APPENDIX A
THE IMPERIAL RESCRIPT ON EDUCATION
Know ye, Our subjects:
Our Imperial Ancestors have founded Our Empire on a basis broad and everlasting and have deeply and firmly implanted virtue; Our subjects ever united in loyalty and filial piety have from generation to generation illustrated the beauty thereof. This is the glory of the fundamental character of Our Empire, and herein also lies the source of Our education. Ye, Our subjects, be filial to your parents, affectionate to your brothers and sisters; as husbands and wives be harmonious, as friends true; bear yourselves in modesty and moderation; extend your benevolence to all; pursue learning and cultivate arts, and thereby develop intellectual faculties and perfect moral powers; furthermore advance public good and promote common interests; always respect the Constitution and observe the laws; should emergency arise, offer yourselves courageously to the State; and thus guard and maintain the prosperity of Our Imperial Throne coeval with heaven and earth. So shall ye not only be Our good and faithful subjects, but render illustrious the best traditions of your forefathers.
The way here set forth is indeed the teaching bequeathed by Our Imperial Ancestors, to be observed alike by Their Descendants and subjects, infallible for all ages and true in all places. It is Our wish to lay it to heart in all reverence, in common with you, Our subjects, that we may all thus attain to the same virtue.
The 30th day of the 10th month of the 23d year of Meiji.
[Imperial Sign Manual. Imperial Seal.]
APPENDIX B
IMPERIAL RESCRIPT TO THE ARMY AND NAVY
The Army of this country, in ancient times, stood from generation to generation under the supreme command of the Emperor. More than two thousand five hundred years have passed since the time when the Emperor Jimmu suppressed the barbarian tribes of the central provinces, and established himself on his Imperial Throne. The expedition was under the supreme command of the Emperor himself, and was composed of warriors of Otomo and Mononobe, the most illustrious warrior-clans of the day.
Military reorganization often was necessitated in subsequent ages by the vicissitudes of the times and the needs of the country’s wars; but throughout Our ancient history, the Emperor was always the regular commander. His place in the field was sometimes taken by the queen or the crown prince, but the supreme command of the Army was never intrusted to a subject.
In the Middle Ages all administrative matters, whether military or civil, were copied from China: six garrisons were organized, and two depots for horses, and a system of frontier guards were likewise established. The organization of the army was thus excellent on paper; but the long continuance of peace ruined the efficiency of the army, farmers and soldiers became two distinct classes.
The warriors imperceptibly changed into a professional caste, popularly called bushi, the principal men of which became the permanent leaders of the army; and the general chaos of the national life placed the chief powers of the Government in their hands, and kept them there for close upon seven hundred years.
No human power could probably have arrested this turn of Our national life; and yet it was a thing much to be regretted as being entirely out of harmony with Our national constitution and the rules laid down by Our ancestors.
After the periods of Kokwa (A. D. 1844) and Ka-ei (A. D. 1848) the Government of the Tokugawa House became too feeble to bear the responsibilities of national government, and a critical period was made more critical by the petitions for admission and intercourse which came from foreign nations. These circumstances caused great anxiety to Our Grandfather, the Emperor Ninko, and Our Father, the late Emperor Komei. When, not long afterwards, We ascended the throne in Our youth, the Shogun Tokugawa returned his authority into Our hands, and the lesser Barons likewise restored to Us their territories. Thus, in less than one year, the whole country came once more under Our direct control, and We were thus enabled to restore again the old system of Government. This great result was due in part to the meritorious services of Our loyal subjects of all classes who aided Us in the accomplishment of this great work, and partly to the mercy which every Emperor of this country has felt for Our people; but the basis of the whole work now successfully accomplished has been the fact that Our people themselves have a just knowledge of right and wrong and rightly apprehend the meaning of true loyalty.
During the fifteen years that have elapsed since then, We have reorganized Our military and naval system, and formed Our present army and navy in order to make Our country glorious. The army and navy is now under Our direct command, and though partial commands may from time to time be intrusted to some of Our subjects, the supreme command will always remain with Us. We desire you to remember this fact, and to let your descendants know that the Emperor is Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, so that the country may never again have to go through the ignominy of the Middle Ages.
We are your Commander-in-Chief and as such We rely upon you, as upon Our own hands, and We desire you to look upon Us as your Head, so that the relation between Us may be one of absolute and sincere confidence and trust. Whether We perform Our duty or not, depends entirely on the manner in which you perform yours. If Our country fails to stand high in the opinion of other nations, We desire you to share in Our sorrow. If it rises with honor, We will enjoy the fruits of it with you. Stand firm in your duty: assist Us in protecting the country; and the result must be the prosperity of the nation, and the enhancement of Our country’s reputation.
