; they have felt the influence of Greek and Roman civilization, of mediæval thought, and of Christianity. There are differences among these peoples, but the differences are not radical. Japan, on the other hand, has felt the influence of China and India, and has developed social and political institutions fundamentally divergent from those of the West, so that Japan is new in a sense in which Germany and Italy are not new. Of course there were at one time or another new countries in the East as well as in the West; the empires of Genghis Khan, of the Ottoman, and of the Mogul were once new.

We are prone to regard the recent rise of Japan in the same light as that of these Eastern empires, but there is a radical difference that must not be overlooked. These Asiatic empires were created as the result of the ascendency of one man; Japan has risen as a nation. The other Asiatic empires rose by force from within, broke the bands which linked them, and, like a great accumulation of water, broke the dam and deluged the countries they conquered. Japan lived in an isolation not without its good effects, for the Japanese lived a happy, undisturbed, artistic life; what finally awoke it from its long repose was not the rise of one man or of many men, but an

The

impulse which came from without, first from America and then from other nations. impetus which created a new nation came largely from without.

Since the first breaking away from the ancient policy of seclusion sixty years ago Japan has gone through three transformations of ideas and institutions, and the reconstruction has shown itself in three different ways; and it has now entered upon a fourth period of transformation. In the first period the Japanese people broke away from their old customs, radically changed their political organization, and created the united empire. In the second period they were engaged in making the modern state, both internally and in its external relations with foreign powers: the latter process involving the abolition of exterritoriality and the gaining of tariff autonomy. The objections to both these changes strongly held by the foreign powers were reasonable, for at that time the laws of Japan had not been codified and were not known to foreigners.

In this period social

and administrative reforms were rapidly carried out, and the abolition by treaty of exterritoriality and the gaining of the power to make her own tariff laws secured the perfect independence of the country in 1893.

The third period was marked by two wars very closely related, for the war with Russia was the logical consequence of the war with China. These wars greatly widened the mental horizon of Japan, and tested its military and diplomatic ability. Ages had passed since the country had been at war, and these two wars revealed its strength and gave it self-consciousness.

Long before the opening of the country. in fact during the entire Middle Age, the Japanese people were kindly disposed towards foreigners at a time when the authorities

were pursuing the policy of isolation and of antagonism. When Commodore Perry came, anti-foreign feeling suddenly grew very strong, and throughout the entire country sentiment was antagonistic to any intercourse with foreign peoples. Patriotism then took a new form; devotion to Japan meant resolute antagonism to foreigners. This anti-foreign feeling had been fostered by the Dutch, who had long been in commercial relations with the Japanese; in order to keep the Japanese market to themselves the Dutch spread many evil reports about other Western countries, declaring that if these countries brought religion to Japan it was for the purpose of gaining political power, and if they endeavored to foster commerce it was to take wealth out of the country. When Commodore Perry came, the Japanese people remembered these stories and regarded his coming as another attempt to make an entrance into the country for seifish purposes. Townsend Harris, fortunately, was the type of man who disarmed suspicion; the Japanese Government found him sincerely friendly. They discovered that

he was both frank and generous, that America had no predatory purpose; the members of the Government at that time were well informed about foreign matters, and the advisers of the Shogun who was then ruling, as a result of this knowledge, saw no danger in opening the country for foreign intercourse, but great danger in any attempt to carry still further the old policy of seclusion. The Daimyos were not well informed about external sentiment and harbored suspicion of foreigners, and joined the Emperor-then only nominally ruling-in an attempt to prevent foreign intercourse. The Shogun Government favored the abandonment of the old policy and the opening of Japan to the world. Both parties were right and both were wrong. The Shogun party was right in advocating opening the country, but its policy was based on a feudalism which violated the best tradition of the nation, the tradition of the supreme authority of the Emperor. The Emperor's party was wrong in its endeavor to continue the policy of exclusion, but right in holding that the supreme power in Japan rested in the hands of the Emperor and not in those of his delegate, the Shogun. The result of the struggle politically was the fall of the Shogun and of feudalism, but his policy of opening the country to foreign intercourse survived his fall. The Emperor's party was mistaken in upholding the policy

of seclusion, but right in its policy of concentrating its influence on securing the restoration of power to the Emperor. This meant not only the opening of Japan to the world but the unification of Japan.

