The San Francisco call. [volume], August 11, 1907, Page 12, Image 12

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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JAPAN'S FAMOUS
ELDER STATESMEN
\u25a0 'N «ecrc£lsg for the eaojses of the remarkable ,
I progregs Japan has made— especially her uplift from
I the medieral past to the front rank of modern
cations, and all within the short period of 40 years —
it Is Impossible to overestimate the great services ren
dered by the handful of really great men who have
throcghont the entire period of development "ruled
this nation from the top.
TTJjat. is often asked, is to beeoma-of Japan when
her elder statesmen pass away?
Ep«a2c2aflr broadly, the affairs of this country are still
In the hgads of the men who began the great work of
national reformation at the time of the overthrow. of
tie ehogunate and the restoration of real imperial
power to the mikado. In the intervening *V years the
great majority ef the men who took active part in
Japan's rreat revolution , have passed away, but those
who today etaad as the representatives of those states
men end warriors exercise Just as great an influence
as when the young emperor first turned ' to them and .
their fellows for the guidance which he jroluntartly 1
pledged himself to follow.
Indeed, Instead of diminishing with the passing years,
TThlch have brought many developments and changes
tn the externals of government, the influence of these
elder statesmen has grown steadily greater as every
crisis has demonstrated the wisdom of their counsel
end es their association with the emperor has grown
mere and more personal.
Under the constitutional form of government full
opportunity is given for the play of politics, for party
strife and personal aspirations, but above and beyond
this strife, on a. higher plane, the emperor and his
chosen counselors of the Genro sit, calm and serene,' to'
render final decision In any issue involving grave
national policy, whether this be Internal or Inter- /
national in character.
Japan knows no such oSlce &s elder statesman, yet
e.ll Japan reveres these older statesmen and bows to
the wisdom of their decisions," which find expression In
the Imperial will. The national veneration of the
emperor as direct descendant of deified ancestors does ;
not prevent xmiversal tribute to the elder statesmen
as the embodiment of all that is wise and good.
It is perhaps natural that, viewing the record of the ,
I&st 40 years, and recognizing the part these men have
played in the creation of the new Japan, foreign ob
servers should give to these elder, statesmen the entire
credit for the transformation. But the tendency of
such generalization is to lose eight of one to whom, it
eeems to me, first credit should be given. This is 'the
emperor himself.
It Is not at all remarkable that the boy prince 'who
at IS found himself not the mere figurehead' which so
many of his ancestors had been, but intrusted with the
fall powers and responsibilities of absolutism, should
have turned to others for advice and counsel; but to
have retained these counselors during' all" the years
• of his rule, to have been guided by their wisdom. Is
In itself an evidence of real greatness in a man around
. whom have been thrown^ all the temptations to which
mraarchs fall heir.
Of the personality and mental attainments .of his"
I imperial majesty Mutsuhlto few Japanese are quali
fied to epeak, and these do not. SCo son of Japan. looks
upon the emperor as & tner« man. In this democratic
age the peculiarly reverential attitude of . all Japan- ...
ese toward the head of their nation may be sneered
at and condemned as a relic of the past, but there is no
pralnsaylng the existence of this reverence. As all the
old court formalities are still preserved in- their
medieval strictness, it Is doubtful If even members of
the imperial family know very much about the per
sonality of t him to whose will they all bow. Probably
of all the people of the nation' only the elder states
men have had real opportunity to judge his capacity'
as a man. ,
Views of the Mikado
Greatly varying estimates have been placed upon him
by foreigners. He has been pictured almost everything
from bloodthirsty fiend to angel of light and enlighten
ment. I have heard a number of these wise pronounce
ments, but I have yet to find a man who has had any
greater opportunity to know him than that furnished
T^y study of the exterior during the exchange of pre
sentation platitudes or In formal ambassadorial- visits.
* One who has seen as much of him as anybody, else '
' gives me this brief appreciation:
"First of all, the emperor is a Japanese in every fiber
of his body! He Is untainted, for evil or for good.' by '
absorption of anything foreign. ..I would 'call- him' a*
benevolent man. and , certainly a wiseman^if -you ac-.
