The year 1853 was an epoch-making milestone in Japanese history. That year, U.S. Navy Commodore Perry led four warships to the Japanese port of Uraga to force Japan to open up trade. The following year, the two sides signed the unequal Japan-U.S. Goodwill Treaty.
"Black Ship Incident" theme ukiyo-e
Subsequently, Britain, Russia, the Netherlands and other Western powers also followed the example of the United States and signed a series of unequal treaties with Japan. At this point, Japan's state of lockdown for more than 200 years has been completely broken. The defeats in the "British War of Sasaki" in 1863 and the "Shimonoseki War" in 1864 gave the Japanese a deeper understanding of the strength of the Western powers.
As a result, a fierce movement of "Honoring the King" began to appear in Japan, and the emperor and powerful daimyo, who had been excluded from the political decision-making process, successively appeared on the political stage.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > constitutional reforms in the Meiji Restoration</h1>
In 1867, the Satsuma Clan and the Choshu Clan decided to unite and fight by force. In December of the same year, they relied on force to launch a coup d'état, blackmailed the imperial court into issuing a "royal retro order", and established a new government centered on the emperor. In the "War of Pengchen", which ended in May 1869, the new government army won a comprehensive victory and successfully unified the country.
"The War of the Pentagram" themed ukiyo-e
However, the reformers (middle- and lower-ranking samurai of the Southwestern Qiang Domain) who had actual power initially did not clarify their goal of establishing a state. Within the reformists, they are divided into nationalist factions, industrialists, democratizers and other forces, all of which have different national concepts.
What's more, the reform of the country, which was led by the reformists at that time, faced a series of contradictions and twists and turns. However, the leaders of the Restoration, who had "experienced great winds and waves," gave full play to the wisdom and talents of the group, allowing Japan to gradually build a modern state system.
In 1871, the new government implemented the "abolition of the feudal counties", established a centralized government, and completed the political unification of the country;
In 1873, the policy of giving priority to rectifying internal governance was implemented, and Saigo Takamori, Itagaki Retreat and other "Conquest Of Korea factions" went down to the field;
In 1877, in the "Southwest War", the rebellion of the Shi clan led by Saigo Takamori was successfully suppressed, laying the foundation for a new government.
Saigo Takamori
In 1881, the political crisis was successfully resolved by launching the "Meiji Fourteen-Year Coup" and issuing the "Edict on the Opening of the Diet", promising to convene the Diet in 1890.
In 1889, the Constitution of the Empire of Japan (the "Meiji Constitution") was successfully promulgated, and the first "Imperial Diet" was convened the following year, and the emperor's constitutionalist state system was formally established.
The Japanese Parliament of the Meiji period
The promulgation of the Constitution and the convening of the Diet were the end of the meiji Restoration. For the new government, "there are two great tasks on its shoulders: one is independence in terms of international status, and the other is civilization in terms of social development." Therefore, on the one hand, the new government needs to mobilize and utilize the traditional resources at home, and on the other hand, it must also conform to the general trend of the world and obtain advanced theories and ideas of the West.
Therefore, the constitutional formulators headed by Ito Hirobumi, after weighing the advantages and disadvantages of many parties, deeply referred to prussia's constitutional political experience, and finally formulated the emperor of the "one lineage of all generations" as a "national system", and determined the "constitution" as the form and means of consolidating the national system, and finally established a set of constitutional government that was different from any European and American countries.
Hirobumi Ito
Frankly speaking, the Meiji Constitution was formulated with "good intentions." The Emperor "inherits the power of his ancestors... Proclaim this indelible canon", and "the succession of the descendants of the Fallen and the Descendants of the Fallen shall exercise the right to propose proposals, and the bills shall be submitted to the Parliament, and the Parliament shall, in accordance with the elements laid down in this Constitution, shall not dare to try to change them", and stipulate that "sovereignty shall prevail in the king" and give it supreme power. The Emperor monopolized the executive, legislative, judicial, and military powers, and the people were placed in the position of "subjects.".
As the first constitution in a non-Western country with a modern genre, the Meiji Constitution not only set out the "separation of powers" of legislation, administration, and judiciary, but also stipulated "the rights and duties of subjects", which had a certain progressive nature in form and content.
