Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852’1912 (79 page)

The emperor presumably approved of this change in the ceremonies, but he refused to accept others. For example, when Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru proposed that foreign diplomats, being guests, be permitted to pay their respects to the emperor ahead of Japanese, he did not approve. He replied that the central meaning of the reception of officials at the beginning of the year was to affirm the correct relationship between lord and vassals and that it was therefore proper for Japanese officials to pay their respects ahead of foreign visitors, even though normally, as guests, they would come first.
²

On January 3 the emperor rode horseback. In the previous year he went riding 144 times, but this year he went only fifty-four times, an indication of the increasing demands on his time. In 1881 he attended sixty-six cabinet meetings, usually remaining from 10
A.M.
to noon each time. On January 10, three days later than normal,
³
the emperor and empress heard their first lecture of the year, delivered by Motoda Nagazane on the mythical Chinese emperors Yao and Shun. Soejima Taneomi and Nishimura Shigeki also delivered lectures regularly during the remainder of the year, but whether because of the press of official duties or because the emperor had lost interest in Confucian wisdom, only seventeen were delivered in 1881.
⁴

On January 5 foreign diplomats were invited for the first time to the traditional New Year banquet at the palace, another example of the court’s willingness to accommodate itself to foreign usage. On this occasion the serving dishes, previously of pewter, were of silver, no doubt in honor of the foreign guests, although a policy of strict economy was still in effect.

Beginning this year, Meiji had regular luncheon meetings on Wednesdays and Saturdays with princes of the blood, ministers, councillors, and other high-ranking officials, evidence of his increased interest in running the government. Sometimes he chose these sessions to express personal opinions, although previously he had been hardly more than a mute witness. For example, on January 29, after the Saturday luncheon had ended, he called Sasaki Takayuki to his study and asked about the new penal law ending the death penalty. The new law was supposed to go into effect on July 1. In that case, asked the emperor, was it not true that quite a few criminals who had already been sentenced to death would (if not executed by that date) escape their sentences? He asked the opinion of Justice Minister Tanaka Fujimaro, who expressed the hope that the execution of criminals according to the old penal code would be delayed by special order until July when the death penalty was abolished—in other words, that there would be no further executions. The emperor felt that if the aim was to end executions, the people who framed the new law should have said so at the start. It would be highly irregular suddenly to issue special stays of execution. Either executions should be carried out in accordance with the present law, or when the verdict of death was passed on to a higher authority, the official in charge should delay acting on it until July and then administer the punishment prescribed by the new law. The emperor added that the trouble had arisen because of the haste with which the new penal code had been proclaimed. The haste was unavoidable in terms of the eagerness to revise the treaties with foreign powers—a lessening of the severity of punishments was likely to impress foreigners favorably—but the new penal code could not escape the charge of having been compiled carelessly.
⁵

The particular issue that disturbed the emperor may not appear of major significance, but his active concern over a legal matter indicated a new maturity. It is noteworthy also that Sasaki did not hesitate later in the conversation to consult the emperor concerning the need to make changes in the Genr
ō
-in, as divisions of opinion among the various factions had impeded its functions. The emperor answered with not only surprising frankness but also a confidence that indicated that although he had not spoken at cabinet meetings, he had formed opinions of the issues and politicians involved.

The emperor was not, however, so absorbed by politics that he forgot other diversions. In February 1881 he suddenly developed a passion for rabbit hunting. He always refused to escape the extremes of T
ō
ky
ō
climate by going away during the winter or summer. When his advisers urged him to take a vacation, he would reply, “I will do what the majority of my people do,” meaning that he did not feel free to escape cold or heat when he knew that most Japanese were busy at their places of work, regardless of the temperature.

Virtually the only exceptions he made to this refusal to travel for pleasure were the four times he went to the Tama area to shoot rabbits. At the time the region was scantily populated, and there were many more rabbits to shoot than at the Fukiage or the Akasaka Palace grounds, where hunts had earlier been conducted. The emperor liked to hunt until dark, and it was feared that he might have trouble finding his way back along the badly lit paths in Tama. People were ordered to put torches outside their houses to light his way. One night, after returning to his quarters in Fuch
ū
, he mentioned he had noticed on the way a torch that proved to be a bamboo broom on fire. He asked people to find out who had put out the burning broom. It proved to be an old woman who lived alone and was so poor she had nothing but the broom to burn. The emperor summoned the woman and, praising her unselfish action, rewarded her.
⁶

On February 23 the emperor had word from John Bingham, the American minister, that King Kalakaua of Hawaii would be arriving in Japan on a round-the-world journey. The king would be traveling incognito, but he had some state business to transact: he wished to encourage Japanese migration to Hawaii and to sign a treaty with the Japanese government. He was accordingly treated as a state visitor, and Prince Yoshiaki was appointed as the commissioner for the visit. Two other officials were charged with entertaining the king.

Kalakaua arrived in Yokohama on March 4. He was greeted with twenty-one-gun salutes by Japanese and foreign warships anchored in the bay. When the boat sent by the Japanese to take the Hawaiians from the
Oceanic
to their hotel touched shore, they heard the Hawaiian national anthem, played with explosive vigor by a Japanese military band. They were astonished that the Japanese musicians had learned the anthem of so remote and unimportant a country.
⁷
The king and the others of his retinue, touched, were all but in tears. Along the way to the palace where they were to stay, they noticed that the houses of Yokohama were decorated with crossed Japanese and Hawaiian flags. The king and his party were stunned by the welcome.