The leaders of the new régime saw immediately that these two principles or policies were in accordance with world programmes and in harmony with world tendencies which Japan could not arrest and should not try to arrest. To guide the nation wisely there was need by these leaders not only of knowledge of Japan but a knowledge of conditions throughout the world, and the phrase in the Imperial rescript on education to "seek knowledge wherever it might be found throughout the world," as well as the further phrase that in the light of this knowledge outworn custom should be set aside, defined the new policy. In the endeavor to carry out this policy a large group of foreign experts were invited to assist the Government, and there were at one time nearly eight hundred such advisers in the schools, the mint, in shipping and commercial affairs, and a large number of students were sent abroad. The conception of patriotism was now greatly broadened; heretofore it had been negative in that it meant hostility to outsiders, now it began to be constructive and meant an ardent endeavor to secure for Japan whatever was good in ideas or institutions in other countries in order that Japan should have all the light it could gain from Western experience.

Buddhism had always been the State religion, and everybody was expected to belong to some Buddhist sect. When the census was taken, every one was asked to what Buddhist sect he belonged, not so much for the information gained. but to assure the country that there were no followers of Christianity. Under the new order religion was made absolutely free. Under the old order class distinctions had been very rigid and exacting; they were now largely leveled, and enlightened democracy gained ground rapidly in all walks of life, and in all fields of endeavor the assimilation of Western endeavor was pursued with great ardor.

After Japan learned more of the Western nations it discovered, to its great regret, that great discrepancies existed between its claims as an independent country and the treatment accorded it by the great Powers. This discrepancy was most evident and exasperating in the insistence by those Powers on the

right of exterritoriality and the denial to Japan of the power to regulate her own tariff. Japan discovered that it was not wholly independent and sovereign; that it was not dealing on equal terms with the rest of the world; and the Japanese people were wounded in their feelings by the discovery that Japan was treated as an inferior Power on a level with

Turkey and Persia. Patriotism took a new form, and concentrated itself on gaining complete autonomy in legal and tariff matters, and the whole energy of the nation was focused in the endeavor to gain these rights as the means of raising the country to the level of Powers of the first rank.

The Japanese people realized that their laws were imperfect and incomplete and that foreigners had good ground for criticism, so they set about revising the laws so that foreigners might feel perfectly safe under them. They discovered that many of their customs were regarded by the West as outlandish, so they began to modify them. They discovered that their social usages were distasteful to the West and were regarded as expressions of an inferior civilization, and accordingly there was haste to bring them more or less into harmony with Western standards. There was a period of great haste to introduce foreign customs and manners in the court, in government offices, and in social circles. Sunday was made a legal holiday. The court adopted foreign dress, though it was very distasteful to the persons highest in authority. The latest fashions were promptly received from Paris, dancing was introduced, balls became popular, the study and use of the English language were much encouraged, and there was even talk of Government aid in the introduction of Christianity. It was the period of extreme Occidentalization, of mere mimicry of the West, not without its absurd features; but it was the expression of an earnest desire to adopt the best that the West could give Japan, so that the country could put itself in such a position that the world would recognize it in no sense inferior to the other great nations. Through this apparently flippant attempt to transform society customs, primarily to secure treaty revision, the Japanese people gained a deeper knowledge of the principles which underlie Western civilization. The people of the country began to read Western books, and gained an insight into Western life and ideals. They began to get acquainted with the principles of civil life and constitutional govern

ment, and to ask for a larger share in influencing the policy of the country. Mill, Spencer, and Darwin were eagerly read, and the philosophy of evolution took hold of many Japanese thinkers. The spread of these ideas was an obstacle to Christianity, but the interest in fresh ideas gave the mis sionaries a still wider opportunity to disseminate their faith. There were many people who thought Japan was on the very verge of being Christianized. Public education was widespread, and the number of middle schools greatly increased.

