History of Japan
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HISTORY
Subject
:
History
(For under graduate student.)
Paper No.
:
Paper- VIII
History of Japan
Unit, Chapter
:
Unit- 2
Chapter- b
Topic No. & Title
:
Part- 1
Popular and Democratic
Movements
POPULAR AND DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENTS: SATSUMA
REBELLION;
POPULAR
RIGHTS
MOVEMENTS;
MEIJI
CONSTITUTION IN JAPAN.
Abstract
The Post Meiji Restoration era in Japan marked certain
political changes which gave rise to new kinds of movements.
In 1877 the Satsuma Rebellion under Saigo Takamori broke
out. Saigo preferred an aggressive foreign policy in Meiji
Japan and insisted on an aggressive campaign against Korea.
But his idea was rejected. Saigo and his followers organized a
revolt against the Meiji government which was brutally
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suppressed. The Satsuma rebellion was an expression of
ultranationalist ideas and a futile effort to return to the old
order. Almost simultaneously, demand for greater democracy
led to the outbreak of a different kind of movement, known as
the
Popular
Rights
Movement.
The
organizers
of
the
movement, led by Itagaki Taisuke, became vociferous in
demanding a national assembly and a constitution. The
Popular Rights Movement ultimately compelled the Meiji
rulers to concede to the demands of a national representative
assembly
and
a
constitution.
But
they
preferred
a
conservative constitution which would ensure the authority of
the Emperor and the ruling oligarchy of Meiji Japan and
restrict people’s rights as far as practicable. In February
1889, the Emperor Meiji handed the Constitution to the Prime
Minister
Kuroda.
The
architects
of
this
conservative
constitution wanted to enfranchise the people as small a
degree as possible. Hence, the Constitution prescribed voting
on the basis of property. The features of the Meiji Constitution
revealed that this was framed to protect the interests of the
new aristocracy and big industrialists of Meiji Japan. The
Constitution, in fact, ensured the tyrannical measures of the
state in favour of property.
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After the Meiji Restoration in 1868 certain perceptible
changes occurred at the political level of Japan.
The newly
emerged political situation served as the background of the
Meiji Constitution of 1889. According to Harold Vinacke, the
Meiji Constitution owed its origin to the Charter Oath of 1868.
Immediately after assuming the political power, the Meiji
rulers declared through the Charter Oath that a council should
be formed for an open discussion on the problems confronting
the nation. However, no measure had been taken to execute
the decision.
In the 1870s and 1880s quite a good number of political
debates and movements came on the surface in Japan.
Politically
the
most
important
among
them
was
the
“Movement for Freedom and People‟s Rights”. This movement
brought about a varied series of popular initiatives that posed
a major challenge to the new Meiji government. Two
fundamental
questions
concerned
the
politically
aware
citizens, who associated themselves with the popular rights
movements. First, what sort of new political structure should
be adopted? Second, who would be the participants in that
structure? They urgently felt the necessity of writing a
fundamental document that would answer these questions,
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and this document would be the constitution. A section of the
Meiji rulers also welcomed a constitution. They saw that the
strongest states in the Western World had constitutions. They
thought that a constitution was an essential precondition for
making Japan a strong state. Constitutions were seen by
rulers not mainly as guarantees of individual freedom and
welfare. They also believed that the constitution would
stimulate national energy to build wealth and power.
From about 1872-73, the Meiji rulers arrived at a consensus
in support of adopting a constitution. Simultaneously, the call
for a constitution became the rallying cry for several nongovernment or anti government organizations. Such demands
began to gain grounds primarily at local levels scattered
throughout the country. Gradually the demands related to
political rights got a national dimension. In fact, demands
relating to people‟s representation and constitution led to
emergence of civil liberties and democratic rights movements
in Japan. After the Meiji Restoration, major political power
had been concentrated in the hands of a narrow group of
former Samurai represented by the Satsuma and Chosu
groups. Hence the popular rights activists, quite logically,
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alleged that a „Sat-Cho‟ dictatorship had replaced the old
Tokugawa tyranny.
The Satsuma Rebellion
Within a decade of the Meiji Restoration, the new regime had
to face a violent insurgency, known as the Satsuma Rebellion.
Saigo Takamori, one of the outstanding leaders of the
Satsuma
clan,
played
an
extremely
significant
role
in
organizing the Meiji Restoration. He was an important
member of the Meiji Government. Within a few years of the
Meiji Restoration, a debate regarding the foreign policy of
Japan cropped up in Meiji government.
Saigo Takamori
suggested an aggressive expedition against Korea. But his
opponents
in
the
government
showed
reluctance
in
undertaking a campaign against Korea. They thought that
invading Korea at that moment would be a premature
decision and they insisted on internal reconstruction of Japan.
