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A Phase of Meiji Japan's Attitude toward China: The Case of Komura Jutarō

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Shumpei Okamoto
Affiliation:
Temple University, Philadelphia

Extract

William L. Langer, the eminent scholar of imperialism, has succinctly defined the nature of the Russo-Japanese War:

The Russo-Japanese War still remains the classic example of a conflict waged for purely imperialistic motives. There was no sentiment, no tradition involved. The Japanese and the Russians were equally disliked by the population of the territories which they desired to control. At bottom it was merely a question of which nation should victimize the moribund Korean and Chinese Empires.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

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References

1 Langer, William L., ‘The Origin of the Russo-Japanese War, ’ in his Exploraiwn in Crisis (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969), p. 3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

2 Kumatarō, Honda, Tamashii no gaikō (A Diplomacy of the Spirit) (Tokyo: Chikura Shobō, 1951), pp. 225–6.Google Scholar

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4 Ibid., p. 288.

5 With regard to China's consent to the Japanese demands, Jerome Ch'en has written: ‘From [Yuan's] personal point of view, this was an expression of friendship to the country he had offended during his terms of office in Seoul from 1883 to 1895.’ Yuan Shih-kai, 1859–1916 (Stanford University Press, 1961), p. 94.Google Scholar In fact, Yuan stoutly resisted Japan at the conference. For the influence of nationalism and public opinion on late Ch'ing foreign policymaking, see Iriye, Akira, ‘Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: The Case of Late Ch'ing China,’ in Feuerwerker, Albert, Murphey, Rhoads, and Wright, Mary C. (eds), Approaches to Modern Chinese History (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967), pp. 216–38.Google Scholar

6 Nihon gaikō bunsho, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 147–9.Google Scholar

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8 This sentence appeared in an inscription on a bronze statue of Komura. Although signed by Matsuoka Yōsuke, president of the South Manchuria Railway Company, the inscription was originally drafted by Honda Kumatarō. Honda, Tamashii no gaikō, frontpiece.

9 Yasunobu, Somura, ‘Komura Jutarō to Nichi-Ro sensō’ (Komura Jutarō and the Russo-Japanese War) in Kazuo, Ōkochi and Sōichi, Ōya (eds), Kindai Nihon o tsukutta hyakunin (One Hundred Builders of Modern Japan) (Tokyo: Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1965), Vol. 1, p. 236.Google Scholar

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11 Komura Shōji (Komura's second son) has described his father as ‘a historian-crusher, for he has left no private papers at all’. ‘Chichi no omoide’ (My Father) in Kasumigasekikai kaihō furoku (A Supplement to the Kasumigaseki Club News) (February 1962), p. 12. Komura detested writing letters and neglected even the New Year's greetings. Uhei, Masumoto, Shizen no hito, Komura Jutarō (A Man of Nature, Komura Jutarō) (Tokyo: Rakuyōdō, 1914), p. 259.Google Scholar My careful examination of archives of such Meiji leaders as Itō Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, Katsura Tarō, and others, all of whom had close dealings with Komura, uncovered no letters to or from him. Despite the hospitality and kindness extended to me by a number of people in Obi, my visit to Komura's hometown produced no documents on him.

12 Komura Shōji, ‘Pōtsumasu kaigi no zengo’ (At the Time of the Portsmouth Conference), Nihon hyōron (Japan Review), April 1929, p. 148; Gaimushō, Komura gaikō shi, p. 711.

13 Jutarō, Komura, ‘“Makoto” no ichiji’ (Sincerity) in Takeo, Nakayama, Komura Jutarō den (A Biography of Komura Jutarō) (Tokyo: Shin Kō-Asha, 1940), pp. 163–4.Google Scholar

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21 Ibid., p. 260; Masumoto, , Shizen no hito, p. 97.Google Scholar

22 Ibid., p. 64.

23 Gaimushō archives.

24 Iichirō, Tokutomi, Waga Kōyūroku (My Acquaintances) (Tokyo: Chūō Kōronsha, 1938), pp. 348–9.Google Scholar

25 Masumoto, , Shizen no hito, P. 231.Google Scholar

26 Ibid., p. 659. Lasswell, Harold D., Power and Personality (New York: The Viking Press, 1962), pp. 7107.Google Scholar

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28 Shōji, Komura, ‘Pōtsumasu kaigi no zengo,’ p. 148.Google Scholar

29 Masumoto, , Shizen no hito, p. 137.Google Scholar

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32 Gaimushō, , Komura gaikō shi, pp. 23–4.Google Scholar

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34 Nihon gaikō bunsho, Vol. 35 (1957), p. 54.Google Scholar