We look back on those days with amusement at the haste to adopt Western customs, but the great motive which prompted it gained its end. The treaties were revised, exterritoriality was abolished, and tariff auton.omy was conceded. America had never objected to these demands of Japan, but England, having a greater number of residents in Japan and much larger business interests, was naturally more reluctant, but finally signed the treaty first, America already having given her assent. The other Powers speedily followed the example of these two countries, and in 1894 one great object on which the heart of the whole nation from the Emperor down was set, and towards which all its energies were directed, was accomplished.

But in the same year, almost in the same month, the third period of transformation began. At the very time that the telegram came from London reporting the revision of the treaties, telegrams came from China and Korea reporting that the situation in the two countries was getting more critical. The British Ambassador in Peking tried to reconcile these differences, but the Chinese Government contemptuously declined to accept the concessions made by Japan and continued to pour troops into Korea in violation of the treaty. Western ideas were then widely circulated among members of our parliament, and if the war with China had not come when the question of treaty revision was settled there would have been further developments of popular rights and of administrative reforms.

The country greatly needed a breathingspell. but that was denied by the outbreak of the war; the attention of the country was diverted in a new direction, and patriotism took on a more aggressive form. The war with China was ended by the treaty signed at Shimonoseki; a treaty in every way honor

able to Japan, whose demands were not in any way exorbitant. But Russia, Germany, and France joined forces and deprived Japan of the fruits of her victory; for the sake of peace in the Far East these Powers declared that Japan must not take any territory in Liaotung peninsula. Under the conditions Japan was powerless, but felt deeply injured; she swallowed her tears," to use a Japanese phrase, and kept silence. Within three years these three great Powers were calmly taking to themselves great sections of China.

When the Boxers rose against the foreigners, the Japanese Government refused to intervene, and the Japanese said to themselves, The Powers have invoked this puni: hment; let them settle the situation among themselves." But on the earnest advice of England and America that something should be done to prevent further bloodshed, Japanese troops joined the European forces in China. What Japan did is known to the world, which does not, however, understand what that rebellion would have been had Japan not aided in its suppression; it was so near that an army could be poured in. After the Boxers had been suppressed Europe and America withdrew their armies; but Russia, which during the disturbance had sent in a large army and occupied Manchuria, although repeatedly urged to do so, refused to withdraw its troops. England, America, and Japan repeatedly asked Russia to retire its forces, but under various pretenses the. Russians remained in military occupation of Manchuria. The United States advocated the open door in Manchuria, and all the Powers agreed except Russia, which always closes the doors. Russia even tried to exclude foreigners already resident in Manchuria, and there must be missionaries in Manchuria who still have passports that direct that the holder should stop preaching. The world recollects the history of the war that followed and how it ended. It was not surprising that America and England were sincerely and emphatically with Japan. They desired what Japan desired. One reason of Japanese success in the war was the lesson which had been taught it by the training of outside oppression in the need of uniting for self-defense and selfrespect. Patriotism could no longer be passive; it had to become positive and active, and, in a sense, aggressive. The sense of injustice which Japan felt when the fruits of her victory over China were taken from her created aggressive patriotism, and this patriot

ism was greatly increased by the war with Russia. The people of the country were very disappointed with the result of the two wars; they believed that the damage inflicted on Russia was much greater than it really was, and they looked for material compensation from that country, and were bitterly disappointed when they did not get it.

The economic results were in many ways disastrous. As long as Japan was conscious of its deficiencies and eager to learn, ther was great desire for progress, but the results of the two wars made the Japanese suddenly self-conscious; they had beaten two big fellows and they thought that they could beat anybody. The victory was attributed not only to military and naval excellence, but to moral superiority. Bushido began to be very widely talked about; a moral system with many virtues, but not adapted to the twentieth century. Admiration for the heroes of the war brought them into great prominence in other fields. The financial drain of the war made it necessary to raise duties on imports, and in consequence prices in general were raised, and the cost of living rose with them, bringing serious distress. Believing that the rise of the country to a place among the great Powers was due in part to the educational system, the pedagogue intensified that system until it was cast in grooves, and whatever was not in accord with it was regarded as dangerous. From the lowest to the highest school there is a chronological order which led the youth up step by step and left little room for originality or individual instruction. This is the weakness of State education. Intelligent people know very well that the mind cannot be compressed into an iron frame, and that the moment such a frame is made there will be minds which cannot be so cramped and will revolt. Men who devise these frames know their weakness and show it in the fear they manifest of contrary opinions. The Government watches new ideas of individualism. of cosmopolitanism, of Socialism, of every form of political and social heterodoxy. In spite of this, dissenting opinions are in the air, and although the authorities know that it is idle to attempt to destroy ideas by suppressing them, they go on with the mistaken policy of trying to do so, with the result that the more they attempt to suppress ideas the more the ideas spread. While the attempt is being made to iden ity patriotism with a very narrow conception, ideas funda