•count good common ' sense \u25a0 the basis of wisdom— as I
\u25a0•do. It is not merely that he has been wise enough to
accept advice, it is because he . has had the -wisdom' to
. select the good advice from the bad that fairly entitles :
him to being regarded a great! ruler. And : such he
would, I think, be regarded In any,. land."'
This is a calm and conscientious estimate of one
who ought to know. If Mutsohito is, like other men,
to be judged by his works, as we understand' them, it
peems deserved. ' - :
" But whether or not' the emperor; is-'entitled, to so >
great credit -for what has been -wrought, during his .
rale, there is no \u25a0 question , that \u25a0 the ' credit • belongs t0 .,:
' him and to the 'elder statesmen 'whom* he) has gathered <
«.bout himself. ;• \u25a0'
Fir6t and foremost ' of .'thesVstands Marquis > Ito. , If •
to one man there belongs»STeater'creditfor:the-crea
tion of X'ew Japan than to any and all others, It; is .to
this truly great statesman. Certainly to him, more
than to any other is the institution of a constitutional
form of government due.
"With the great things Marquis : lto has accomplished
the .'world is familiar, but few even among his fellow
countrymen think. In these days of his world acknowl
edged greatness, of the struggle of his youth and early
manhood. His beginning was humble, he being the, son
of a petty clansman of the lord of Choshu. VAs a. boy
in school he gave evidence of great mentality, but'under
the conditions then prevailing— lt -was a time ' oorf r hard
fighting and . great internal struggle— there seemed i
small chance for/ a: youth whose asset was brain, not
brawn. Ito was born in 1841. .He grew to manhood at
a time when antJforelgn feeling was 'at' high pitch
throughout Japan, -but, having .in . come way been
brought' in contact with two Englishmen, he thirsted
for knowledge of the outer world. At the first oppor
tunity he and several companions, one of them the
venerable .Count • : Inouye, -who also has been a'promi
nent figure in his; country's history, ran away and
shipped as sailor boys." Not long ago Marquis Ito,
with simplicity that Is 'characteristic, told the story of
that escapade and its results.
"lam 67 -years old this year. It was 44 years ago
that I left Japan for England, at the age of 23. Those
were days of antiforelgn agitation and not a ; few of
my friends objectedi to our Intended Journey abroad.
Our party consisted^ of . Inouye Bunta" (now count),
Inouye Katsu (viscount); Yamao Yozo ' and- Ende
Kinsirke. After a four months' long>voyage, to^which
we were not accustomed, we reached London. -As 'soon
as we got there we.went direct to our two benefactors,
who spared no efforts- to help us strangers if ronv the
far east. I refer to the sea captain, from-.whom^ my
feudal lord bought a steamer, in the preceding' year,'
and to another Englishman, by the- name of Mr. 1 Madi
son.' We were first^ taken to a bathhouse, where "we
were simply astonished-at the grandeur, and beauty; of
everything. We were then taken : to , a barber shop ; to
have our barbarous queues cut* off. : .From:! the barber
shop- we,' were taken to .- a tailor and then^to'a !shoe
'maker's. -This is -the .way our appearance was made a
little respectable. , .
"During the four months we had spent -in the voyage
we h*d picked up a little English," so thit we were able
to-converse with-the English people when 'we 'got' to
London." \u0084 '.'*. v -
Asr Ito Saw London
"The materialistic progress we witnessed on. our ar
rival In London was .beyond , our imaginations. * ,Th«*
Thames was full "of sailing ships "and steamers,'-: whilo
everywhere in the city we saw with amazement larg«
brick buildings. We also saw, steam cars running over
head," and;we knew; that subway /cars iwere' running In
every 'direction beneath us. The I telegraph wires; over
head looked' like cobwebs. Everything! we /saw, was
new to us. I- tell you we could, not but, be Impressed
,with"' the* power of , civilization^ placed actually/ before
our eyes! At ; the : same time we I realized the absurd
impossibility of expelling^ foreigners -from Japan.' Wei
thought Japan' would, eventually be destroyed If , we did
not learn from the civilized countries. So t we; made up
our' minds ;to 'come back .to.. Japan; as /soon- as we
could in "order to; convince the' obdurate agitators at
home" against foreigners * and ; everything.; western^of
their foolishness. ,i - : .: .!
