Lecture reading 5 - The Imperial Oath of 1868 Flashcards

1
Q

What were the three challenges to the legitimacy of the Restoration government and how were they solved?

A
  1. Tokugawa and allies. Solved when Tokugawa Yoshinobu sued for peace, averting bloodshed.
  2. Foreign presence. Solved when the powers signified they no longer regarded the Tokugawa as Japan’s legitimate rulers.
  3. Authority. Solved with Imperial Oath on 6 April 1868.
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2
Q

Which two groups questioned the Satsuma-Choshu leadership?

A

Conservative courtiers and introverted daimyo.

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3
Q

What is the difference between the ‘oath’ and the ‘five articles’?

A

‘Oath’ is the ritual performance, ‘five articles’ refers to articles setting out the broad outline of the Restoration.

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4
Q

What were the five articles?

A
  1. We shall determine all matters of state by public discussion, after assemblies have been convoked far and wide.
  2. We shall unite the hearts and minds of people high and low, the better to pursue with vigor the rule of the realm.
  3. We are duty bound to ensure that all people, nobility, military, and commoners, too, may fulfil their aspirations and not yield to despair.
  4. We shall break the shackles of former evil practice and base our actions on the principles of international law.
  5. We shall seek knowledge throughout the world and thus invigorate the foundations of this imperial nation.
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5
Q

What was the imperial oath about, first and foremost?

A

Political power.

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6
Q

What did the structures in this ritual create?

A

Model for society: emperor mandated by ancestors and deities and rules over harmonious, loyal, obedient nation. Actual situation very different.

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7
Q

What was the April oath designed and staged to do?

A

Enable Kido, Okubo, and Iwakura to manipulate the emperor and bolster their own authority within government.

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8
Q

Who was the ritual mainly focused at:

A

The gijo (senior councillors) - most obstructive of court nobles and daimyo. They were scripted an active role in the ritual.

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9
Q

Which two spheres of activity did the Meiji Emperor engage in?

A

Political and ritual.

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10
Q

Describe the political activity of the Meiji Emperor (four points).

A
  1. Kagosho - inauguration of the new imperial government. Emperor hidden from view.
  2. Emperor left palace for the first time and attended cabinet meeting at Nijo Castle.
  3. Gave audiences to foreign diplomats at imperial palace.
  4. Presided over ‘first parliament of Japan’ according to British diplomat.
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11
Q

In which two ways was the imperial oath a manifestation of political ‘will’ in the emperor’s words and actions?

A
  1. Emperor asked deities to chastise anyone who breached pledge of loyalty they were about to sign.
  2. Emperor declared himself poised to implement reforms ‘the likes of which have never before been seen’, referring to five articles.
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12
Q

Describe the ritual activity of the Meiji Emperor (two points).

A
  1. Emperor’s political function embedded in ritual context.

2. Previously, rituals were private, passive and apolitical. Now they were public, active, and political.

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13
Q

What caused a dramatic development in nature of the imperial institution?

A

Politicisation of imperial office and ritualisation of imperial politics.

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14
Q

Which image was the Meiji Emperor made into and what did this mean?

A

Image of Jinmu. In doing so, Kido, Okubo, and Iwakura claimed for him and for themselves who manipulated him the legitimacy that comes to all those who ‘return to original forms’.

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15
Q

Who were the gijo?

A

Senior councillors in nominal charge of departments within government and who had influence outside of government.

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16
Q

What was the problem with the gijo?

A

They had to be disempowered.

17
Q

How many groups were the gijo divided into? Describe.

A

Two:

  1. Tosa-Echizen group of daimyo centred around ‘concillatory’ leaders of those domains, Yamanouchi Yodo and Matsudaira Yoshinaga respectively.
  2. ‘Nakayama’ group of courtiers including Nakayaa Tadayaki, emperor’s maternal grandfather.
18
Q

What did the groups of gijo have in common and what problem did everyone face?

A

Profound suspicion of Kido, Okubo and Iwakura. Problem came down to who had right of access to the emperor: gijo groups or Kido and co.

19
Q

How did the imperial oath disempower the gijo?

A

Gijo rank was ultimate cause of disunity within government and had to be brought to heel. The emperor’s role in the imperial oath was a one-way dialogue. Emperor did not present policy to gijo for their consideration- discussion, criticism, and rejection all out of the question. Ritual deprived gijo of any response except acquiescence, thus disempowering them.

20
Q

What was the one-way ritual dialogue designed to do? (three points)

A
  1. prize daimyo away from their own agendas
  2. dislodge courtiers from premodern, conservative court
  3. bind both to the emperor as his loyal subjects
21
Q

What did the oath seek to do?

A

Bind the gijo to a new imperial ideology, i.e. that of the five articles.

22
Q

What was the imperial oath ultimately about?

A

Power relationships between ruling clique.

23
Q

Who were the five articles directed at?

A

Gijo.

24
Q

What did the ritual design do?

A

Cast the emperor in authoritarian mode.

25
Q

What did the five articles represent?

A

Decisive action over all gijo and all in government whose loyalty was suspect.