Inoue Kowashi and the Dual Images of the Emperor of Japan

Abstract

T ? a HE FIRM ESTABLISHMENT of a strong sovereign state had been a major concern for theJapanese government, the Imperial court, and many other leaders since the closing years of the Tokugawa period (bakumatsu). In the late nineteenth century, many of the problems Japan faced as it moved into the world of Western diplomacy resemble problems facing other Pacific nations launched on a similar course after 1945. Melding the organizational underpinnings of the dissimilar cultures of East and West proved an imposing, if not impossible task. Japan experimented with Western science, technology, ideology and modern institutions in fear of Western encroachment and colonization. Her objective was partially achieved when Japan emerged victorious from the first Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). Yet today, even in the most fundamental ways,Japan continues to harbor important elements of its mythic past. The Meiji Restoration was accomplished by toppling the Bakufu, the Tokugawa family's private regime that had governed Japan for 250 years. The goal of what was in effect a revolution from above was to restore the more ancient true relations between sovereign and subjects, asserting that the Kyoto Imperial court was the legitimate government ofJapan. Those who initially wrought the Meiji Restoration sought to abolish the feudal system and to conduct politics based on public consensus under the rule of the emperor. One may say that what ultimately would become the underpinnings of the Meiji Restoration had begun to take shape as early as the 1830s; in truth, events were put in motion before that. Foreign ships had approached Japanese shores with increasing frequency in the preceding decades. In reaction to this foreign encroachment, defence readiness became a serious issue for those charged with the security ofJapan. They took their lead from observers and patriot prophets such as Motoori Norinaga (17301801), Kud6 Heisuke (1 734-1800), Hayashi Shihei (1 738-93), Honda Toshiaki (1744-1821) and Sakuma Sh6zan (1811-64). These men saw Western