'"Well, I ; canriot tell you all about the kindness of < our
benefactors, the sea cap" tain \ and « Mr. : Madlson, but I
must tell you liow they i arranged -for : . : '6ur * education:
c * began to go ; to • school some J our, miles away.", You
have . no ; idea' how we « struggled, •.for* we^had' to -take
such courses 2 as r : geography,^ history, 1 \ mathematics,'
physics, chemistry; and even astronomy, fall 1 at once. ;I
was then ' 23 ' years old. but as I was ; short ] I ' said i I J was
18 years old.' ' ~>aßßMachWMMgfcST ' .. .- \u0084 >,
•'At.home/ the'antlforeign"; agitators .were .having
everythlngA'their'way.-and ithe ? news i that they; bom
barded ; foreign * warships at \ Shi m onoscki reached 5 - Eng
land, ', via* Shanghai. \' : I cannot , tell \u25a0 you • how • deeply we
felt at the; time. r.^We were,', of /course, 1 ! indignant? at
extremely \u25a0 barbarous} act of , the "- antiforelgn r\ agitators:
We made up our. minds to . come home right away. We
asked our ' benefactors i\ to r allow -t us > to 5 go' horn e t"and
.explained as well «*as [ we : cbuld.% \u25a0 The^ trouble was ? that
they regarded us : as ; mere '\u25a0\u25a0. youngsters, saying: that? our
return would; be of 'no benefit,'^ for, we were too "young to
exercise : any Influence/; They i thought', the^best -way for
us;was ! to stay, arid', keep'on? studying. ?x They would not
listen, to :us,.-for> they/didtnoti; credit fus^with'matured
intelligence. : ":'"\u25a0)'.':\u25a0 :* r \u25a0
"\u25a0'•But?how:couid we'Btay^ abroad when ati home ithere
was such serious trouble? - So, I ; after all, Inouye (count)
and, myself a decided -to ] leave '.Engranft after staying
there, but three: months. When 'we reached 5 Yokohama
there :,was:Mr. : ;Allcock, British "l minister to Japan,: and
Mr. : Satow,-^ late r ) British minister, : whY wah only a dip-.'
lomatlc probationer,^ very young In. age. J The antlforeign
agitation fwas s sollntense; that* had ,we dared s putvupsln
&' Japanese I; house '\u25a0; we '$ might? have >been/attacked^on
account of ; our queueless heads.X* So we ; hldf ourselves ; in
the ]- British legation, » and ». whenever ; we ' went out we
were :accompaniediby)a' British! soldler.^whomlwe used
to \u25a0> call X'akatai'i; (red ; soldiers) , Jon t account • of ; the \ red
uniform.. . I \u25a0have; a : funny story sto tell: you.; - -/
\u25a0": '"In \u25a0 the .legation ) there , were. two ,' Japanese ;houseboys.*
They, came Uo J our, room \ to ; fix ' the - mosqultc;^ net- for} us, 1
as if it : was^summer vtime. *'ißy t that itfme^ we r \were
already : lnched. 'A One ;of the . boysl c%me 'j lri,] groping} in
; the 4 dark,' and) said- to .t he; other one : \ 'Say.'t here* wej have
two hairy barbarians sleeping, in this room;; look 'out,* or
you « ; might i step r i on ; them.'. The j other I one ? was \ so \ ex
tremely (an tif oreign \ that ) he' said : 'Never i mihd.l waTcan
kick] the] hairy 'barbarians ito -death.' > I ttelll you
how ' funny' and \u25a0 sorryi we ; fel i,\ but ; slnce^ the \u25a0 two ] house
boys thought we were foreigners we could not address
J ;V,^;i:<^
v f4'ln ? the^i meantime •, the % antlforeign -V agitation ';'} grew
more and \u25a0 more Intense, and! alli'sbrts lof -rumors were
circulated. Assassination -*of \ foreigners |vaa I reported
almost' every i day. i We? could) not\ stay ' InUhe* legation"
doings nothing,^ so iwe "+ made £up <,' ourJ? minds '* to # go>i to
Choshu, s the provihceTof burjdaimyo/v.-ButVwe'oouldinot
travel * overland son < account «^ of 1 our i queueless ?heads,*"so
.woiwent^^ as' far ias«Shlmonoßekl ; by'a-Brlt!sh::man-of
war. \u25a0' \u25a0:'\u25a0,,\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0,• -'_\u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0:..:> , \u25a0\u25a0•..•\u25a0...•..••';\u25a0- '..•"••\u25a0'.:'
: ,'^We got to; Shlmonosekl' all' right/ 'but .we ! knew that
'lAwo-were^toygo^ashoreTdressedJlriiforeign^styleXwa
.would : certainly 'be <klllod. : € Fortunatelyirsoma |of four,
friends i;came •to the A man-of - waritol see >us/;iT Tha ; state
of at?hon:e . : as "described' by'- thwn* was |beybnd
•my conception, and we wereeerlousty concerned "about
the'ioutcome. I told: my- friends I wanted to go ashore
at once, but l they jj assured mo : a .. queueless - head > meant
doath; they said we must have queues On "our heads by
all; means.'. . -,- -
, "The" way. that; l, for. one, managed to make « queue
Is funny to think. of now.. My hair was then six Inches
long:,; and, of course, was not long enough for an. ordi
nary "queue. ..? My; grotesque queue was what they, used
to^ call; the 'tombo-mage*; (dragon fly queue), with one
knot In the middle; of? the head and two on~ either
Bide. "'Finally when we: thought 1 our queues would pass
muster we* put , on the , Japanese dress by
our 'friends and went ashore.