35 Honda, , Tamashii no gaikō pp. 169–70.Google Scholar Hagiwara Moriichi, sometime consulgeneral at Mukden, judged that Komura's ideas were ‘a bit conventional’ while Itō was ‘thoroughly progressive.’ Seishū, Kubota (comp.), Hagiwara Moriichi shi tsuikai roku (Reminiscences of Hagiwara Moriichi) (Tokyo: n.p., 1913), p. 354.Google Scholar

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40 There is some disagreement as to Mutsu's influence on Komura. See, for instance, Hyakunenshi, GaimushōIinkai, Hensan (ed.), Gaimushō no hyakunen (A Century of the Japanese Foreign Ministry) (Tokyo: Hara Shobō, 1969), Vol. I, pp. 399–400.Google Scholar I have relied on Hara's observation: ‘Komura died and today I attended his funeral. He also spent many years in obscurity, but when Count Mutsu elected him to be first secretary of the Peking legation, his fortune turned for the better. Thereafter, greatly valued by the bureaucratic faction, he even achieved the rank of marquis. A lucky person he was.’ Keiichirō, Hara (comp.), Hara Kei nikki (Diary of Hara Takashi) (Tokyo: Fukumura Shuppan, 1965), Vol. 3, entry of December 2, 1911, pp. 190–1.Google Scholar

41 Hara Kei nikki, Vol. 2, entry of June 13 1903, p. 68.Google Scholar

42 Masumoto, , Shizen no hito, pp. 226–7Google Scholar; Gaimushō, ,Komura gaikō shi, pp. 52–3.Google Scholar

43 Ibid., p. 60.

44 Ibid., p. 67; Shōji, Komura, ‘Jutarō hishi,’ pp. 303–4.Google Scholar

45 Nihon gaikō bunsho, Vol. 33 (1956), Supplement 1, Boxer uprising, Pt 1, pp. 372, 536, 570, and 587.Google Scholar

46 Ibid., Vol. 34, p. 524: Seizaburō, Shinobu and Jiichi, Nakayama (eds), Nichi-Ro sensō shi no kenkyū (A Study of the History of the Russo-Japanese War) (Tokyo:Kawade Shobō Shinsha, 1959), p. 109;Google ScholarJun, Tsunoda, Manshū mondai to kokubōhōshin (The Manchurian Question and Japan's National Defense Policy) (Tokyo: Hara Shobō, 1967), pp. 44–5.Google Scholar

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49 Iriye, , ‘The Ideology of Japanese Imperialism,’ p. 36.Google Scholar

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51 Honda, , Tamashii no gaikō, pp. 55–6.Google Scholar

52 Gaimushō, , Komura gaikō shi, p. 213.Google Scholar

53 bunsho, Nihon gaikō Vol. 36 (1957), No. 1, p. 2.Google Scholar

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55 Masumoto, , Shizen no hito, pp. 657, 703, and 373.Google Scholar

56 Nihon gaikō bunsho, Vols. 37 and 38, Supplement, Russo-Japanese War, Pt 5, pp. 59 –63 and 69–72.Google Scholar

57 Ibid., Vol. 41 (1960), No. 1, p. 76.

58 Wright, Mary Clabaugh, ‘Introduction, The Rising Tide of Change’, in China in Revolution: The First Phase, 1900–1913 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968), p. 1.Google Scholar

59 Gaimushō, Komura gaikō shi, p. 46Google Scholar; Masumoto, , Shizen no hito, P. 220.Google Scholar

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62 Ibid.Ibid.., p. 240.

63 For example see Kankōkai, Konoe Atsumaro Nikki (comp.), Konoe Atsumaronikki (Diary of Konoe Atsumaro) (Tokyo: Kajima Kenkyūjo Shuppankai, 1968), Vol. 3, p. 418.Google Scholar

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65 Iinkai, Uchida Yasuya Denki Hensan (ed.), Uchida Yasuya (Tokyo: Kajima Kenkyūjo Shuppankai, 1969), pp. 91109.Google Scholar Concerning Komura's other sources of information, see Imai Shōji, ‘Nichi-Ro sensō to tai-Shin seisaku no tenkai’ (The Russo-Japanese War and the Development of Japan's Policy toward China), Kokusai seiji: Nihon gaikōshi kenkyū–Nichū kankei no tenkai (International Politics: Studies of the Diplomatic History of Japan–The Development of Sino-Japanese relations) (1961), pp. 17–28.

66 Torajirō, Naitō, Nait¯ Ko'nan zenshū (hereafter cited as NKZ) (The Complete Works of Naitō Torajirō) (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 1972), Vol. 6, pp. 369–93Google Scholar: Shinagaku (Sinology) (February, 1934) Vol. 7, No. 2, p. 4; Miyakawa, Hisayuki, ‘An Outline of the Naitō Hypothesis and Its Effects on Japanese Studies of China,’ Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 4 (08 1955), pp. 533–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar I have received kind suggestions from Professors Banno Masataka and Etō Shinkichi concerning the relations between Komura and Naitō. Needless to say, I alone am responsible for my interpretation of Naitō's ideas.