Emperor Meiji
The leaders of the Reform faction had hoped that through this constitution with "Japanese characteristics," they would realize the desire of "the head of state of the upper unification, the exertion of the lower strength, the support of the ministers and the wing of the parliament, the organs each to get their own place, and then to clarify the rights and duties of the subjects, with a view to increasingly enhancing their happiness."
However, the Meiji Constitution, which combines elements derived from two different principles, inherently contains irreconcilable contradictions; coupled with its many ambiguous and vague provisions, it has flaws and loopholes that cannot be ignored. For example, the issue of the authority and power of the emperor, the issue of mutual checks and balances between the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary, the independence of the command of the army, and the interference of elders and important ministers outside the constitution.
After the Meiji Restoration, the phenomenon of "Westernization" in Japan intensified
As a result, the vertical ruling structure of the emperor → the executive, legislative, judicial (three powers), → subjects in the Meiji constitutional system evolved into a pattern of the emperor (authority) → the elders of the clan, political parties, the military (the leading political force), → the people (public opinion).
In this structure:
The first layer is the emperor, who has absolute authority, but does not have much political power;
The second layer is the political forces that actually hold political power, namely the elders of the clan, political parties, and the military, which contain each other and use the authority of the emperor and popular opinion to compete for and have political dominance;
The third layer is the populace, who belong to the ruled class but influence the actual political process through public opinion and action.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the emperor "doesn't say the final word"? </h1>
In the Meiji constitutional system, the emperor had absolute authority and power, and was at the top of the political system. Chapter 1 of the Constitution, "The Emperor", stipulates that "the Empire of Japan shall be ruled by the Emperor of the Ten Thousand Lineages" (Article 1), "The Emperor shall be sacred and inviolable" (Article 3), and "The Emperor shall be the head of state and shall have the right to rule" (Article 4).
In addition, the Constitution provides for a series of privileges such as the Emperor 's exercise of legislative power' and the "Emperor's convocation of the Imperial Diet and ordering it to meet, adjourn, suspend, and dissolve the House of Representatives."
Emperor Meiji family
But the framers of the Constitution understood that the new regime could not be truly emperorical. As Hirobumi Ito said, "The right to rule is the body of sovereignty, and it is the use of sovereignty to act according to the constitution." The uselessness of the body is lost to the tyranny, and the useful and useless is lost to the loose. ”
Therefore, in the Meiji constitutional system, various restrictions were made on the power of the emperor:
In terms of legislative power, "the Emperor exercises legislative power with the approval of the Imperial Diet";
In the case of state affairs, they are subject to the "auxiliary" of the Minister of State, and "all edicts of law and other edicts concerning the affairs of state shall be signed by the Minister of State";
In terms of military commanders, it is also necessary to rely on the relevant "responsible ministers" and the "auxiliary wings" of the chief of staff and the minister of naval orders.
Ukiyo-e from the Meiji Restoration
That is to say, the emperor has nominally sacred and supreme power, but cannot exercise this power directly without restriction.
"In contrast to the absolute and unlimited nature of the emperor's authority, the power part of the emperor in the Meiji constitutional system is relative and limited." "The relationship between the emperor and the state power and his own position should not be the objective and material domination of the Chinese emperor, but the domination of the invisible and noble mind."
In fact, at the beginning, Japan wanted to unite with China against the West
According to Japanese historical tradition, the emperor is a very special existence, that is, a "living god" with the dual attributes of being both a god and a man. In the history of Japan before the modern era, more emphasis was placed on the divine side of the emperor, thereby highlighting the sacredness, authority, and legitimacy of the emperor; at the same time, the role of his human side was reduced.
Therefore, in order to highlight his "divinity," the emperor should intervene less in "personnel affairs" in the political and other fields. "It is best for the emperor not to exercise specific powers before his people... The best way to do this is to reign in an image of transcendence and diversity that is only consistent with its mission."
Emperor Hirohito in his later years
Thus, even after launching the all-out war of aggression against China, Emperor Hirohito attended more than a dozen imperial councils involving major decisions, "the emperor generally did not speak at the imperial councils." According to the data, he only made a more positive speech at two imperial meetings, one was the "February 26 Incident" and the other was to accept the Potsdam Proclamation.