This is not all We wish to say to you. We have more advice for you, as follows:—
1. The principal duty of soldiers is loyalty to Sovereign and Country. It is not probable that any one born in this country will be wanting in patriotism; but for soldiers this virtue is so essential that unless a man be strong in patriotism he will be unfitted for this service. Disloyal men are like dolls, however expert and skillful they may be in their military art and science; and a troop which is well trained and led, but lacks patriotism, is like a band without a chief. The protection of the country and the maintenance of its prestige must rest upon Our military and naval forces: their efficiency or deterioration must affect, for good or for ill, the fate of Our nation; and it is therefore your duty not to entangle yourselves with social matters or political questions, but strictly to confine yourselves to the observance of your principal duty, which is loyalty, remembering always that duty is heavier than a mountain (and so to be much regarded), while death is lighter than a feather (and therefore to be despised). Never spoil your good name by a violation of good faith.
2. Soldiers must be polite in their behavior and ways. In the army and navy, there are hierarchical ranks from the Marshal to the private or bluejacket which bind together the whole for purposes of command, and there are also the gradations of seniority within the same rank. The junior must obey the senior, the inferior must take orders from the superior, who transmits to them Our direct command, and inferior and junior officers and men must pay respect to their superiors and seniors, even though they be not their direct superiors and seniors. Superiors must never be haughty or proud towards those of a lower rank, and severity of discipline must be reserved for exceptional cases. In all other cases superiors must treat those beneath them with kindness and especial clemency, so that all men may unite as one man in the service of the country. If you do not observe courtesy of behavior, if inferiors treat their superiors with disrespect, or superiors their inferiors with harshness, if, in a word, the harmonious relations between superiors and inferiors be lost, you will be not only playing havoc with the army, but committing serious crimes against the country.
3. It is incumbent on soldiers to be brave and courageous. These two virtues have in this country been always held in very high esteem, and are indeed indispensable to Our nation: soldiers, whose profession it is to fight against the foe, should never for one instant forget that they must be brave. But there is a true bravery and a false one, which is totally different, and the rough behavior of youth cannot be called true bravery. A man of arms must always act with reason and make his plans with sang-froid and care. You must never despise even a small body of the enemy; on the other hand, you must never be afraid of large numbers; it is in the accomplishment of duty that true bravery lies. Those who thus appreciate true bravery will always behave with moderation towards others and will earn the respect of all men. If you act with violence you are not truly brave, and will be hated by others like a tiger or a wolf.
4. Soldiers are required to be faithful and righteous. Faithfulness and righteousness are among the ordinary duties of men: the man of arms can scarcely exist in the army without them. By the former is meant the keeping of one’s word, by the latter, the accomplishment of duty. Hence, if you wish to be faithful and righteous, you must first consider whether a thing may be done or not. If you promise to do something the nature of which is uncertain, and so entangle yourself with others, you will be in an embarrassing situation which may drive you to become unfaithful or unrighteous; and in such a case you will have no remedy, but only vain regrets.
Before embarking on any action, you must first consider whether it is right or wrong to do such a thing, and then take a firm stand upon reason. If you have reason to think that you cannot keep your word, or that the duty is too heavy, it will be wise if you refrain from action. The history of all ages gives us examples of the truth of this: many great men and heroes have perished or dishonored themselves by trying to be faithful and righteous in small things and mistaking fundamental reason, or by observing individual faithfulness at the expense of justice. You must take heed not to fall in this way.
5. It is incumbent upon soldiers to be simple and frugal. If you do not observe simplicity and frugality, you will become weak and false-hearted, and accustom yourself to luxurious habits which lead to cupidity. In that case your mind will become ignoble, and neither your loyalty nor your bravery will avail to save you from the contempt and hatred of your fellow men. This is one of the greatest sources of human misery, and if this evil be once allowed to seize hold of the army and navy, it will promptly spread like an epidemic, and all esprit de corps and discipline will be broken through.
We have been very much concerned about this, and have issued disciplinary regulations designed for the prevention of luxury; and now Our constant concern leads Us to tender you this advice which We desire you to keep in mind.
The above Five Articles must never for a moment be neglected by you, and you will require a true heart to put them into practice. The Five Articles are the spirit of the man of arms, and the true heart is the spirit of the Five Articles. If the heart be not true, good words and good conduct are nothing but useless external ornaments. If the heart be true, you can accomplish everything.
The Five Articles form indeed the ordinary path of human society, and there is nothing in them that cannot be easily practiced and observed.
If you serve Our country in accordance with this Our Advice you will give satisfaction not only to the Nation but to Ourselves.
APPENDIX C
IMPERIAL PROCLAMATION OF WAR
We, by the Grace of Heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on the Throne occupied by the same Dynasty from time immemorial, do hereby make proclamation to all Our loyal and brave subjects as follows:—
We hereby declare war against Russia and We command our army and navy to carry on hostilities against that Empire with all their strength, and We also command all Our competent authorities to make every effort in pursuance of their duties, and in accordance with their powers, to attain the national aim with all the means within the limits of the law of nations.