Kalakaua traveled to T
ō
ky
ō
the next day aboard the imperial train and, after receiving an official reception at Shimbashi Station, proceeded directly to the Akasaka Palace. The emperor, following the etiquette of European courts that requires a monarch to receive a visiting monarch at the threshold of his palace, went to a room close to the entrance of the palace to meet his royal visitor. He was resplendent in a dress uniform studded with medals. The two monarchs shook hands. The Hawaiians, having been informed that the emperor normally did not shake hands, interpreted the gesture as a special honor. The two monarchs, after exchanging formal greetings, walked side by side into an interior room. W. N. Armstrong, the king’s chamberlain and the chronicler of his journey around the world, had heard that because of his divine origin, the emperor had never before permitted anyone to walk by his side; even the empress followed him. “But, for the first time in his own reign, and in those of his predecessors, he walked by the side of his kingly guest.”
⁸

The empress was waiting for the royal visitor in the audience chamber. Meiji presented Kalakaua to the empress. “She did not rise, but returned the king’s salutation with the least movement of her head and eyes.” Sueko, the daughter of Inoue Kaoru, who had spent several years in England, served as her interpreter. (Armstrong wrote that she spoke perfect English.) Refreshments were served, but the Hawaiians, having been previously informed that they should not eat in the presence of the emperor, declined them.

The emperor was tall for a Japanese of that time, but Kalakaua was a giant of man. He was unusually dark for a Hawaiian, and this made the emperor, who was of a swarthy complexion, look much lighter. Earlier descriptions of Meiji’s face by foreign visitors had always noted the prominent jaw, but it was now concealed by his beard. Armstrong mentioned instead the unusually high forehead and, above all, the eyes, which were black and penetrating; they seemed to say that he was not “one who would put himself entirely in the hands of his Ministers.”
⁹

The two monarchs chatted for some twenty minutes until the king, rather overwhelmed by the reception, decided it was time to leave. The emperor saw him off as far as the threshold. Kalakaua and his party left for the Enry
ō
kan, the building at the Hama Detached Palace where foreign dignitaries were lodged. Later, the emperor, conforming to the rule of European etiquette that a monarch’s visit must be returned within an hour, called on the Hawaiians, who had taken off their heavy uniforms and were relaxing in their underwear.

Kalakaua originally intended to spend only three days in Japan, but Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru, believing that this first visit to Japan of a foreign monarch should be commemorated in some way, sent word that the emperor was planning various events, including “a grand ball in the palace, which, it was intimated, would be the most notable given since the new order of things was established; there would also be a grand review of the imperial troops, special theatrical exhibitions and other entertainments.”
¹⁰
The king at once postponed his departure, expressing deep appreciation of the emperor’s kindness. He also asked Armstrong, the legal expert in his suite, to inform Inoue that he would at once consent to abrogating the extraterritoriality clause in the treaty between Japan and Hawaii. Inoue, delighted, said that it “would give the emperor and the people of Japan unbounded pleasure.”

Hawaii was only a small country, but even so, this crack in the wall of extraterritoriality was highly welcome to the Japanese. When informed of this action, the American minister approved of what had been done, but the instrument abrogating the old treaty was not executed, “owing to the strenuous remonstrances of the European governments.” It required another seventeen years before the humiliating clause was removed from all the treaties.
¹¹

On March 11 the king, at his request, had a private interview with the emperor. After refreshments were served, all the Japanese officials with the exception of Inoue Kaoru, who served as the interpreter, withdrew. Kalakaua stated that he planned to have his coronation in the following year. He asked that the emperor send a delegation, and Meiji consented.

Kalakaua moved then to a matter that demanded secrecy: “The purpose of my travels this time has been to promote something that has been on my mind for many years, a league of the countries of Asia. The European countries make it their policy to think only of themselves. They never consider what harm they may cause other countries or what difficulties they may cause other people. Their countries tend to work together and cooperate when it comes to strategy in dealing with the countries of the East. The countries of the Orient, on the other hand, are mutually isolated and do not help one another. They have no strategy for dealing with the European countries. This is one reason why the rights and benefits of the countries of the East are today in the hands of the European countries. Consequently, it is imperative for the countries of the East to form a league to maintain the status quo in the East, in this way opposing the European countries. The time for action has come.”

Meiji replied, “The general situation in Europe and Asia is indeed as you describe it. I share your opinion concerning a league of the countries of the East. But how can you be sure that the time for action is now?”

The king continued, “Up to the present the countries of the East have suffered under the oppression of every one of the European countries. I have come to realize that the time has arrived for us to act boldly. That is what I mean when I say now is the time to put this great plan into effect.”

The emperor asked, “I would like to know more about your plan.”

The king replied, “During my trip I intend to meet with the rulers of China, Siam, India, Persia, and other countries and to discuss with them the advantages and disadvantages of forming a league. However, my country is a tiny cluster of islands and its population is insignificant; it lacks the strength to carry out a great plan. Your country is exactly as I have heard—not only has your progress been truly astonishing, but the people are numerous and of a hardy disposition. That is why, if a league of the countries of Asia is to be initiated, Your Majesty must step forward and be its leader. I will serve Your Majesty as his vassal and devote my every energy to the cause. If Your Majesty becomes the head of the league and works to carry out its purpose, it will surely compel the European countries to abandon extraterritoriality. Just by chance, an exposition is to be held in New York in 1883. Your Majesty should take this opportunity to travel to America. You should also dispatch princes of the blood as secret envoys to the European countries and have them persuade the ruler of each country to meet in New York on the occasion of the exposition. If you directly address the rulers who attend the exposition on the urgent need to end extraterritoriality, this is certain to be effective. Then, after you return to your country, you should open an exposition to which the rulers of the countries of Asia and Europe are invited. In short, the end of extraterritoriality and the success or failure of the league of oriental countries depends on whether or not Your Majesty is willing to serve as head of the league.”