THE TRAGEDY OF GENERAL NOGI.
[To nia EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR:1
S1R,—With regard to the great sensation of the present month —the suicide of General Nogi—I would like to say a few words in protest against the attitude taken up by the London press, such as I gather from the summaries telegraphed out to Japan. General Nogi committed " junshi." The brave old warrior hurried himself unbidden and unannounced before the presence of the Great Creator. To step unbidden and unannounced before even the presence of an earthly monarch, if such were possible. would demand considerable explanation. This, however, is apparently overlooked by those who take upon themselves to dictate to the Almighty as to when and how they should journey hence.
General Nogi had an international reputation. He was known as a great soldier, a modest gentleman, and a man bearing a great sorrow. He had the sympathy and respect of the whole world. The influence of his last act will go down through the centuries. No man can ridicule even the manner of his death—the great man died a great death. I view it, however, with disapproval and dismay.
There seems to be almost a general consensus of opinion in the Japanese press that the act was justified on loyal grounds. This I expected, but I was in no way prepared for the London press to approve or, at any rate, condone this suicide on the same grounds. If loyalty is regarded as a purely personal element, then according to Shinto beliefs Nogi did the right thing. But then if it was right for General Nogi, would it not be right for other generals and admirals too ? And if so, why not for lesser officers, the rank and file, and indeed for every patriotic subject of his late Majesty P The situation becomes both depressing and impossible. No, the only reasonable conception of loyalty is that which applies to the Imperial House and country.
Why should this additional grief have been heaped upon the Emperor Yoshihito at the very time when he had but just bidden farewell to the remains of his beloved and revered father ? Why should one of the most valued councillors of the Emperor Mutsnhito refuse point blank to support the new monarch or even to live under his rule ? Is this loyalty?
General Nogi declared himself an old man. Possibly he was. He might never have been fit again to take command of an army, but his counsel in the War Office should have been an asset to the nation for many years to come.
Fifty years ago it was not necessary for Japan to consider in any way the opinion of the world. Now, however, the old order has changed. Japan needs money, and it is necessary to create confidence to borrow it. Confidence can only be gained through understanding. When a great general reverts to customs discarded in the dim past, and when the nation applauds the act, how can any understanding he possible P Japanese ethics do not disapprove of suicide. The con- sequence is that they are everyday occurrences, and the newspapers are full of such tragedies. Possibly a student cannot learn a lesson, and throws himself into a volcano or over a waterfall. Perhaps poverty drives some poor wretch to seek a change of condition under the wheels of a train. Frequently a young couple of lovers drown themselves together (commit "shinju"), hoping for happiness in the next world. Nor are " loyal " suicides unknown even in recent years, for only a few months ago a railway pointsman destroyed himself for some supposed fault which delayed the Imperial train. And the people applauded that too! Now, following the example of General Nogi, we may expect these in increased numbers.
It is difficult for Japanese to understand that in England suicide is invariably associated with disgrace. The attitude of the London press will confound the Japanese completely, and it will be imagined that English views on suicide have changed considerably. It should have been pointed out that in England the body of a suicide is usually condemned to separate burial apart from other graves and, moreover, only certain portions of the burial service are read at the inter- ment. It is interesting to look up how many cases of suicide are recorded in the Bible. Though the writings in the Holy Book may not be entirely accurate, they are still accepted by a large majority in Europe and America as being ancient history. From the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelations only three instances of self-destruction are recorded—Samson, Ahithophel, and Judas Iscariot.
General Nogi had long been one of my heroes, and the tragedy of his death brought grief and disappointment to me. I feel perfectly certain that he himself was entirely convinced that his act was justified, and this I gladly and respectfully acknowledge. To criticise the action of such a man is a most unwelcome task, but I have done so because criticism is neces- sary. The London papers seem to have been dazzled by sentiment and to have lost sight of reason. I view the deed from the standpoint of one more than eleven years in Japan, whose interests are largely bound up in the welfare of its people.
I had thought that my views regarding the suicide of General Nogi could not possibly be shared by any one of Japanese birth and education. In fact I expected at first that criticises would be entirely confined to that which might be brought forward by foreigners and in the foreign press. My surmise has been proved incorrect. The Japan Times, a Tokyo journal published in the English language, but edited by Japanese, strongly denounced the suicide as against the tenets of Bushido. It is so very seldom that I see eye to eye with the Japan Times that its attitude was a most com- plete surprise, as I had expected it to shout with the mob. The Japan Times pointed out that Bushido does not sanction the useless taking of life, but it insists upon a strict adher- ence to duty. General Nogi had been charged to attend the representative of King George. Bushido demanded that no obstacle should have interfered with the discharge of this duty. Moreover, General Nogi could better have shown his loyalty by attending to the son of his old chief rather than by destroying his own life. The Japan Times had the courage of its convictions.
General Nogi has raised a new word into the vocabulary of international language. Hitherto we have bad banzai, geisha, samurai, Bushido, shinju, and now we have " junshi." I anticipate that the word will become painfully familiar, especially to readers of the English press published in Japan.
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