I cannot help the feeling that with the climate of the earth currently hanging in a precipitous balance, with every indication that if nothing is done to mitigate the effects of human-induced climate change then large sectors of the earth with become uninhabitable to all forms of mammal and plant life, that a lot of these problems are the logical conclusion of activities unleashed during the nineteenth century.  In other words, the modern world, for all of its technical achievements, has yet to escape the debilitating effects of a world built on the subjugation and industrialisation of nature and its resources.

The nineteenth century, carrying on the ethos of the industrial revolution as it was practiced in the United Kingdom from the eighteenth century onwards, regarded nature as a thing to be tamed, codified, and exploited for the betterment of the nation and for humanity as a whole.  This was to be achieved by a naked form of capitalism, of exploitation for the sake of profit, with the means of production and distribution to be ever thus refined and improved so that those profits could be distributed faster and wider than before.

To realise this goal, the United Kingdom (and then other European states) needed to control resources and subjugate those who held them so that both could then be put to use for the sake of the industrial state. Hence the development of imperialism, and with it militarism, which would in time be followed by mercantilism and commercialism. It created the basis for the concepts of destiny and superiority that were central to nineteenth century theories concerning race.  These forces would continue to hold sway over Europe, and its colonial branches, for over a century as the drive to achieve “prosperity” sent government and commercial entities to every corner of the globe in the search for more resources to exploit.   

Such ideology, which believed in eternal progress and industrialization as the key to “prosperity”, only occasionally considered the ramifications of what such activity would do to the natural world.  Adjustments would not begin to be made until the effects of industrialisation and commercialisation became blatant to large sections of society, thus initiating movements (from the late 1960s onwards) aimed at trying to mitigate some of the damage created over the previous century.  Yet the fundamental ideology underpinning the industralisation and commericalisation of Western and later Eastern societies – exploitation of resources for the scientific betterment of society and humanity as a whole – did not change.  It continued to hold sway over government and business thinking, and dictated how such bodies would react to changes in the natural world.

Those forces that the nineteenth century thought admirable and aspirational have, over time, proven a curse to the modern world.  This naked desire for “prosperity” has ruined the very ecological systems that allowed human society to thrive in the first place. If human society is to have a future, it must learn that “sustainability” is crucial not only to humans but to all forms of life.  “Sustainability” means rejecting those forms of industralisation which cause the greatest harm to the largest number of species. It, at its very core, means finding ways to live which do not damage the threads by which life itself is sustained. 

Humans have within their means the ability to change their society to make it sustainable.  It means moving away from the destructive technology of the nineteenth (and, to a great extent the twentieth) century and the exploitative ideology that drove such destruction.  Yet the time for change is running out before irreparable harm is done that will diminish humanity and condemn it to a future plagued by nightmares.

Continuing a trend that I started last year of reviewing, and occasionally posting, information related to the experience of Westerners in the first years of interaction with Japan following the Treaty of Kanagawa (1854) and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce Between the United States and the Empire of Japan (1857, otherwise known as the Harris Treaty), I thought it best to post below some of the significant developments that led to the opening of the Port of Yokohama and events of note in the six years that followed. 

The opening of Yokohama as a treaty port was a significant event in the gradual modernisation of the Japanese state, and transformed the political, economic and social mores of mid nineteenth century Japanese society. The port would influence every foreigner that ventured ashore in search of fame or fortune, and they in turn would use their experience to try to explain Japan and its people to a world curious to know more of this island state on the fringes of the Asian continent. 

In its first ten years of existence, Yokohama would witness the rise of Japan’s trading sector, the first adoption of Western technology by Japanese citizens,  the introduction of Western culinary trends, fashion, religion, sports, entertainments and ethics into Japan, and the first incidents of anti-Western and anti-foreign terrorism in Japan. It would see the establishment of some familiar companies, the emergence of new commercial relationships, and stimulate debate on Japan’s place in the world and how it should develop as a nation.  It was an age of great activity and excited anticipation, and will fascinate anyone willing to explore the roots of modern Japan.

Notable Events
1856

• July - US Consul Townsend Harris arrives at Shimoda.

