KIDO'S OBSERVATIONS ON
RETURNING FROM THE WEST
The
following statement by Kido shows the evolution of
his ideas after returning to Japan
from the United States
and Europe in 1873. Like other Meiji
leaders, he was
concerned about the institutionalization of authority, which was
initially
exercised by individuals under the emperor. As Kido saw it, such an
arbitrary
exercise of power should be replaced by the rule of law. In this sense,
he
remained true to the progressive impulses of the Restoration and was a
herald
of the constitutional movement that blossomed in the late 1870s and
1880s. What
struck Kido most about the West were the constitutional processes
limiting
those in power and providing a sound basis for orderly change. Indeed,
in a
long preamble to the passage quoted here, he asserts as a universal law
of
history that the rise and fall of nations are determined by their
fidelity to
constitutional order. Kido praised the so-called constitution
established under
the Charter Oath but expanded the need for a more popularly based
governmental
structure. His analysis confirms at the same time both his firm
commitment to
greater popular participation in government and the gradualist approach
toward
change that marked the nature of early Meiji reforms. The heart of his
argument
reads as follows.
In
enlightened countries, though there may be a sovereign, still he does
not hold
sway in an arbitrary fashion. The people of the whole country give
expression
to their united and harmonious wishes, and the business of the State is
arranged accordingly, a department (styled the government) being
charged with
the execution of their judgments, and officials appointed to transact
business.
For this reason all who hold office respect the wishes of the whole
nation and
serve their country under a deep sense of responsibility, so that even
in
extraordinary crises, they take no arbitrary step contrary to the
people's
will. 1 he strictness [of the constitution] of these governments is
such as I
have just described, but as [an] additional check upon illegal
acts, the
people have parliamentary representatives whose duty it is to
inspect
everything that is done an to check arbitrary proceedings on the part
of
officials. Herein lies the best quality of these governments. But if
the people
are not yet sufficiently enlightened, it becomes necessary, at least
for a
time, that the Sovereign should by superior discernment anticipate
their
unanimous wishes and act for them in arranging the affairs of State and
in
entrusting to officials the execution of their wishes. By this means he
will
gradually lead them forward in the path of enlightenment. Such a course
is
consonant with natural principles, and I an inclined to believe that
the
thought of the Emperor when he inaugurated by an oath his energetic
policy was
based on this idea. My belief is that although Japan
is not yet ready for parliamentary inspection of the affairs of state,
in the
importance of its laws and the magnitude of its affairs it is no
different from
those countries of Europe and America
the conduct of whose government embodies the will of the people. It is
important that our officials should not be forgetful of their
responsibility
and should take as their model our five-clause Constitution. ...
Every
citizen's object in life is to preserve his natural liberty by
exercising his
rights, and to assist in carrying on the government by sharing its
obligation; Therefore,
[these rights and obligations] are specified exactly in writing and men
bind
themselves by a solemn promise to permit no infringement of then-but to
act as
mutual checks on each other in maintaining them. These writings are
what we
call laws. The laws grow out of the Constitution, for the Constitution
is the
root of every part of the government, and there is nothing which does
not
branch out from it. For this reason, every country, when the time comes
for
changing its constitution, bestows on it the greatest care and the
ripest
consideration and ascertains to the full the general wishes. No new
measures
are put in force unless they are imperatively called for by the
circumstances,
[nor are any adopted] lightly or hastily. In a country whose sovereign
generously
decides to meet the wishes of the people the greatest care must be
taken to
ascertain them with accuracy, the internal conditions of the country
must be
profoundly studied, what the people produce must be taken into account,
and,
most important of all, policies must be suited to the degree of
civilization of
the people.
Again, in ordering the affairs of a nation, its strength must be taken
into account. If not, one good will be converted into a hundred evils.
The poor
man's son who tries to rival the son of the rich man ruins his property
and his
house, and in the end does not make a show equal to his rival. Those
who order
the affairs of a nation should remember before taking action, to
consider the
due sequence of measures, and should proceed by gradual steps in
nourishing its
strength, for no nation ever attained to a perfect state of
civilization in a single
morning.
[Kido
Takayoshi, Shogiku Kido-ko den, vol. 2, pp. 1563-68; McLarel Japanese
Government Documents, pp. 571-7]
From DeBarry 680