Saigo resigned from the government in protest.
In January 1877, an armed rebellion broke out under the
leadership of Saigo against the Meiji state. The rebellion was
known as the Satsuma Rebellion. A bloody campaign for
several months followed. Saigo‟s army was made up of
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members of the Samurai order (former warrior class). The
army
of
the
government
was
a
new
conscript
force.
Eventually the government army came out successful, which
proved that the common people, if trained and disciplined,
could fight as bravely as the old warrior class. The Meiji
government brutally suppressed the Satsuma Rebellion, and
in September 1877, Saigo, along with his close followers, was
killed. The Satsuma Rebellion came to end. According to John
Fairbank, “Saigo himself became in retrospect the most
popular and romantic hero of Meiji restoration, but his defeat
spelled the end of the old order.”
Popular Rights Movements
The Satsuma Rebellion was an expression of extreme ultranationalist ideas in Japan.
But almost in the same period,
that is, in the 1870s, demand for greater democracy emerged
which led to a different kind of political movement. In this
campaign for democracy Itagaki Taisuke of Tosa clan played a
leading role, who conducted by means of public meeting and
through the press an agitation for the establishment of
representative institutions. The ideas of Mill and Rousseau
were invoked to support this demand.
History of Japan
Itagaki
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Taisuke
was
an
important
member
of
Meiji
government. But he left the government to concentrate on
the movement for enhancing the democratic consciousness of
the Japanese people. In 1873, Itagaki formed a political
organization called the Public Party of Patriots. Unlike Saigo
Takamori, who took his anger in the direction of armed
rebellion, Itagaki and his followers submitted their famous
“Memorial
on
the
Establishment
of
a
Representative
Assembly” to the government in January 1874. The memorial
not only called for a national assembly, but also argued that
free
discussion
and
representative
government
were
necessary to build a strong nation. In 1875, Itagaki‟s Public
Party of Patriots was renamed Society of Patriots. In the
1880s this association was reorganized again under a new
name, League for Establishing a National Assembly. The
demand for a representative national assembly gathered
momentum.
The Meiji government was still reluctant to concede to the
demand of a national assembly. Only Okuma within the
government entirely supported the demand of a national
assembly. The other Meiji leaders joined hands with the
Emperor to force Okuma to resign. By then the civil and
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democratic rights movement was becoming strong in Japan.
It was quite difficult for the Meiji government to ignore these
demands.
Itagaki‟s organization gradually collapsed. But this did not put
a brake to democratic movements supporting a constitution
and a representative legislature. In the years between 1879
and 1881, local activists formed nearly 200 political societies
in both urban and rural areas. These groups organized an
unprecedented popular mobilization. They held rallies and
published
journals.
They
also
collected
thousands
of
signatures on several petitions demanding a constitution and
a
parliament.
They
submitted
the
petitions
to
the
government.
Popular rights activities took place in a variety of forums.
Groups called “industrial societies” were established in the
country side to discuss issues like farming techniques,
agricultural cooperatives, and excessive taxation. Popular
political education and activism also took place in city-based
study groups. These study groups played a prominent role in
activising the popular right movement in Japan. These study
groups owed much to the initiatives taken by the journalists
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and teachers, many of whom were the former samurai. In
fact,
these
were
the
people
who
formed
the
urban
intelligentsia of the Meiji era. The most famous study
societies evolved into Japan‟s leading private universitiesFuzukawa Yukichi‟s group developed into Keio University, and
Okuma Shigenobu‟s organization formed the core of Waseda
University. Parallel to these urban academic groups were
many rural cultural societies and political associations. These
societies and associations emerged as the nerve centres of
political movements for popular rights. All such organizations
played an active role in submitting petitions to the Meiji
government calling for a constitution and popular assembly.
Despite such commendable efforts of enormous political and
social groups, it may safely be said that the total membership
of these organizations was a small minority of the entire
population of Japan. However, the magnitude of advancement
of people‟s consciousness regarding popular rights should not
be minimized, as even the people from the lower strata of the
society
expressed
their
desire
to
participate
in
the
government.
The most important political issue, which was intensely
debated in Japan in the 1870s and 1880s, was the power and
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position of the Emperor. What would be his role and power in
relation to bureaucrats, parliament as well as the entire
populace? A very small minority of Japanese intellectuals
were influenced by the model of the French Revolution and its
Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizens. Andrew Gordon
aptly observed, “In Meiji Japan one finds no „republican‟ in
classical sense of the term.” Those who got involved in the
political debate wanted the Emperor to be a sovereign figure
at the centre of political order. Vigorous discussions took
place on how such an order could be introduced. Some local
groups openly campaigned in favour of restricting the
Emperor‟s
powers.