 
1857

• In October, Harris is granted an audience with Shogun Tokugawa Iesada at Edo, and in November negotiations begin between the US and Japan on a new treaty – the Treaty of Amity and Commerce.
• By year’s end, no resolution had been reached on a treaty, and a number of daimyo had voiced their objections to Japan signing such a document. In order to unify the opinions of the nation, the Bakufu would need the approval of the Emperor for the treaty to proceed.

1858

• January – Bakufu retainer and principal minister Hotta Masayoshi is dispatched to Kyoto to speak with the Emperor, however he is unsuccessful in gaining Imperial approval for the new treaty. As the treaty remains unsigned, Harris leaves Edo and returns to Shimoda.
• Hotta appointed Iwase Tadanao to lead the negotiations with Harris. While he was wary of the destabilizing impact of a foreign presence in Japan, Iwase clearly recognized the potential benefits of international trade, and he went against many of his colleagues in arguing that Japan should agree to open a port in or near Edo.  Iwase argued that the economic stimulus of trade might help the shogunate’s finances, and technology flowing into the country from abroad would arrive first in Edo and not near the domains of potentially hostile daimyo. 
• Iwase was particularly aware of the relative power of Osaka, which was still Japan’s major commercial center.  If Osaka were also to benefit from trade under the new treaty, then Edo and the rest of the country would wither, and only Osaka would prosper.  Iwase felt that opening a new port for trade near Edo might help shift Japan’s center of economic gravity more towards the shogun’s power base in the east.
• 3 May 1858 – The US warship USS Powhatan arrives off the coast of Shimoda, and relays news of the success of the British and French forces attack on Canton against Chinese forces. Harris moves quickly to exploit this news, going onboard the Powhatan and making his way to Shibamura to have the treaty signed. On the 19th of May, the Japan US commercial treaty is signed on board the Powhatan off the coast of Kanagawa. The Bakufu is led by Consul Harris to understand that the US will intervene in any attempt by a combined British-French force to use the threat of military force to pressure Japan, and so agrees to sign the treaty without the approval of the Emperor. This then leads to a wave of signings of further commercial treaties with Holland, Russia, Britain and France.  
• 29 July 1858 – The Treaty that was signed on this date designated Kanagawa as one of three ports that would open to foreign trade.  The others were Hakodate at the southern tip of Hokkaido and Nagasaki in the far west.  Hakodate was already open as part of the Perry treaty of 1854, but only for resupply of foreign ships, not for trade.  Nagasaki had been a centre for trade for centuries. So although all three ports would be covered by the provisions of the treaty, the opening of Kanagawa was its most significant feature.
• 30 December 1858 – Notice released by Edo granting permission for Yokohama to become an open port.