MacArthur with Emperor Hirohito
The emperor's formal "overall control of the ruling power" and the actual "rule but not the rule" caused some confusion in the political practice of modern Japan, and soon there was a phenomenon of political pluralism and multiple political branches. However, there is no need to worry about a power vacuum in Japan, because modern Japanese politics has its own operating mechanism.
<H1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > three political forces that support Japan</h1>
As mentioned earlier, under the Meiji constitutional system, new political forces were born, namely the elders of the clan, political parties, and the military. They waged a fierce struggle over political dominance, showing a political horn. As the situation develops, there has always been a political force that has the upper hand and dominates the political situation.
Therefore, in modern Japan, there has been a unique situation in which political pluralism and relative unity coexist, and three political forces take turns to hold political power. Under the Meiji constitutional system, they were "nominally" "auxiliaries" to the emperor, but they have always been the center of influence in Japanese politics.
Map of the Constitution Promulgation Ceremony (Tokyo Metropolitan Library)
The elders of the clan came from the southwestern strong clans of the Fallen Shogunate, namely Satsuma Domain, Choshu Domain, Tosa Domain, and Hizen Domain, of which the dominant ones were Choshu Domain and Satsuma Domain. After the success of the Fallen Restoration, the politicians and major bureaucrats of the new government basically came from these clans.
On November 1, 1889 (Meiji 22), the Emperor issued the Edict of "Ueto Youyu" to Hirobumi Ito of choshu Domain and Kiyotaka Kuroda of Satsuma Domain, marking the official birth of the Elders. They used their position and political influence to give full play to their political functions such as recommending a future prime minister and political coordination.
Kuroda Kiyotaka
To become a "senator", the following conditions must be met: the founder of the Restoration, the head of the SaChang clan, the prime minister or minister, and the acceptance of the "Yuanxun Preferential Treatment" and "Kuangfu Grand Politics".
From the emergence of the Elders in 1889 to the retirement of the last Senator from the political arena in 1937 (the Elder Saienji Gongwang, due to health reasons, pushed back the responsibility of recommending a successor prime minister), the elder states were active in the Japanese political arena for half a century, spanning the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras.
Japan's modern political parties also appeared in the Meiji period. In 1874, itagaki, one of the heroes of the Restoration, founded the Rishisha, and in 1875, the Patriotic Society was founded. In 1880, the Patriotic Society held its Fourth National Congress and established the "Parliamentary Alliance", and in 1881, the Liberal Party was formed with Itagaki Assisi as the leader of the party, based on the local countryside, and advocating liberalism.
Itagaki Dismisssuke
With the passage of time, the power of political parties has developed greatly. However, during the Meiji period, it was far from being able to compete with the elders of the clan. In the Taisho era, with the rise of the democratic movement, the political influence of political parties increased rapidly, and eventually began to seek political dominance.
The first pro-constitutional movement that emerged in 1913 became the starting point of the Taisho Democracy Movement. Its main goal is to reduce the power of the senators, the Privy Council, the House of Nobles, the Military, and other privileged strata within the scope of the Meiji constitutional system, so that the parliament and political parties can become the center of politics and the scope of the masses of the people's participation in politics has been expanded. This time, the Constitution Protection Movement struck a blow at the clan lords and military forces.
Japanese people lining up to receive free rice
In 1918, the "Rice Riot" overthrew the cabinet of Masaki Terauchi and replaced it with a cabinet headed by Kei Hara, the president of the Political Friends Association; in 1924, the Cabinet of the Three Factions of the Constitution Was established against the background of the Second Constitutional Protection Movement.
From this point on, it was customary for the cabinets of political parties formed by the heads of the largest party in the House of Representatives, and political parties gained political dominance. However, the elders did not withdraw from the stage of history, and the practice of the political party cabinet still depended on the personal judgment of the senator Saienji Gongwang, who held the power to play the prime minister.
