The Enigma of Japan

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 8 September 1938, Page 11

The Enigma of Japan

A STUDY IN NATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY WARNING TO NEW ZEALAND ! ADDRESS BY CAPTAIN MONCRIEFF In an address given by Captain MonnicfF to the Nelson notary Club ! on the Japanese national mentality, he traces the various influences which have contributed to bring about the wanton attack on China by Japan. Having, some thirty years ago, spent a year in Japan on an official mission, he had exceptional opportunities of studying the Japanese mentality and psychology. His conclusions throw some light on the causes leading up to Japan’s present disastrous policy in China, and at the same time disclose the formidable nature of the Japanese menace to Australia and New Zealand, if steps are not at once taken to increase their respective populations. Captain Moncrieff spoke as follows:

! inter-bred to a certain extent, but in j the mixed breed the Aino strain dies ( out in the fourth generation. There is ' therefore very little Aino blood in the present Japanese race. ; In Japan we find two well defined i racial types; the round pudding face •type, characteristic of the lower classes, ' and the aristocratic type with thinner ■ noses, more oval faces and smaller ! mouths, characteristic of the upper classes. The former were for a long , time slaves or servitors to the aristo- ; cratic type. There were also upper and lower classes among the Maoris of j New Zealand. The first type are supI posed to be descendants of the earlier migrations. These were later conquered by the aristocratic type. To-day the i latter type will be mostly found among the upper classes. HISTORY 1 The earlier history of Japan Is merely a confused record of continuous warfare between numerous clans owing nominal allegiance to a shadowy Divine Mikado. During this period Japan could scarcely be regarde as a civilised nation. The real commencement of her civilisation began with her conversion to Bhuddism from 532 to 621 A.D. | by Chinese missionaries. These latter j also introduced Chinese culture, famii liarising the Japanese with the Chinese | classics, arts and writing. The JapaI nese themselves admit the profound inI fiuence of Chinese civilisation on their culture. The country was divided up into numerous semi-independent pro- : vincial districts, each under its own j chief, or Daimyo, and there was a con- , tinual struggle among the most powerj ful of the Daimyos to acquire suprem- ! acy. It was not, however, till 1185 A.D. • that Yoritimo, of the house of Mina- , nolo, established his authority over the | whole country. Yoritomo forced the j reluctant Mikado to grant him the title :of “Shogun.” meaning “Generalissimo.” i That was the commencement of the | Shogunate The latter comprised a dual | system of government; the Shogun, the J real ruler with absolute power, and the ; Mikado nominally the spiritual head, but a mere puppet subservient to the j Shogun. The Shogunate lasted up to t 1868. expiring a few years after Com- | mander Perry, of the U.S.A. navy, forj ciblv compelled the Shogun to open up j the country to Western intercourse. By | yielding to the demands of Commander I Perry to open up the country to Euroj pea ns, Hie Shogun gave deep offence to ■ his feudal barons (the Daimyos); espe- . "iaily as he had failed to get the con- | sent or sanction of the Mikado. Hia j action led to a short civil war in which the Shogun was deposed, being forced ; to relinquish all power. The Daimyos i then proceeded to restore the Mikado J to his rightful position as the sacred I and de facto ruler over the whole coun- | try. ! Fortunately for Japan, her destiny at j this critical period of her history was guided by ihe best elements of her feu- | dal aristocracy. Realising that Japan ; would be at the mercy of any predatory European power who mjght choose to attack her unless there was established a strong government with the MG kado or Emperor as head, they called on all the Daimyos and landed gentry to give up their powers, privileges, treasures, and the greater part of their lands to the Mikado, i.e., to the Imperial Government. VOLUNTARY SACRIFICE They answered the call of patriotism,

