The History of Anglo-Japanese Relations: Volume 1: The Political-Diplomatic Dimension, 1600–1930

296 Pages·2000·1.36 MB·English

by  Ian Nish

The History of
Anglo-Japanese Relations
Volume 1: The Political–Diplomatic Dimension,
1600–1930
Edited by
Ian Nish and Yoichi Kibata
The History of Anglo-Japanese Relations
THE HISTORY OF ANGLO-JAPANESE RELATIONS, 1600–2000
General editors: Chihiro Hosoya and Ian Nish
The five volumes which make up the series on The History of Anglo-Japanese
Relations, 1600–2000 cover the relationship between these two island commu-
nities from the first contacts at the start of the seventeenth century through to
the year 2000. While the studies cover the Anglo-Japanese relationship over the
past four centuries, they tend to concentrate on features of the last 150 years.
The volumes have been prepared independently over the last five years by
Japanese and non-Japanese scholars who have met to debate and discuss their
papers. These studies analyse the rise and fall of these relations in four dimen-
sions: political and diplomatic; economic and business; military and naval; and
social and cultural. The first two volumes are devoted to a chronological treat-
ment of political–diplomatic exchanges.
Titles in the series:
The Political–Diplomatic Dimension, Volume 1, 1600–1930 (edited by Ian Nish
and Yoichi Kibata)
The Political–Diplomatic Dimension, Volume 2, 1931–2000 (edited by Ian Nish
and Yoichi Kibata)
The Military–Naval Dimension (edited by Ian Gow and Yoichi Hirama)
The Economic–Business Dimension (edited by Janet Hunter and Shinya Sugiyama)
The Social–Cultural Dimension (edited by Gordon Daniels and Chushichi Tsuzuki)
The History of Anglo-Japanese Relations, 1600–2000
Series Standing Order ISBN 0–333–79224–6
(outside North America only)
You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order.
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The History of
Anglo-Japanese Relations
Volume 1: The Political–Diplomatic
Dimension, 1600–1930
Edited by
Ian Nish
Professor Emeritus of International History
London School of Economics and Political Science
and
Yoichi Kibata
Professor
University of Tokyo
Japan
With assistance from Tadashi Kuramatsu
Foreword by Chihiro Hosoya and Ian Nish
First published in Great Britain 2000 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-41314-0 ISBN 978-0-230-59895-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230598959
Series ISBN 978-0-333-79224-7
First published in the United States of America 2000 by
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-23032-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The history of Anglo-Japanese relations. The political diplomatic dimension /
edited by Ian Nish, Yoichi Kibata ; with assistance from Tadashi Kuramatsu.
p. cm. — (The history of Anglo-Japanese relations, 1600–2000)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-23032-6
1. Great Britain—Foreign relations—Japan. 2. Japan—Foreign relations—Great
Britain. I. Title:Political diplomatic dimension. II. Nish, Ian Hill. III. Kibata,
Yoichi, 1946– IV. Kuramatsu, Tadashi. V. Series.
DA47.9.J3 H57 2000
327.41052—dc21
99–055779
Selection, editorial matter and preface ©Ian Nish and Yoichi Kibata 2000
Chapters 1–9 ©Macmillan Press Ltd 2000
Chapter 10 ©Ian Nish 2000
Soft reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2000 978-0-333-75387-3
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
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permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained
forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00
Contents
Foreword vii
Preface ix
Editors’ Note and Acknowledgement xi
Abbreviations xii
1 Anglo-Japanese Relations, 1600–1858 1
Derek Massarella (Chuo University)
2 Aspects of Early Anglo-Japanese Relations 31
Kato Eiichi (Niigata Sangyo University)
Translated by Suzuki Hisayo
3 The Opening of Japan and the Meiji Restoration,
1837–72 60
Kato Yuzo (President, Yokohama City University)
Translated by Makimura Yasuhiro
4 From Conflict to Co-operation: British Naval Surveying
in Japanese Waters, 1845–82 87
W.G. Beasley (Professor Emeritus of Far Eastern History,
University of London)
5 The Era of the Unequal Treaties, 1858–99 107
James Hoare (Foreign & Commonwealth Office)
6 From Unequal Treaty to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance,
1867–1902 131
Inouye Yuichi (Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
7 The Opening of the Twentieth Century and the
Anglo-Japanese Alliance, 1895–1923 159
Murashima Shigeru (Formerly Niigata University)
8 Anglo-Japanese Relations, 1902–23: a Marriage of
Convenience 197
David Steeds (Formerly Senior Lecturer in Far Eastern Studies,
University of Wales, Aberystwyth)
v
vi Contents
9 Anglo-Japanese Co-operation in China in the 1920s 224
Goto-Shibata Harumi (Chiba University)
10 Echoes of Alliance, 1920–30 255
Ian Nish (Professor Emeritus of International History,
University of London)
Index 279
Foreword
We write as chief co-ordinators of the Anglo-Japanese History Project, a
Project for studying the history of the relationship of these two coun-
tries from 1600 to 2000. The Project originated in the statement of
31 August 1994 by Mr Tomiichi Murayama, on behalf of the coalition
cabinet which he led. In this he announced the setting up of the Peace,
Friendship and Exchange Initiative which would begin in 1995, the
fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Asia-Pacific war. One part of the
Initiative consisted of support for historical research, and particularly
support for researchers in order ‘to enable everyone to face squarely the