We have always deemed it essential to international relations and made it our constant aim to promote the pacific progress of Our Empire in civilization, to strengthen Our friendly ties with other states, and to establish a state of things which would maintain enduring peace in the Extreme East and assure the future security of Our Dominion without injury to the rights and interests of other Powers. Our competent authorities have also performed their duties in obedience to Our will, so that our relations with the Powers have been steadily growing in cordiality. It was thus entirely against Our expectation that we have unhappily come to open hostilities against Russia.
The integrity of Korea is a matter of constant concern to this Empire, not only because of Our traditional relations with that country, but because the separate existence of Korea is essential to the safety of Our Realm. Nevertheless, Russia, in disregard of her solemn treaty pledges to China, her repeated assurances to other Powers, is still in occupation of Manchuria and has consolidated and strengthened her hold upon three provinces, and is bent upon their final annexation. And since the absorption of Manchuria by Russia would render it impossible to maintain the integrity of Korea and would in addition compel the abandonment of all hope for peace in the Extreme East, We determined in those circumstances to settle the question by negotiation, and to secure thereby permanent peace. With that object in view, Our competent authorities, by Our order, made proposals to Russia, and frequent conferences were held during the course of six months. Russia, however, never met such proposals in a spirit of conciliation, but by her wanton delays put off the settlement of the question and by ostensibly advocating peace on the one hand while she was on the other extending her naval and military preparations, sought to accomplish her own selfish designs.
We cannot in the least admit that Russia had from the first any serious or genuine desire for peace. She has rejected the proposals of Our Government; the safety of Korea is in danger, the vital interests of Our Empire are menaced. The guarantees for the future which We have failed to secure by peaceful negotiations We can only now seek by an appeal to arms.
It is Our earnest wish that by the loyalty and valor of Our faithful subjects, peace may soon be permanently restored and the glory of Our Empire preserved.
[Imperial Sign Manual.]
[Privy Seal.]
February 10, 1904.
[Signed by the Minister of State.]
The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE · MASSACHUSETTS
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] Dogs and monkeys are proverbially unfriendly in Japan, as dogs and cats are with us.
[2] “Death is returning home.” Quotation from the Chinese classics.
[3] Meiji (Enlightenment). The era beginning with the reign of the present emperor.
[4] Quoted from a war-song.
[5] The cherry-blossom is the flower of the warrior, because of its beauty, its short life, and its glorious death.
[6] Quoted from the Imperial Rescript on Education. This may be called the Japanese Gospel on Education, and is read with all possible tokens of reverence in all Japanese schools on all ceremonial occasions. For full text, see Appendix A.
[7] Go, a measure of capacity equal to a little more than a gill.
[8] Sen, equal to half a cent.
[9] Rice is a banquet to people so poor that they live ordinarily on millet.
[10] “Banzai!” “Hurrah!” (Literally, “Ten thousand years!”)
[11] This refers, not as it may seem, to the thought of coming back disabled, but to the idea of returning without the body after death.
[12] The sheath and hilt of whitewood indicates the ceremonial dagger used in committing hara-kiri.
[13] Yamato-damashii, the spirit of Yamato, an expression that contains in itself the idea of all that is heroic in Japanese history and character. Yamato was the province first conquered by Jimmu Tenno, and where he established his empire. The name is still used for that province, and poetically, to mean all Japan.
[14] Koto, the Japanese word used here, means, literally, “arms and legs.”
[15] Quoted from the Imperial Rescript to the Army and Navy upon which the moral education of the military and naval men of Japan is founded. For the full text, and the five articles, see Appendix B.
[16] Quoted from the Imperial Declaration of War against Russia. For full text see Appendix C.
[17] Oni, a goblin or devil.
[18] The farewell cup of water (mizu-sakazuki, “water-wine-cup”), to which reference is made frequently in Lieutenant Sakurai’s story, is a religious ceremony, probably of Shinto origin, of the nature of a sacrament. At the moment of death, the nearest relative present administers water to the dying person, an act of purification for the next life. Hence, on the departure of any member of the family on an errand to which he has vowed his life, the farewell cup that is given him is not the saké, typifying joy and good-fellowship, but water, the symbol of purification. In one of the Japanese classical dramas, Taikoki, the scenes of which are laid in the time of Hideyoshi, the Taiko (1582–98 d.d.), a young man is about to depart on a forlorn hope, with the certainty of ending his life in battle. He is betrothed, and before he leaves his home the wedding is celebrated; but the marriage cup which bride and bridegroom share is filled with water instead of saké, as a sign that the union is not for this life but for the next. The bridegroom leaves immediately after the ceremony and dies fighting; the young wife at once commits suicide and rejoins him in the new life to which they pledged themselves in the “death-cup” of their wedding-day.