I. | Japan is certainly occupying a front' page in the news to-day. We are wit- j nessing the extraordinary spectacle of one nation imagining that she can for- , ciblv compel another to be more friend- I ly disposed towards herself---for this'. I statement has been officially put forth | by the Japanese Government—and for this purpose is in process of inflicting j j on the object of her affections losses 1 i from war, sickness, and other causes, of i what will probably amount to over | twenty million lives. How the Japanese ; I can expect this result to follow from, j her treatment of China is absolutely in- j j comprehensible. This is the tragedy we ' | are witnessing to-day. and this is the “enigma of Japan.” The main object I have in view is in i some measure to explain, but in no way j to condone. Japans present action in j China. A review of the Japanese social, religious and historic background may help to throw some light on her national psychology. Without some insight into the mental processes of the 1 Japanese mind, we can never hope to solve the motives underlying her present disastrous policy. During my stay in Japan 1 had a most interesting experience travelling over a large part of the country and* i mixing with all classes of people, j | Though thirty years have passed j the impressions I derived have! important bearings on what is l happening today. This is the! reason for my venturing to lay before you what I consider are the primary causes of the present trouble. Let us first of all get some idea of the ! 1 geographical features of the country, j ITS GEOGRAPHY Japan consists of three large islands! and innumerable smaller ones, com- j prising an area slightly greater than j New Zealand Only 12 per cent, of this : < area is capable of cultivation, every j 1 square foot of which is intensely culti- j , vated. The country is very mountain- j; ous, and has numerous volcanoes both J active and extinct; the most famous of! | which is Fuji, the sacred mountain ! I i (12,365 ft), which is very similar in ap- j 1 I pearance to Mt. Egmont in New Zea-! j'and. Her climate is temperate, but; there are more extremes of temperature j i than in New Zealand. 1 1 Let it be noted that New Zealand and i Japan have approximately the same |; area of cultivable land, yet the latter i | has to support a population of over i 65.000.000. K ACE The original inhabitants oT Japan! ' i were the Hairy Ainos; they correspond- 1 , ed to the Morioris of New Zealand. ' ! From the earliest times there have been J 1 j immigrations into Japan of Mongolians j i ! from the mainland, via Korea, and also j < j a smaller Malay immigration from the ' j south, via the Luchu Islands which con- j 1 j ncct Japan with Formosa. ! t I The Japanese race contains about 90 f j per cent, of Mongolian strain There!’ is as great a difference between the 1 modern Japanese and the Ainos as be- r tween the whites and the Red Indians of c | America. The Ainos and Japanese have l Simple Device Proves Profitable.— t ! If you have a little invention, it may j ; mean a big fortune. Don't wait till } I somebody else gets the same brain- . I wave. Consult us now—fully and con- 1 lidentially Henry Hughes Ltd (Direc- * tors, W. E. Hughes and J. T. Hunter j Registered Patent Attorneys), 214-217 j D.l C. Building, Wellington Local j Agents: W. Rout and Sons Ltd., Hardy

and voluntarily and unselfishly relin- j quished practically all their wealth and ! privileged positions. Many of them ex- * changed extreme wealth for “honourable poverty.” This example of self- ! sacrifice on the part of a landed nobility voluntarily relinquishing all that • they most prized on bell ilf of the national interests is probably unique in history. By this sacrifice the present i theocratic government with the Divine Mikado as its head was firmly estab- I lished Now this unselfish and noble action j on the part of the best and leading • families of Japan is the direct cause of j the enormous prestige and respect in which the Army and Navy and its leaders are held to-day by the Japanese people: since the officer class are mostly descended from these families. The above outline gives a sort of historical picture of the evolution of the modern Japanese nation. When we have filled in a certain amount of detail into this picture we shall be in a better position to understand the enigma which Japan presents to-day. Unfortunately. it is a picture of high | ideals perverted to ignoble ends. The leaders who carried out the revolution modernising Japan, namely, the “elder statesmen” as they are called today, substituted the theocratic rule of j the Emperor for that of the Shogun and 5 the numerous semi-independent Dai--1 myos. What they affected was a trans- ; | ference of the feudal loyalties of the ! people from the Daimyos to the Divine i Emperor. Under the old feudal system j ? the mass of the people owed their loyal- j . ty to their own families, to their own j r chiefs, while these in turn owed their ; r allegiance to their respective Daimyos. r The loyalty of the people never ex- | l tended to the country as a whole. If ; " their feudal superiors quarrelled and ; r fought against each other, that was not f their concern; they were loyal each to his own chief, and were prepared to 1 sacrifice their lives on his behalf. Each Daimyo represented the theocratic head “ of his own Family Ancestors. “SAMURAI” CODE Each Daimyo owed his authority over . the people to an aristocratic class cor- . responding to the English landed gentry y in feudal times; they comprised a su--2 perior caste imbued with a “Samurai” 1 ! code, called “Bushido.” This Samurai - i code was a kind of knightly chivalry of f the most exacting kind. It insisted on ■ absolute loyalty, obedience even unto '• death, truthfulness, unquestioned courr j age, gentleness to the weak, and skill in * ! arms. In Old Japan, all gentlemen ? j must be Samurai, i.e.. all gentlemen | must be soldiers ready to fight for their v j overlord, and all soldiers must be genJ tlemen. For the Samurai, money and riches, did not count, only honour. {Trade, business, and making money, . ' were dishonourable occupations, since . i they were based on self seeking and . } self interest. The privilege of carrying i.! arms was a great honour, and was . strictly confined to the Samurai caste. 2 j Now it was this spirit of Samurai 2 ! which induced the nobles and country - gentlemen to hand over their land and wealth to the theocratic state. Their - example of self sacrifice made a deep 1 irepression on the Japanese people. - Coming from a military caste and 2 despising trade and money making it ’ was natural that they should provide the cadres of the corps of naval and j military officers, { Before the revolution no Japanese y , could carry arms unless he belonged r ; to the Samurai class. It was a mark of r : distinction. The rulers of Japan have . I very cleverly exploited this Samurai > j privilege of bearing arms. They have . j got all classes to believe that on them - ! has been conferred the special honour s and privilege of bearing arms and servi ; ing in the Imperial army and navy. 1 Consequently the Japanese people feel ] 5 that their social status has been raised > by the fact that, the Emperor has ex--1 tended the honour of the Samurai caste ; tc all soldiers, from the private soldier ! to the highest ranks. By extending the Samurai distinction to all classes there ’ is no need for the government to enforce conscription; it has thus come r about that all Japanese of whatever oo- ( cial class regard it as one of their greatest privileges. To them it is a mark of equality; a step up in the social I scale. Paradoxically, the army has bei come the hall mark of democracy. The masses have thereby acquired a hu- ■ man dignilly with the right to bear arms in the service of their Divine Emperor. Militarism has a hold on the Japanese people not paralleled in any other country. Its strength lies in that it enshrines the Ancient Religion, the Worship of Ancestors, the Samurai