67 NKZ, Vol. 6, pp. 696701.Google Scholar

68 Ibid., Vol. 5, p. 493.

69 For Naitō's background, see Taisuke, Mitamura, Naitō Ko'nan (Tokyo: Chūō Kōronsha, 1972)Google Scholar; Tamaki, Ogawa (comp.), Naitō Ko'nan (Toyko; Chūō Kōronsha, 1971)Google Scholar; postscripts by Naitō's son to NKZ volumes.

70 NKZ Vol. 1 (1970), p. 441.Google Scholar

71 Ibid., pp. 453, 483–9.

72 Ibid., Vol. 2 (1971), p. 214.

73 Ibid., Vol. I, pp. 434–6.

74 Ibid., p. 523; and Vol. 2, p. 317.

75 bid., Vol. 3 (1971), p. 190.

76 Ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 127–35.

77 Ibid., p. 235.

78 Ibid., p. 140–3, 151–6, 489–91, and 622–4.

79 Ibid., p. 610–16.

80 Ibid., p. 611.

81 Ibid., Vol. 3, pp. 283–304.

82 Ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 146–50.

83 Ibid., Vol. 3, pp. 258–60.

84 Ibid., Vol. p. 420.

85 Ibid., Vol. 3, pp. 748.

86 Ibid., Vol. 3, pp. 51.

87 Ibid., pp. 37 and 41–3.

88 Ibid., pp. 308–9.

89 Ibid., p. 359.

90 Ibid., p. 117. On the meaning of the slogan ‘maintenance of China's integrity’ (Shina hozen) as proclaimed by such groups as the Tö-A Dōbunkai and the Kokumin Dōmeikai, see Sakai Yūkichi, ‘Konoe Atsumaro to Meiji sanj¯ nendai no taigaikōha’ (Konoe Atsumaro and the Advocate of a Strong Foreign Policy in the Decade after 1897), Kokka Gakkai zasshi (Journal of Political Science), Vol. 83, Nos. 3 and 4, pp. 188257, particularly pp. 220–4.Google Scholar

91 NKZ Vol. 4 (1971), pp. 26–8.Google Scholar

92 This is a phrase that Komura often used to express his attitude toward China. Nihon gaikō bunsho, Vol. 38, No. 1, p. 106, and Vol. 41, No. 1, p. 76.Google Scholar

93 NKZ Vol. 4, pp. 179–80.Google Scholar

94 Ibid., pp. 177–8.

95 Mitamura, , Naitō Ko'nan, p. 193.Google Scholar

96 NKZ, Vol. 6, pp. 390–2.Google Scholar

97 Ibid., Vol. 4, pp. 506–7.

98 Some of Itō's ideas concerning postwar Manchuria may be found in Gooch, G. P. and Temperley, Harold (eds), British Documents on the Origins of the War, 1898–1914, Vol. 4 (London, 1929), pp. 64–6.Google Scholar

99 Sohō, Tokutomi (ed.), Kōshaku Katsura Tarō den (A Biography of Prince Katsura Tarō), Vol. 2 (Tokyo: Hara Shobī, 1967), p. 312;Google Scholar Inoue Kaoru Kō Denki Hensankai (comp.), Segai Inoue Kaoru kō den (A Biography of Marquis Inoue Kaoru), Vol. 5 (Tokyo: Hara Shobō, 1968), pp. 1113.Google Scholar Paul Hibbert Clyde struck only a half-truth when he wrote: ‘One fact would seem to stand out pre-eminently. Had Japan possessed a deep-seated and sinister scheme of continental aggression… it is difficult to explain why the Katsura government… came near to disposing of half of its interests in the Manchurian railway to American capitalists. Until such time as more evidence is brought forward…we are forced to conclude… that there was little, if any, substance to the so-called continental imperialism.’ International Rivalries in Manchuri, 1689–1922 (New York: Octagon Books, 1966; first published in 1928), pp. 153–4.Google Scholar

100 Pooley, A. M. (ed.), The Secret Memoirs of Count Tadasu Hayashi (London: Eveleigh Nash, 1915), p. 254.Google Scholar

101 Kasumigasekikai kaihō furoku, p. 9.

102 Nihon gaikō bunsho, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 76–7.Google Scholar

103 Kōichi, Nomura, ‘Tairiku mondai no imēji tojittai’ (Images and Realities in the China Question), in Bunsō, Hashikawa and Sannosuke, Matsumoto (eds.), Kindai Nihon seiji shisō shi (A History of Modern Japanese Political Thought) (Tokyo: Yuhikaku, 1970), pp. 55–6.Google Scholar

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