1859

• 12 January 1859 – Notices are issued to all senior retainers of the Bakufu for transmission to their respective provinces, detailing the application procedures for any person from those provinces who wished to move to Yokohama to trade with foreigners and the circumstances under which they would be able to do so. Permits would then be issued to those deemed acceptable who could then rent land in Yokohama to engage in their business. Such was the amount of interest that by mid March nearly all of the land made available for this purpose had been rented. One particularly notable renter was Iseya Zenshirō, a dyer from Muramatsu-chō in Edo.  In February Kitamura Hikojirō, Enshūya Seijirō, and another 15 merchants from Suruga province applied for and received permission. These merchants had good ties to traders in Shimoda, and so they knew that the crews of foreign vessels that visited that town were particularly fond of dyed cloth and tea.
• April 1859 – The “Foreigners Official” from the Bakufu orders the famous merchant Echigo-ya Mitsui Hachirō Uemon to apply for a permit to open a business in Yokohama. This was less about Mitsui wanting to trade with foreigners as it was the determination of the Bakufu to have the presence of a trading house of adequate size and prestige. The same official also made arrangements for food and beverage stores to open branches in Yokohama to meet the demand expected after foreigners begin to arrive in the town. By May around 9 major merchant houses had established themselves in Yokohama, who were then lined up on the northern side of Ōdori Go-chō-me.
• In all, seventy one merchants were approved to open business in Yokohama.  Of these, thirty four were from Edo, eighteen from Kanagawa, and other neighboring districts, and only nineteen from more distant places.
• 3rd of June 1859 – US Warship Mississippi and the SS Wanderer of the Heard Trading Company leave Shimoda and weigh anchor off Yokohama.  On board the Mississippi is the recently promoted Consul Townsend Harris, Consul Doore, and Joseph Heko (or Hamada Hikozō), who has returned to Japan after an absence of 10 years.  On the 1st of July Doore went ashore at Yokohama and negotiated for the establishment of consular residences there. The Bakufu had already prepared residences at “Cross Beach” (literally Yokohama), however the US negotiators, in keeping with the treaty made earlier, insisted on residences within and around Kanagawa They later chose a Soto Zen temple, Honkakuji, located on a high plateau overlooking the Yokohama area.  At around 4 in the afternoon on the same day, Dutch trading ship the Schiller landed at Yokohama. A trader on board negotiated with Bakufu authorities to rent the accommodation already prepared in the village itself, and on the 5th were granted access to the buildings. From the 16th a trading shop was opened, making it the first foreign trade business established in Yokohama. The trader concerned is believed to have been a German sailing under the protection of the Dutch, L (Louis) Kniffler. (From Saito Takio, “The Story of the Origins of Yokohama”, Yūtai Shinsho, 2017).
• 30 June 1859 – Arrival of US Trading Ship Wanderer, first trading ship with traders to land at Yokohama.
• 2 July 1859 – Arrival of British Trading Ship Carthage. First arrival of a postal vessel at Yokohama.
• 16 July 1859 – Start of trading by L Kniffler. First foreign business established at Yokohama.
• 25 August 1859 – Servant of the Russian Consul assassinated at Yokohama. First instance of an attack against foreigners in Yokohama.
• 24 October 1859 – Dr Richard Duggan establishes the Kanagawa Hospital. This is the first foreign operated medical facility in Yokohama. (An Irishman from Galway, believed to be of questionable character).
• 1 November 1859 - American Missionary James Curtis Hepburn establishes the first meteorological observations in Yokohama, and Japan in general.
• Western style wharves established, the first such facilities in Yokohama.

1860

• 3 January 1860 – Fire breaks out in the foreign residential quarter of Yokohama. This is the first large fire in the city’s history.  An interpreter assigned to the British legation by the name of “Breckman” described it as thus.  Breckman, at 1pm on the afternoon of the fire, was travelling from Kanagawa to Yokohama by boat. He noted that there was a column of white smoke emerging from the foreign quarter, which soon turned to thick black smoke.  The fire appeared to break out in a warehouse belonging to ‘Turel” and Carter, before spreading to a thatch warehouse belonging to the De Koninck company. It was the Japanese residents, of course, who did everything they could to extinguish the fire. Some of them were injured while doing so, to which the legations paid a gratuity.
• 22 January 1860 – The First Bakufu delegation leaves for the United States from Yokohama.
• 24 February 1860 – Dutchman Huffnagel (a former ship captain) establishes the Yokohama Hotel, the first Western style hotel in Japan.  The hotel itself featured a billiards room and a bar, the first of either of these amenities in Japan. 
• 26 February 1860 – Assassination of a Dutch ship captain at Yokohama.
• March-April 1860 – Roasted meat party held at the Yokohama Hotel.  This signaled the start of the consumption of meat in Yokohama.
• 1 September 1860 – Formation of a racing society by Western residents. This was the start of Western-style horse racing in Japan.
• 1860 - John Eisler and Martindell establish the first butcher shop in Yokohama.
• 1860 – American photographer Orrin Erastus Freeman establishes the first photography studio in Yokohama, and Japan in general.
• In this year, Utsumi Heikichi establishes the first bakery in Yokohama.

1861

• July 1861 – Foreigner’s cemetery established between the slopes and the foothills located near the town.
• 23 November 1861 – First publication of the “Japan Herald” newspaper.
• December 1861 – Eugene van Reed publishes the “Shoyō Kaiwa”, the first book detailing business phrases in English.