A
famous
“draft
constitution”
was
discovered in a farm storehouse outside the town of Itsukaichi
in 1967. It included an article giving the national assembly
power to “pass judgment on and revise proposals emanating
from the bureaucracy and from the Emperor”.
Popular rights activism reached its peak in 1881. Several
groups, throughout the country, collected at least 250,000
signatures on more than 100 petitions and then submitted
them
to
the
government
in
Tokyo.
Members
of
the
innumerable local organizations assembled in a national
conference in Tokyo in October 1881. This Conference gave
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birth to a new political party called Jiyuto or the Liberal Party.
Itagaki was the leader of the party. The party immediately
held their first national convention. Jiyuto called for popular
sovereignty and the convening of a constitutional convention.
In early 1882, a second group rallied around Okuma
Shigenobu, a former samurai activist, who belonged to the
Hizen clan. He had been ousted from his position as
government minister for his relentless demand in favour of a
constitution along with a powerful government on British
model. He also formed a political party called Kaishinto or the
Progressive Party. Kaishinto was much more moderate than
Jiyuto in its demands. Its most important support base was
the emerging business elite.
These two political parties held opposite views on several
issues. In the words of Richard Storry, “They attacked each
other with great bitterness, thus making it all the easier for
the government to deal with them”. But they reached a
consensus on two issues: first: both the political parties
supported the demand for a national assembly and a
constitution; second: both of them accorded unstinting
support for the Emperor, whom they saw as a symbol of unity
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and integrity of the Japanese state.
The government response to the popular rights movement
was two-fold. First, the governments wanted to deal with the
movements by adopting repressive censorship laws. The first
set was promulgated in 1874 and was further strengthened in
the next year. The law was made more rigorous when it was
once more reinforced in 1887. Second, the campaigns in
favour of popular rights led the Meiji government to frame a
conservative
constitution,
modeled
on
the
Prussian
Constitution, in 1854. The Meiji rulers wanted a constitution
that would give the Emperor and his ministers much power
and thus limit the rights of the people. They started working
for a constitution that would uphold their vision of limited civil
rights and marginal popular participation.
The Meiji Constitution of 1889
Ito Hirobumi, the powerful Chosu leader and a prominent
leader
of
the
Meiji
government,
was
entrusted
with
responsibility of framing a new constitution for Japan. For
gaining experience and also for acquiring knowledge on
constitutional experiments in several countries, Ito Hirobumi
traveled extensively in Europe in 1882. On his visit overseas
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to study foreign constitutions, Ito spent much more time in
Germany than in any other country. He had talks with the
German Chancellor Bismarck, whose conservative personality
impressed him. The conservative nature of the German
constitution attracted Ito. Furthermore, Japan had a striking
similarity with Germany, so far as socio-political systems
were
concerned.
Authoritarian
tradition
and
restricted
individual freedom were the common features of both the
countries. Hermann Roessler, a German advisor to the
Japanese foreign office, played a prominent role in drafting
the Meiji constitution. So there was very little doubt that the
nature of the new Japanese constitution would be entirely
conservative. Richard Storry rightly observed, “Certainly the
constitution was framed by men of strongly authoritarian turn
of mind”. Thus it appeared to be quite natural that the
Emperor‟s authoritative and overwhelming power should get a
special place in the Meiji constitution.
After returning from Europe to Japan, Ito adopted certain
rudimentary measures for introducing the new constitution. In
1885, a new cabinet was formed and Ito held the office of the
Prime Minister. The constitution was drafted secretly in 1886
and 1887 by a talented group under the direction of Ito
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Hirobumi and Inoue Kowashi. The document was discussed by
top government officials in 1888 in a body newly created for
this
purpose,
the
Privy
Council.
Ito
handed
over
the
premiership to Kuroda Kiyotaka of Satsuma and became the
first President of the Privy Council. The Privy Council
continued to function as an extra constitutional advisory
group once the constitution was promulgated. The small
group of leaders in the Privy Council came to be known as the
Meiji “oligarchs” or genro. The genro was an informal body, in
the sense that there was no constitutional provision for them.
The genro, in fact, pulled the strings of politics.
Finally on 11 February 1889, the Emperor Meiji in a brief but
solemn ceremony at the palace handed the first written
constitution of Japan to the Prime Minister Kuroda Kiyotaka.
According to Richard Storry, “The action symbolized the
important fact that the constitution was a gracious gift from
the Emperor to the subjects and not a contract, much less a
concession won from the throne by popular demand.”
The power and position of the Emperor was defined and
elaborated in the articles 1-17 of the Meiji Constitution.