mentally antagonistic are being brought in from Europe. The Japanese people are getting tired of the kind of narrow patriotism demanded of them, and are showing signs of fatigue-moral, political, and educational.

I have said that, whether in the codification of laws or in the change of institutions, the Japanese have always been pulled from without; they have not worked from inward impulse, but under outward pressure. They have been pulled to a height for which they were not internally prepared. If outside pressure had not been so strong and so continuous, the best thing for the Japanese would have been a pause in order that they might look around and see where they were. Such a pause was denied them, and they are still going forward with makeshifts devised as necessity dictates. We are mistaking temporary devices for eternal plans. The men who started the forward movement of new Japan have died or aged, and the young men who have taken their places were born and brought up in times of great pressure and did not get the mental and moral training which the best circumstances would have given them. They were schooled in the admiration of a system rather than of its spirit.

Hope hes in the fact that we are now conscious of the situation; we know that we are standing at the parting of the ways. We have been artificially raised to a height, and to reach it we have resorted to all kinds of stimulants, and fatigue has ensued. This is shown by universal dissatisfaction; in no field is this more manifest than in politics: in four months there have been three ministries, there have been mobs; no Cabinet changes have ever been watched with such interest by the people as those of recent months. The powerful party of the Seiyukai, led by the late Prime Minister, Marquis Saionji, has been disrupted. When such a disruption of a great party occurs in a country like the United States with long party experience, it it is not surprising that it should occur in a country of such limited political experience as Japan. I have no desire to compare men still young in political experience with veteran statesmen like Mr. Roosevelt, but the circumstances that made Mr. Ozaki secede from the Seiyukai were at bottom very much like the circumstances that caused Mr. Roosevelt to leave the Republican party. Any party too long in power is likely to breed corruption.

In education, too, there is universal dis

satisfaction, as evidenced in the approaching creation of a central committee for educational revision. In finances people are clamoring for a reduction in taxes, and military expenditures are studied with a view to economy. A reform movement is on foot to extend the franchise. There is no field of thought or activity in Japan in which there is not dissatisfaction.

If a generation means a period of thirty years, only two generations have passed since Japan started out on its new development; and what has been done in two generations, with all the mistakes made, gives reason for confidence and hope. The mistakes are instructive if the successes of the past do not arouse within us the pride which goes before disaster, but in which not a few of my countrymen indulge. With a little pause for reflection we can continue in the course marked out for ourselves. As far as mental capacity is concerned, I believe our race does not show inferiority. Western philosophy can be translated into our language, and we can understand whatever the West has written or thought. In learning and art we can enjoy whatever the West enjoys; and there seems to be no fundamental difference in the intellectual ability of East and West. I am speaking of individuals; how far we can raise the general national standard of thinking, of feeling, and of acting is another question. I am not without hope that in the next forty years, which will complete the century of Japan's joining the comity of nations. we shall have attained, not the same level with the West, because the West is also progressing, but a level not far removed from the level of the West, and which will bring us on more equal terms with the West than at present.

tion.

The saving elements in Japan will be the development of popular life and of educaIn public life that development will take the form of a fuller understanding of party government. I have myself at one time formed and led a political party, and the great service of a new party under Prince Katsura is as a step in general progress. Prince Ito formed the Seiyukai as a result of close study of constitutional governments abroad: he considered parties necessary organs of public opinion. Prince Katsura is forming a new party, not as a logical consequence of as cientific theory which he holds, but as demanded by existing conditions. Whatever the motives behind the organiza