Realpolitik and Translation, one Example : Early Meiji Military History and Nishi Amane

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to examine the overall work done by Nishi Amane (1829-1897) in the Ministry of Military Affairs, later referred to as the Department of the Army, beginning in 1870. Until now, Nishi Amane has been noted in domestic research as “a thinker representing the intellectual transformation of East Asia in the 19th century.” In particular, many studies have analyzed the aspects of Nishi s concept translation or the design of modern academic planning based on text. Meanwhile, in Japanese academia, Nishi s studies on law and political science in the Netherlands have been shown to be of great import, but still highlight the “enlightenment thinker” idea and prove his contribution to “militarism”. It was Sugawara s 2009 study that tried to overcome this simple characterization. This paper explores how Nishi Amane called himself “a person who works for the government and translates”. The author examines the relationship between the real politicians and translators through Nishi Amane. It is widely known that Nishi worked for the Army, but there has been no paper to summarize the whole situation as it played out. In addition, it is not just an outline on what Nishi did in the Ministry of Military Affairs, but also about organizing facts about the early Meiji military system from a different perspective, and reveals where Nishi Amane and the Ministry of Military Affairs occupy this part of history.