The Meiji Constitution: The Japanese Experience of the West and the Shaping of the Modern State (review)

The decision to adopt the Meiji Constitution of 1889 is conventionally understood as a rearguard action in the struggle between the Popular Rights Movement and the oligarchic elements in the government. The constitution is viewed as an effort to consolidate the position of the imperial house and governmental interests before rising democratic pressures could be brought to bear. One might view its origins as inauspicious: drafted in secret by Itō Hirobumi and a small group of associates on a foreign model, adopted with no public discussion, and presented as a “gift” from the emperor to his people, the constitution nevertheless survived for five decades. During this period, it provided a framework for Japan’s government structure and rapid modernization and was even adapted to party government during the Taisho era.

Takii’s book, originally written for a popular Japanese audience, suggests that this success was largely due to crucial decisions taken by its framers, and his volume is a useful addition to the literature on the topic. The book seeks to place the constitution in a broader context by focusing on the perceptions of several key leaders during their encounters with the West. It is organized around three fact-finding visits of Meiji leaders to the West: the Iwakura Embassy of 1871–73, Itō Hirobumi’s European constitutional investigations of 1882–83, and Yamagata Aritomo’s study tour of 1888–89. Each of these journeys is the subject of a separate chapter that tracks the participants’ evolving views on the character of the Japanese state. The conclusion references another journey, that of Itō’s associate Kaneko Kentarō to present the constitution to various Western dignitaries for their reactions, which were generally quite positive.

By placing the study tours at the center of the analysis, Takii illuminates the interaction of the various personalities. This approach is humanizing, and many interesting anecdotes arise in the descriptions of the leaders’ intellectual encounters on the journeys. The volume traces a gradual shift during the Iwakura mission away from an early faith in international law as a device to ensure Japan’s national security. A crucial juncture came in an encounter with Otto von Bismarck, in which he disabused the Japanese of any faith in international law as a device to protect their interests. Only national strength, founded in strong institutions, guaranteed autonomy, according to Bismarck. The Iwakura mission returned home with a more sophisticated view of law and a commitment to realpolitik. It also brought a significant amount of information on constitutional institutions, mostly compiled by Kido Takayoshi during a four-month stay in Washington, D.C.

The book then jumps to the political crisis of 1881 and the decision to send Itō Hirobumi to Europe. Itō’s encounters with the legal scholar Rudolph von Gneist were initially disappointing, as Gneist was skeptical of Japan’s efforts to draft a constitution. This was consistent with the views of the German historical school of jurisprudence, which emphasized an organic connection between laws and local political conditions, and the coevolution of law and society. Gneist urged gradualism: Japan should wait until its institutions were sufficiently developed to have a constitution. Itō also encountered general skepticism about parliamentary government, in keeping with the contemporary scene in newly unified Germany. This led him to become somewhat worried about his ability to accomplish his mission. Itō’s spirits improved, however, with his visit to Austria to meet the legal scholar Lorenz von Stein. Stein’s theories focused on a balance among monarch, legislature, and executive branch, and in particular he warned of the dangers of dominance by the first two. National stability required, most of all, administrative autonomy and a bureaucracy able to act on its own accord (pp. 74–77). These views shaped Itō’s view of the constitution of Japan writ large, and soon after his return to Japan he began...