\u25a0 "I -tell you, I we : were too busy to eat and sleep. No
niatterj how I attacked the folly of the anti
foreign agitation, the people at home turned a deaf ear
to "my, argument. -supporting their /objections by actual
examples fresh from the western. civilization. 1\ .
. "The* result was a bombardment of Shimo
noseki. It was ' followed ] by the ' battle tof Namlgura
gate," Kyoto, ,. which: resulted in the defeat of the Choshu
army.^ At: the; same time the famous antl-Choshu'cam
paign" T*as r started lunder the leadership of the ; lord \u25a0of
Kll province ;(a\branch of the Tokugawa* family).
"There; were. troubles /within and without of a serious
nature and the destiny of our own feudal chief's family
was - at ; stako. •: The Samurais \u25a0 directly^ subject to" the
dalmyo 'of were not - sufficient 'to} organize . an
army -. strongs enough _to defend . the j province 'against
the .* anti-Choshu \' army. ;,* A new conscription i law.wap
therefore' promulgated, and" B6 groups of recruits were
thua , obtained. • VWe had ; European' artillery, - rifle bri
gade,~and sblforth; T speaklng as a (whole, our weapons
were certainly more'efflctent. Moreover, we fought hard
and we were victorious in several engagements.
province of Satsuma must have' by: that time
realized- the -absurdity of - attempting to check the
progress^of the times. ' "At any rate," Satsuraa's i heroes,
Okube and Saligo, communicated .with us and aided our
army.-: I j must <\u25a0 not ; forget ; to \u25a0 mention the- name of
pakamoto 'i Ryoma,' 5 a ; great\hero'; from Tesa, '*\u25a0 who' was
: instrumental ;. In' bringing/, about the : co-operation 'of
Satsuma ' and - Choshu. \u25a0\u25a0" « Our ; military successes in our
own -province us to ;. proceed -as 7. far. /as.
Kyoto," and the ? result was the /battles^ of Teba'and
- Fushlml. ; ' The T end . of the : struggle , was Prince • Toku
gawa Kelki's .surrender ; of .his 'hereditary Bhogutrate,
which /event i ushered In* the "glorious age of -imperial
'restoration'' and Hhe"' Mel jrerttr^gjJß '^-ZJ*-'- '.'\u25a0'.'
-•; "Sincel the", Mcl ji \ government was ' set * up ' I have often \u25a0
\u25a0 held Important i. positions : In ..the state* and •- have" been
comparatively -, fortunate.' .7 But > in the" earlier*} days .- 1
don't \ know how : of ten'^ I was In ; danger -of losing ; my ,
'head.'.l have, be en > attacked by assassins^ more than 10
times. s^SPffiPHßi9w a ffW^BTfwlftn
... 'The general public knows my . ; present position, but
, knows little" of my,: past. >> Th c. people •in • general* have
little sympathy for my earlier struggle*, butl must;tell
;you that;; In "sail; my life I -have had hard times more
The of A English - which youns It<> had
acquired- proved - an^ important factor •In r his subse-.iuen t
advancements >rAf ter. '; the [ restoration ; ; the • leaders of
Choshu,'* liaying^been .largely ; instrumental _ in accom-;
pushing,; the , : overthrow; : of the t6hogunate.': were * very
Influential [with;- the" court^o'. which \theyj had Igiveh the
realT substance H of *\u25a0" power.";; ' The :\: \ leader ~of > ; the > • clan.