1862

• Start of the year – Shimooka Renjō establishes a photography studio in Yokohama. This is the first photography studio to be operated by a Japanese citizen in Yokohama.
• Start of the year – American missionary Jonathan Goble establishes the first English language training school in Yokohama. 
• 21 January 1862 – Foundation of the Yokohama Tenshudō (cathedral). This is the first Catholic church created since the opening of Japan to foreign influences.
• 27 April 1862 – The Dutch Consulate moves from Kanagawa to Yokohama, thus starting the practice of moving consulates to Yokohama.
• Late April – Early May 1862 – Charles Wirgman publishes “Japan Punch”, Japan’s first comic serial magazine.
• In the same year, Watanabe Zenbei starts a laundry business, thus founding Japan’s first cleaning enterprise.
• July 1862 – James B. Macaulay founds the Royal British Hotel in Yokohama, and installs a coffee room inside the hotel.  This is the first hotel to feature such a room. 
• September 1862 – The Namamugi Incident takes place, resulting in the stationing of naval vessels off Yokohama and the installation of British and French garrisons near the town.
• October 1862 – A bowling green is established at the Royal British Hotel, thus starting the sport of bowling in Japan.
• 1 December 1862 – The Golden Gate Restaurant opens in Yokohama. This is the first restaurant of its type in Japan. 
• This year also saw the establishment of a hospital in the Chinese ward, the first such public hospital. 

1863

• 23 February 1863 - Establishment of the Yokohama Uniting Church. This is the first Protestant church to be founded in Yokohama after the opening of the port.
• March 1863 – Founding of the West Indian Central Bank. This is the first foreign bank to be established in Yokohama. 
• April 1863 – Opening of the Yokohama Hospital.  This marks the beginning of operation of a public comprehensive hospital by Western residents in Japan.
• 18 May 1863 – The Bakufu approves the use of barracks in Yokohama by British and French forces to protect the foreign resident enclaves.
• June-July 1863 – Local residents and crew members from a visiting British warship engage in cricket matches, marking the start of cricket in Japan.
• 4 September 1863 – The Dutch Consulate holds its first evening meeting. 
• 5 and 6 October 1863 – The holding of the inaugural Grand Yokohama Regatta. This was the first such event held in Japan.
• 18 October 1863 – Founding of the Christchurch Cathedral. This is the first Protestant cathedral located in Yokohama. 
• October 1863 – The practice of illusionism gains popularity.  This heralds the arrival of magic and illusion by professionals in Japan.
• 7 November 1863 – British woman R.C Pearson opens the first Western dress shop, thus starting the practice of dress making in Yokohama.
• 6 December 1863 – German Radage Werke (Welke) establishes Yokohama’s first tailor shop.
• 12 December 1863 – Murder of foreign baker “Frankeyo” (Frank Jose). This is the first instance of a murder carried out by one foreigner against another foreigner.
• 22 December 1863 – Establishment of the German Club. 

1864

• 1 January 1864 – Establishment of the Foreign Residential Area Firefighting Squad.
• At the beginning of the year – The restaurant “Three Brothers of Provence” establishes the first Western confectionary store in Yokohama. 
• 1 February 1864 – Lowell begins operations in Japan, thus creating the first steel works in Yokohama.
• 5 March 1864 – Hairdressing and shaving salon established in Yokohama, the first such Western hairdressing business in Japan.
• 6 March 1864 – Visit by touring horse troupe, marking the first visit to Japan by a foreign circus performance group.
• 6 March 1864 – Completion of the eastern (or French) wharves at Yokohama.
• 26 March 1864 – The Hua Brothers (originally from Shanghai) start their trade in purified and distilled water, and begin the manufacture of lemonade in Yokohama.
• 28 March 1864 – The Café du Arie (run by a Frenchman known as Renault) commences business, the first such café in Yokohama.
• Around March – Formation of the Yokohama Medical Hall.  This was the first chemist shop to be operated by foreigners in Yokohama.
• 5-6 May 1864 – Start of the Yokohama Field Sports, the first major competition involving athletics in Yokohama.
• September 1864 – The British Army in Yokohama establishes a Pox hospital.  It is the first such medical establishment for the prevention of communicable diseases in Yokohama.
• 5 November 1864 – American Richard R “Professor” Risley opens his amphitheatre (a circular performance theatre), the first such Western theatre in Yokohama and Japan.
• 21 November 1864 – The “Record of Yokohama Residential Areas” (Yokohama Iryūchi Kakusho) is completed.
• 31 December 1864 – Briton Alexander Shillingford establishes the first construction office in Yokohama, making him the first Western carpentry and construction engineer present in the town.
• In the same year – The British P&O shipping company establishes the first fixed route from Shanghai to Yokohama. 
• Also in the same year – The French Naval hospital is established.  This is the first foreign naval hospital in Yokohama and Japan in general. 