Saienji Gongwang, the last patriarch of Japan, is the last guardian of Japanese democracy
In 1930, because the Japanese government forcibly signed the London Naval Treaty of 1930 despite the opposition of the Military Department, a dispute broke out between the Military Department and the government. Fascist forces centered on the military and right-wing forces fiercely attack political parties, especially criticizing the collusion between political parties and plutocrats, the corruption of political parties and the struggle for power and profit. Prime Minister Hamaguchi, the "national thief", was also stabbed by the right wing at the Tokyo Motor Show and died of a serious illness soon after.
Yuyuki Hamaguchi
In 1932, the Inuyasha Cabinet collapsed due to the May 15 Incident, and Saienji Temple led to the establishment of the so-called nationwide Saito Shigeru Cabinet, ending the history of the pre-World War II political party cabinet. Since then, Japanese politics has entered an era in which military forces have gained the upper hand.
Inuyasha
The military ministry, like political parties, was formed in the Meiji period. In the early days of the meiji era, in order to prevent military personnel from interfering in politics, the government issued the "Military Admonition" led by Aritomo Kiyoyama, which discussed the necessity of military discipline and required that military personnel should not participate in politics and should absolutely obey their superiors.
On January 4, 1882, the new government issued the "Military Edict" in the name of the Emperor, which further elaborated on the emperor's need to maintain military power, and the five items that soldiers must observe, such as loyalty, etiquette, martial courage, faithfulness, and quality.
Yamagata Aritomo, the "Father of the Army" of Japan
In fact, the heads of the meiji-era commanders of the army were all the leaders of the feudal lords who led the restoration. With their seniority and influence, they are enough to control the army. Therefore, there has never been a fundamental problem of the army disobeying the commander-in-chief.
However, with the expansion of Japan's foreign aggression in modern times, the scale of the army has been expanding, and the influence of the army in the country's domestic and foreign policies has increased day by day, and the military has formed an independent interest group, and the head of the group is the military department.
The Japanese base camp studied the plan for invading China
During the Taisho period when party politics was prevalent, the military forces were suppressed and attacked to a certain extent. However, after entering the Showa period, the political party cabinet did not give a strong solution to the problems of economic depression at home and abroad.
Thus, the military clique set out to establish a powerful regime centered on the military ministry and placed the country under the control of the army. On the basis of the "independence of the commanding power" of the Meiji Constitution, they attacked political parties for "violating the right to command", criticized party politics as "the tyranny of political parties", and repeatedly launched assassinations or armed coups against political parties, financial circles, and senior ministers.
Portrait of a young officer of the 1st Division who led the 226 Mutiny
After the outbreak of the September 18 Incident, the Secretary of War became increasingly assertive in his speeches on handling the incident, withdrawing from the League of Nations, and China's policy;
The "May 15 Incident" in 1932 greatly enhanced the right of the Minister of The Army and Navy to interfere in politics and exclude political parties, and further expanded the power of the Military Department.
Over time, the military forces developed to the point of directly interfering in the recommendation of the Prime Minister and the Minister of War, gaining absolute political superiority. Political parties, senators, and dignitaries were powerless to suppress the rise of the military. In 1937, along with the elder Saienji Gongwang began to retire from the political circles due to physical reasons, the political party also retreated step by step under the aggressive attack of the military department, which eventually led to the establishment of the fascist system of the military department.
Ishihara criticized Hideki Tojo for "the fact that politics was entrusted to the arbitrariness and compromise of a few, to the point of summoning the greatest national humiliation of all time."
In 1940, all political parties were dissolved and the Great Political Wing Society was established. Since then, Japan has embarked on a road of no return for crazy foreign aggression and expansion.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > summary</h1>
At the beginning of the Meiji Restoration, the leaders of the restoration flexibly adapted to the international and domestic situation at that time, and skillfully used the emperor's authority to overthrow the feudal Tokugawa shogunate. Subsequently, they overcame many domestic contradictions and crises, formulated the Meiji Constitution of "Emperor + Constitutional system", established the modern national political system, and finally completed the reform of the Meiji Restoration.
Japan's "End-of-War Agreement"
However, I am afraid that they would never have dreamed that political parties and military forces "came first" and successively became the forces that dominated Japan's political situation. In particular, the fascist regime established by the military launched a war of aggression against the world and sent Japan to the road of no return. And what "can only" stop Japan's path to aggression is a more powerful external force.