[19] The mark over a grave, for a year after burial, is a wooden post, cut square, and bearing the name, and the posthumous Buddhistic name, of the deceased. At the end of the year, a stone is substituted for the post.
[20] A classical Chinese expression meaning war.
[21] Quoted from a war-song.
[22] The hawk is always the symbol of victory and is associated in the early legends with Jimmu Tenno’s victorious progress through Yamato.
[23] The game of go, played with white and black counters on a board ruled into small squares, requires an immense amount of intellectual effort. In this respect it surpasses all games played in America, even chess. It is characteristic of the intellectual activity of the Japanese that this is a favorite game of all classes and all ages.
[24] Kudan, the name of a hill in Tokyo upon which stands the Shokonsha, or “Spirit-Invoking-Temple,” wherein are enshrined the spirits of all those who have died for their country. It is one of the religious centres of the New Japan.
[25] Ri, about two and a half miles.
[26] The Mongol invasion here referred to is the one of 1274 a.d., when Kublai Khan, having made himself master of China and Korea, undertook the invasion of Japan. His fleet reached the Bay of Hakata, on the coast of Kyushu, but was dispersed by a storm after the first battle with the Japanese had driven the invaders back to their ships.
[27] Ho, a fabulous bird of gigantic size, like the roc of the Arabian Nights.
[28] Tamashii, spirit, the same word that in composition with Yamato becomes damashii.
[29] Yen, the monetary unit, equal to one hundred sen, or fifty cents.
[30] Amé, candy made from wheat gluten.
[31] Kwan, a little over eight and a quarter pounds.
[32] In Japanese poetry the cuckoo’s rare cry in the moonlight is treated as particularly sad and dismal.
[33] A species of epic, or heroic ballad, sung to the accompaniment of the lute, or biwa, which has always been the music of the Japanese soldier.
[34] A Buddhist priest.
[35] Kwanon is the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. Bato-Kwanon, or the Horse-headed Kwanon, is the special patroness of horses. In the country districts one may see rude images of Bato-Kwanon set up by the roadside, to which horses are brought and offerings made by their masters in their behalf.
[36] The ken measures about six feet.
[37] Japanese proverb: The frog in the well knows not the great ocean.
[38] Kimi ga yo, the national hymn, which may be roughly translated thus:—
May our Lord’s dominion last,
Till ten thousand years have passed
And the stone
On the shore at last has grown
To a great rock, mossy and gray.
[39] The words tokkwan, translated “final assault,” and this word, Tokkan, meaning the war-cry, belong close together in thought as in sound. The “Tokkan!” which has been retained in the translation, is onomatopoetic, and gives force to the words that immediately follow it.
[40] “Medetashi!” Glorious!
[41] Tsurugi, sword.
[42] A saying of Iyeyasu, the great soldier and lawgiver,—“In the moment of victory, tighten your helmet-strings.”
[43] From the Imperial Rescript to the Army and Navy. See Appendix B.
[44] The word translated here “sincere” is in its primary meaning “red,” hence the symbolism of the bloodstained garment.
[45] To enable his spirit to see the fall of the fortress.
[46] The Japanese code of knightly honor. For further particulars see “Bushidō, or The Soul of Japan,” by Inazo Nitobe, published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
[47] Ni-ō, the two kings, Indra and Brahma, who keep guard at the gateways of Buddhist temples, to scare away demons. They are noted for their grimness of expression. Fudō, the “Immovable,” the God of Wisdom, who is represented of stern expression, and surrounded by a halo of flames.
[48] Kachi-guri, dry chestnuts. The word kachi also means victory, hence it is one of the articles given to a departing soldier as a wish for his success.
[49] “Ten thousand years for His Majesty the Emperor!”
[50] A Chinese expression.
[51] One cho equals .07 of a mile.
[52] The large earthenware jar, or reservoir, used for holding the water supply of a Japanese kitchen. They vary in size, but the smallest will hold several gallons.
[53] The distinction between elder and younger brother is so great in the Japanese mind that there is no common word for the relationships, but ani, elder brother, and ototo, younger brother, are as distinct as brother and sister with us. Ani in address is softened to “Nii San.”
[54] The saké-cask, contains about sixteen gallons.
[55] The annual festival of the “Opening of the River,” held at Ryogoku Bashi in Tokyo, is the occasion for a great display of fireworks.
[56] Tabi, the Japanese sock, made with a separate place for the great toe.
[57] The “first aid” bandages, prepared by the Red Cross Society, issued to every soldier as part of his equipment.
[58] “I adore thee, O Eternal Buddha!”
[59] The “Buddha Shelf,” the shrine in the house where are kept the tablets of the dead.