1865

• 4 March 1865 – T.S Smith begins his sign writing business in Yokohama, the first such Western painter to do so.
• 18 April 1865 – Dutchman Le Marchant starts his shoe making business, the first such business in Yokohama.
• March 1865 – A rifle range is established at Negishimura for use by the British Army to practice their shooting.
• 1 May 1865 – The beer and concert hall are completed.
• 13 May 1865 – American Richard R. “Professor” Risley starts selling Amazu ice, and soon follows this up by selling ice cream.  It marks the first time ice cream has been made and sold in Japan.
• 5 August 1865 – Swimming competition held using ocean going boats. This is the first swimming competition to take place in Yokohama. 
• August 1865 – Chisholm starts his piano tuning business, the first of its kind in Yokohama.
• 17 September 1865 – Yano Mototaka (Ryūzan) is baptized by American James Ballagh. He thus becomes the first ever (recorded) Japanese Protestant.
• 9 October 1865 – Dental surgeon Eastluck arrives in Yokohama and sets up business. It is the first such business to be undertaken in Japan.
• 8 November 1865 – The Yokohama Rifle Association holds its first competition.
• In the same year – the Swiss Rifle Club is formed, marking the start of shooting clubs in the settlement.

1866

• 24 February 1866 – Risley imports dairy cows to Japan from America, and establishes the first such farm in Japan.
• 7 April 1866 – Ban lifted on Japanese citizens going abroad. 
• 26 June 1866 – The Yokohama Lodge of the Freemasons is established.
• August 1866 – Kishida Ginkō establishes his eye medicine business known as “Sei-ki-sui”.
• 20 October 1866 – The Great Fire of Yokohama. Two-thirds of the Japanese residential area, and one-fifth of the foreign residential area are burned to the ground. 

The subject of violence in the context of Japanese politics has received renewed attention with the publication of “Ruffians, Yakuza, Nationalists: The Violent Politics of Modern Japan, 1860-1960” by Eiko Maruko Siniawer.  This book, which details the exploits of shishi, bakuto and sōshi gangs of “violence specialists” that were a feature of Japanese political life during the early years of the modern state, is a fascinating glimpse into a world that has always been lingering near the surface of historical memory but which has not yet (at least in English) received a great deal of attention. 

Starting with the closing years of the Edo period, Siniawer outlines how younger, and often poorer, members of the jizamurai class provided their muscle in support of the restoration of and resistance to Imperial rule (i.e., think the Shinsengumi, along with the Imperial supporters from Satsuma and Chōshū). It then details how these protagonists eventually faded away, to be replaced by a different sort of political activist - one that initially acted on behalf of individual patrons (often providing personal protection services to politicians against their political enemies), but which in time joined groups that supported political parties, fought against rival gangs (from both the left and right wing of the political spectrum) and contributed to the spread of Japanese imperialism.

Although the book does not include any breakdown of the number of incidents of political violence per year, which would be useful to determine if during the course of a century there was a remarkable upswing in violence for political purposes, it illustrates in vivid detail many of the more famous incidents of mayhem that punctuated political life during the nascent years of Japanese parliamentary democracy, and how political violence transformed from an instrument of democratic expression to a tool of imperialism and the rise of the fascist state.

It does seem, from the evidence provided, that to enter politics during the period of 1870 – 1930 was to take your life in your hands, and that serious injury or death could result from an inopportune meeting with ‘ruffians’ supporting your rivals or who simply took a disliking to you and whatever political platform you espoused.

What makes this book even more remarkable is the amount of detail it provides about the protagonists of this violence. While I am aware of Japan’s violent political past (and present, if the activities of Diet MPs during debate on the Abe cabinet secrecy laws are any indication), I was not sure of the extent to which it was applied and who practiced it.  Ruffians provides that background and more, down to details on the type of clothing worn by these practitioners of political violence.