Kido/iwas attractedjtolto and from 'the. first 1 the/ young,
man .was ; intrusted f , with] higlily! responsiblejduties.' He
jwas; appointed 1 a'jcouncilor, of state, sand^acted*as:inter
preter* tolthe; boy* emperor > when i he . first > received < the
f orelghS envoys. V iFr'om : .that • day,;; he . has iat '•\u25a0\u25a0 all times
been v metaphorically i'and i much > of ; tha . time literally
close » to) the /throne, f for." even-; from i the ' first * his ' ability
was >; recognized and '• appreciated" by 'his -Imperial
majesty..^. :'-\u25a0\u25a0>•- *'\u25a0 J "- '.'. ." ' ,' '
J' Marquis ilto:has,l In?, the? course.'of^ a ,long) and v.very
active > career, i held 1 a « variety ' of /^offlces andi performed
many' special 1 mlssipns j~of great responsibill ty:: His tlrs t
.visit'^tojthe, United: State's; was; T lh!1870,: wlien2 he
thorough "study/ofjtKe -banking; system, iwhlch"; resulted
lnitho]pr6mulgation:ofithebankins,'regulatlonsiOf,lß72,
; thetbaalsf of /the_f system VslnceJin''i l ex!stence.f;;A*'yearj)r
so c-laterihe^was"* attached fto the -1 special V embassy Jof
Prlncejlwakura;^sent:>broad«t6;negotlate*.wlth -the : dif-"
f eren'tl power sj for j thetrevislon\of Uhe *'6ld"; treaties.^ ; In
1882,^; the the
proposed^ineuguratlonjofj the] representative 10
years > later, '} he v was .sent V to *A the • .United : * States t* and
Europe \u25a0 to T make [a; study of Ithe Ivarious } parliamentary
systemfl"^ and": it was \ he^ who "made": the , present '< system
for' Japan.-. In. 1885 'he' concluded the agreement with
JJ»: ftas Zraadfifii Ssadss Qa&
IA Hung: Chanr tfotmi Korea. H« ftttenfled th» corona
tion of Ciar Alexander 111 and the diamond Jubilas of
Queen Victoria, and has mad* several - other foreign
tour* of a personal rather than political or official
character. SB9M
In the Internal politics of Japan ha has Been a very
active figure. He - was but 44 years old 'when first
called upon to form a cabinet. He has been premier
four times. He founded, the present selyukai or.con
stitutionalist party, and although sow out of active
politics is. still the -most influential of all' politicians,
the : only man who can fairly claim a division ef this
honor with him b e lng Marshal ' Marquis Yaaaji ta.
If Ito'ls first of the elder statesmen in the eyes of
the. world, Yamagata 'ls a very close secpnd in the eyes
of Japan. As Ito may in a sense be regarded Japan's
Jefferson, so Tamarata mar be pictured, a combiAatlon
of Yon Moltke and Bismarck. Tamagata Is both soldier
and statesman. Like Ito, he is of -the Choshu dan.
Choshu, and Satsnma furnished the great warriors on
the imperial. side in the restoration period, and since
thon these two provinces have furnished the country's
political rulers.
\u25a0: '".Tamagata 3 was one of the bravest of the captains
.who. fought^for. imperial rights. As chief of stafS, he
directed the campaign which destroyed the clan of Alzu,
the last defenders of the shogunate, and shortly after
this victory ha was made a major, general. In 1312
he became a lieutenant general, and as such he was the
practical commander of the army of subjugation, which,
under the nominal leadership of Prince Arisugawa, put
down the rebellion of 1877. Yamagata was s^nt to the
,front as the commander of the First army in the war
with China, but was compelled to return home on ac
count of illness. On the outbreak of the war with
Russia he was 'made chief : of the general staff to suc
ceed '• Marshal Oyama.. who took charge. at the front.