facts of history’. The relationship between Japan and Britain was
deemed to be one of the areas which came within the Initiative.
In order to implement this policy decision, the Japanese government
announced that it would ‘support the compilation of a series of
volumes forming a comprehensive history of the UK–Japanese
Relationship (Nichi-Ei kankeishi).’ The Project was to be conducted by
researchers from both Japan and the United Kingdom and to be funded
over five years by a subvention administered by the Japan Society,
London. Project offices were opened in London and Tokyo.
After preliminary discussions in London and Tokyo in 1995, it was
agreed that the Project would aim at conducting academic research and
publishing volumes covering four central fields in Anglo-Japanese his-
torical relations. Co-ordinators from the Japanese and British sides
were appointed as follows:
The Political-Diplomatic Dimension (2 volumes)
[Yoichi Kibata and Ian Nish]
The Military-Naval Dimension (1 volume)
[Yoichi Hirama and Ian Gow]
The Economic-Business Dimension (1 volume)
[Shinya Sugiyama and Janet Hunter]
The Social-Cultural Dimension (1 volume)
[Chushichi Tsuzuki and Gordon Daniels]
These Co-ordinators, in turn, selected experts in these fields and
commissioned them to conduct research and write chapters for
publication.
vii
viii Foreword
The first fruits of this research were discussed by both sides at
workshops held at the Civil Service College, Sunningdale, UK (July
1996), Shonan Village Centre, Hayama, Japan (September 1997) and
Stephenson Hall, Sheffield University (August 1998). On these occasions
draft chapters were presented by the contributors; and the discussion
which ensued led to the revision of manuscripts.
It is too early for us to make sweeping generalizations about Anglo-
Japanese relations over four centuries since the majority of papers from
the four sections have not yet come in. But discussion at the work-
shops has pointed out the positive aspects of the relationship between
the two countries which has been strong enough to survive setbacks
and even disasters. Just as Britain’s naval actions at Shimonoseki and
Kagoshima in the 1860s were followed by the years of the Anglo-
Japanese alliance (1902–23) so the dark years culminating in the Asia-
Pacific war have been followed by the broadly favourable development
of bilateral relations over the last fifty years, strengthened by wider
common interests and deeper and more extensive exchanges in every
field of activity. We recognize that there are problems outstanding
between the two countries and hope that this series will make some
contribution to their solution by clarifying some of the issues and will
help to promote better understanding.
We as chief co-ordinators would like to thank the contributors who
have devoted much time and effort to the Project. Thanks are due to
the Japan Society (and the Tokyo office of the Project) for arranging its
financial and administrative aspects. Finally, we are grateful for the co-
operation of the officials of the Japanese Embassy, London, and the
Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They have made it clear from the
start that they would not take any part in the publication programme
itself. What appears in these volumes is the work of independent
scholars.
In conclusion, we should say that the joint Project, which has been
administered by a Steering Committee in London, presided over by
Sir Sydney Giffard, and an Advisory Committee in Japan, has since its
inauguration in 1995 been conducted most harmoniously.
Chihiro Hosoya and Ian Nish
1999
Preface
This is one of two volumes devoted to the political-diplomatic dimen-
sion of Anglo-Japanese relations covering the four centuries from 1600
to the present. This volume covers the comparatively tranquil period
up to 1930. We have carved up the period in order to suit the special
research interests of the contributors, but we have allotted more space
to the twentieth century.
This volume consists of parallel essays by Japanese and
British scholars. They have exchanged drafts and discussed their
essays, but they have written independently. The findings of their
research are set out side by side. The editors have made no attempt
to eliminate points of disagreement by devising an artificial
coherence.
The British side is grateful to the Japanese contributors for under-
taking the double burden of preparing their essays in English and for
arranging for the translation of the British essays into Japanese. It is
deeply grateful to the Japanese translators and to the Japanese Co-
ordinator for these efforts. The Japanese language version of these
papers will be published by Tokyo University Press.
By agreement between the two sides, the Japanese counterpart for
the essay by Ms Sybilla Jane Flower on prisoners of war will appear in
the Military-Naval volume in this series, edited by Yoichi Hirama and
Ian Gow.
Much thanks should go to Tadashi Kuramatsu who has acted as the
London office manager for the History Project. He has played a
special part in arranging these Political-Diplomatic essays. The editors
wish to acknowledge his assistance by including his name on the
title-page.
In the Tokyo office the editors have appreciated the guidance of
Professor Takahiko Tanaka and the diligence of Ms Eriko Jibiki and
Ms Yoshie Takamitsu.
We have benefited greatly from the advice of Mr Lewis Radbourne,
OBE, joint chairman of the Japan Society, and the hard work
of Mrs Anne Hemingway and the staff of the Japan Society,
London. In bringing this volume to final publication, the editors
ix