Siniawer also makes the important point that political violence was not unique to Japan, and that similar incidents of groups of young men using their physical strength to impose their views on others was a feature in US and UK politics during the same period.   What is interesting is the way in which political violence was encouraged in Japan, and how it became so entwined with the public conscience regarding political action that it would distort and undermine the very democracy that had allowed that conscience to emerge in the first place. 

It is an excellent resource for those seeking to understand how political ideals were strongly contested in Japan during the century following the Meiji Restoration, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.  

This post stems from my recent reading of an article related to the Genyosha. Many years ago, while I was studying for my Master of Asian Studies degree, I spent some time looking at articles related to the rise of right-wing organizations in Japan during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Part of the research led me to discover a thesis related to the Genyosha, a group of `Pan-Asiatics` who were, according to the information I read, devoted to spreading Japan`s empire whilst trumpeting the call for the liberation of Asia from European colonial domination. As such, the society itself was regarded as `nationalist` and devoted to militarism.

Having read an article by an obvious Genyosha sympathizer, it seems that the picture is not so clear cut. While it is true that the Genyosha were nationalists, they were at the same time `ultra-nationalists` (in that their ideas incorporated a framework greater than their own nation) and that their ideology was often in conflict with and a direct contrast to that of the government. The Genyosha itself was centered in Fukuoka, as Kyushu had proven to be the most vocal in opposition to the imposition of reforms by the Meiji government (not exclusively limited to the abolition of the province system and the establishment of prefectures). The society itself was a by-product of the mass movements for liberal and independent rights that emerged during the 1870s, and some of its members had previously been imprisoned for their anti-government activities. The society was, however, devoted to strengthening Japan against what it saw as the encroaching power of European nations in the Asia Pacific. It actively supported liberation movements and their leaders across Asia (particularly after Toyama Mitsuru took over as head of the organization).

Yet one of the curious things that the author of the article stated was that the Genyosha exercised a lot of influence on government, the economy, and the military. If the Genyosha had originally begun in defiance of the government, how did it manage to acquiesce with and persuade members of the government to listen to its rhetoric? Another curious piece of evidence to emerge from the article was that concerning the attitude of the Genyosha towards Japan`s Korean colony. The head of the organization at the time expressed his disappointment with policies enacted towards the Koreans by the Japanese government and military, believing that they had squandered an opportunity to improve relations between the two nations as a result of heavy-handed tactics by the two latter institutions. If so, then how did the Genyosha come to influence the government in the manner that the author says they did, and what exactly did they advocate?

One further question to ask is how did the Genyosha come to exercise such influence when compared to the many other right-wing organizations in Japan at the time? The Genyosha were one of many, however they became the best known, and many of their members would go on to play prominent roles in government after the Genyosha was disbanded by the GHQ in 1946. There must have been something about them that differentiated them from other societies at the time and gave them added exposure. A final question that is related to those above is what Chinese organizations (particularly right-wing organizations) existed in China during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and was there any contact between these and the Genyosha? Did the Genyosha actively advocate the invasion of China in 1931?

The reason I am asking all of these questions stems from an interest in nationalism and how the right-wing elements of political parties (and right wing parties themselves) attempt to influence national policy. Nationalism in Japan and China are two subjects that have been extensively studied over the past few decades, however I wish to go back and look at the earlier manifestations of nationalism (in two states that had only recently come to perceive themselves as `nations`) and how this was transformed into political action.

 Another question of some relevance would be to ask how the Genyosha are perceived by historians in Japan of today. Having read an article by a lecturer who sympathizes with the Genyosha and their history, is this indicative of the majority of post-war studies on the Genyosha in Japan, or is there a definite split between critics and supporters of the Genyosha`s activities and legacy? In addition, what distinguishes the Genyosha from right-wing organizations of today – do they share similarities, or are they fundamentally different? Given the passage of time and the change of government in Japan from an autocracy to (at least in outward form) parliamentary democracy, one would imagine that there are substantial differences between pre and post war nationalism, yet the only way to resolve this question is to investigate it.