| spirit of loyalty and unselfish devotion to Emperor and Country. The officers of the army and navy are mostly the descendants of the Samurai and feudal families. Their pay is miserably small; they lead, compared i with European officers, spartan lives. They are content, since they are fulfilling the Samurai code in serving ! their Emperor and country. Their reward is the high esteem in w'hich they are held by all classes of their countrymen. COMMERCIAL MORALITY It is well known that the commercial morality of the Japanese business community is low. All Europeans who have had business dealings with Japan? ese and Chinese will tell you that the honesty and integrity of the Chinese merchant class is much higher than that of the Japanese. The reason for this ib that jn Old Japan the trading classes occupied the lowest rung of the social ladder. First came the landed gentry, Samurai, then the artist and craftsman, farmer and peasant, and right at the bottom the trading classes. All except the last attached very little importance to accumulating money, and had a high sense of honour. The renegades from all the other classes dropped naturally into the trading community where there was no high standard of integrity, and where living was soft and easy. This led to the contempt in which the comj mercial classes were held by the counj try at large. Unfortunately, it was ; these trading classes who came mostly jin contact with foreigners and who benefited from the opening up of commercial relations with the outside J world. They rapidly amassed wealth, and it is the descendants of these un- ! scrupulous and none too honest trading • classes that have control of the Japai nese commercial world to-day. Though , rich they arc despised by the rest of i the community. On the other hand, the officer class, though poor, command their respect and esteem. As an example of this state of affairs, when I was in Japan thirty years ago, ail the cashiers in Japanese and . foreign banks were Chinese; the same . applied to the larger business houses . and warehouses, wherever cash was • handled, or wherever there was a poL sition of trust. The Japanese bankers, > merchants, and insurance companies, i could not trust their own countrymen. , The position is, I understand, quite dif- . ferent to-day. At that period some of t the Samurai class were just beginning , to enter business, and their entry has i had a good deal to do with raising the • standard of commercial morality. The great influence of the army is l not surprising. By their spirit of loy- . alty, by their sclf-sacrificing lives, by , their honesty, integrity, and contempt f for money, representing the old JapaI nese virtues, they have acquired an enr ormous influence, and still dominate : the thoughts and aspirations of the people. Though the present Samurai or i gentleman class are mostly as poor as • the proverbial church mouse, yet on ac- [ count of their high integrity, and be- • cause their view of life is in accordi ance with the old Japanese code of “Bushido,” they are still the spiritual [ and real leaders of Japan. We generally find that a strongly dei veloped national psychology is inclined to render a people less mentally capable of understanding the psychology of other nations. The fear of contaminai tion of her people with Russian Communism. which is held to be subversive of Japanese ideals, and the desire to acquire markets and an outlet for her congested population, are advanced by the military party as the motives of Japanese present policy. By her aggressive action she is in my opinion inevitably increasing fourfold the very | dangers which she set out to combat. She has unified China, ruined her best markets, and will quite possibly drive tier into the arms of Russia. (To be continued).