-So much for the military side of Yamagata. A fine
old fighter he has been, and ho less a statesman. His
first taste of civil office was as vice minister of war. Ha
became minister of war in 18T3. In 1883; and again in
1898 he; as premier, formed cabinets, the Ufa of these
covering in all a little more than three years. In other
cabinets he .was minister of home affairs and minister
of justice. He Is a man of v strong and lovable per
sonality, which, has given him an ardent following,
-.particularly among that element which, while acquiesc
,ing-in them through necessity, has no great love for
.constitutional reforms on popular lines.
Marquis Yamagata the Head
v Marshal -Marquis Yamagata is now president of the
privy council, this body being, according to political
writers,, "a political asylum." But he is by no means a
"dead one." _ even if the upset of his second cabinet
did bring a nominal end to his political career. The
Katsura cabinet. '. which . preceded the present one and
had five years of. life — very much above the average
was to , all intents and purposes a Yamagata cabinet.
Count Katsura being one of the ablest of the Yamagata
lieutenants. In the play of the present day politics
Marquis Yaniagata's fine. hand is always seen.
; Inouye, Matsukata, Oyama— these three, with Ito and
Yamagata, make up the'genro.
Count Inouye. too, Is, a Choshu man.' ' He is five
years older than Marquis Ito — was old enough to take
part. in the fighting that preceded the great restora
tion struggle. . •; ,
He had a narrow escape from death at the hands
of the reactionaries, who resented his having gone to
England with Ito to consort with the "hairy barbarians"
of the outer world.
.<:'. His. part .tin .the- affair -of -the empire building has
been on* the financial side.' He;was first made vice min
ister ' of • finance ' in 1572; later : he. held the chairs of
. home-a ffairs, : finance, foreign affairs and agriculture
and commerce. . He was minister^ to Korea' and adviser
-to the Korean court after the. Japan -China war. Dur
ing the late .war he acted as special adviser to the'min
\u25balster-.of-.finance,-and in the conferences of the 'elder
statesmen his chief . part : has been that of guardian
of . the treasury, v . .
* Count Matsukata, too, has found finance his field of
the greatest 1 Influence! He was' twice premier. For
10 years/from'lßßl to IS9l," he, was minister* of finance,
during: this time leading thejempire out of the wilder
ness created by overissue of paper, money. His second
mlnistry—lSaS-lSaT— was ~ notable for the establish
ment'of the*, gold standard.' He retired from active
politics In 1900, his present , activity • being as privy "
councilor, and. > when occasion demands, joining In the
councils of .the genro. . .
iTtMarshal Marquis Oyama, like. Count Matsukata. 13 a
Satsuma , man. ]He was one ; of the young fighters of
restoration days. Later. he.was sent to' Europe to study
military tactics. .being attached. to the Prussian army
in the Franco-Prussian- war. In the Satsuma rebellion
0f '.1877, he had.to'flght against his famous uncle and
brother/ both ; of whom were on the rebel side. In
187 She was made lieutenant general, and In 1831. after
being "the chief .; Instrument- in developing the modern
Japanese I army,: he was^ made ; a full ~g en e ral. In the
war' with China" he, was commander in chief of the
Second V army, /which took PorfArthur and Welhaiwe:
Invlß9B:he was i made ; marshal and chief of the general
staff." . -r
His success -as . commander of. the Imperial armies in
Manchuria' need; not 'be expanded upon. All'the world
knows the story.- .If it be true that Kodama furnished
the brafns for that campaign, it is equally ( true that the
lave^and .veneration ;of. all the younger generals for
.."Papa'' Oyama s was one of ' the greatest elements of
Btrength."
'Theae'flve men.: with-the emperor. at their head.- form
.-the, real directing* force of this empire. .They are get
tln ,f ° ld now -^ 1 . lof 'hem. , .When these have, goae there
will be.no elder^ statesmen: \Vhat, then, of Japan?
The - questions can : be- asked without necessarily Join-
• Ing -,wlths the pessimists twho predict that when the
presents emperor, : and -his old /associates pass away
things i^will go -to-amash. : ; As a matter of fact, there are
among ; the younger statesmen-!s a se
: men as .well as brimant.s Butvwliranew emperorhavS
the iwisdom to rely upon vhis . councilors,- and^wlll i'lt be