According to the new constitution, the Emperor was given the
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highest place in the state. Divine power and dignity was
ascribed upon him. He was declared the supreme authority
for recruiting and dismissing the government officials- both
civil and military. A national assembly was to be formed, but
the Emperor was empowered to sanction any enactment. In
the event of any internal crisis, when the assembly was not in
session, the Emperor could issue imperial ordinances which
temporarily took the place of laws. The Constitution declared
the emperor to be “sacred and inviolable” and the locus of
sovereignty as the descendent of a dynasty “which has
reigned in an unbroken line of descent for ages past.”
The Emperor also held supreme executive and diplomatic
power. He was the executive head of the state. The right to
declare war on a foreign country or to form a diplomatic
relation with one was reserved absolutely by the Emperor.
The constitution specifically stated that “the Emperor has the
supreme command of the army or navy”. The budget of the
imperial household remained entirely free from the control of
the assembly or the Diet.
Theoretically, the Emperor was the head of the judiciary. He,
however, did not directly conduct the judicial system. Judges
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of several courts were entrusted with the responsibility of
delivering the judgments. The Meiji Constitution, however, did
not give much economic power to the Emperor. He could not
bring about any change in the tax structure, nor could he
impose any new tax on the subjects. The decision of the
assembly was final in determining the tax structure. The
Emperor also had no power to amend the Constitution. He
could only submit proposals for amendment, and it was up to
the assembly (Diet) to accept or reject them. But in theory,
the Meiji Constitution of 1889 recognized the Emperor as the
head of the legislature, executive and the judiciary. The Meiji
Constitution was introduced exactly a century after the French
Revolution; the architects of the Constitution did not strictly
follow the principle of Separation of Power.
The articles 18-32 dealt with the rights and duties of the
Japanese people. The constitution recognized certain rights of
the people. The people of Japan were confirmed in such rights
as the rights to join any government or non-government
posts, the army and the navy; freedom of expression and
association; their homes were guaranteed against entry or
search without the consent of the householder; and freedom
of religious belief was allowed. But each of these rights was
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made conditional on “limits established by law”. It was further
stated in a separate article, that the recognition of such rights
should not affect the exercise of the Emperor‟s powers in
times of war or during national emergency. The freedom of
expression
was
atrociously
violated
in
Meiji
Japan
for
suppressing the left movements. The duties of a subject were
stated to be those of paying taxes and serving in the armed
forces.
The articles 33-54 dealt with the power and function of the
legislature. The national assembly was called the Imperial
Diet, which was a bicameral legislature. The upper house was
the House of Peers, and the lower house was the House of
Representatives. Representatives of the new aristocracy,
highest tax payers and people nominated by the Emperor
found place in the House of Peers. The composition clearly
reflected the class character of the upper house of the
Japanese legislature. The constitution declared that both
houses would enjoy equal power, but in reality the upper
house could exercise greater power than that of the lower
house; the House of Peers was entitled to reject any law
promulgated
by
the
members
of
the
House
of
Representatives. The members of the House of Peers did
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never sanction any law that could have been inimical to their
class interest. The House of Peers had 368 members. The
House of Representatives had 379 members. All the members
of the lower house were the elected representatives of the
people. But they were not elected through universal adult
franchise; elections had been held on the basis of property,
and as a result of which only 1 percent of the entire Japanese
population obtained the right to vote. The main purpose of
the ruling oligarchy was to extend and consolidate its control
over local affairs and its secondary object was to enfranchise
the people as small a degree as possible. The Diet enjoyed
the significant power of approving the budget; it could even
reject
the
budget
by
applying
veto.
The
constitution
categorically stated that the Diet was empowered to legislate.
But a bill could not be enacted unless it entailed the
sanctioning signature of the Emperor.
The article 55 discussed the power and responsibility of the
ministers. In this article, the term Council of Ministers had
been used in place of Cabinet. The ministers were not elected
representatives of the people; they were nominated by the
Emperor. Thus they remained responsible not to the Diet, but
to the Emperor himself.
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The Meiji Constitution of 1889 was replete with limitations.
Despite such pitfalls and limitations, the Meiji Constitution
marked the beginning of a democratic process in the political
history of Japan. But the basis of democracy was so weak
that it failed to become a democratic constitution in real
sense of the term. Extensive powers given to the House of
Peers proved that the constitution was framed to protect the
interests of the new aristocracy and the big industrialists.
The constitution ensured the tyrannical measures of the state
in favour of property. Nathaniel Peffer aptly remarked, “With
a Constitution, a Cabinet, a Diet and all the trappings of the
19th
century
oligarchy”.
government,
Japan
remained
a
feudal