The Samurai Sword
The Far East Comes Nearer. By H. liaison Tiltman. (Jar- rolds. 18s.) Japan at the Cross-roads. By Walter Smith. (Lawrence and Wishart. 3s. 6c1.) When Japan Goes to War. By 0. Tanin and E. Yohan. (Law- rence and Wishart. 5s.) THE conflict between the Japanese Diet and Army has once more brought into prominence the remarkable semi- independent political status enjoyed by the two fighting services in Japan. In Militarism and Foreign Policy in Japan Mr. Causton gives a comprehensive account both of the constitutional arrangements on which the claims of the military and naval authorities are based and of the general conditions which give them so strong a hold on popular sentiment and belief. The constitutional position is explained at some length, but the author's interest is clearly in practical politics, as he shows when he writes : " Whatever the position of the two Ministers, i.e., War and Navy, may be, whether their powers are constitutional or not, whether military decrees should be countersigned or not, seem to be matters more for the constitutional lawyer than for discussion in this essay." Mr. Causton, however, seems to pass over these issues too lightly, for the constitutional question is certainly regarded as important in Japan, as recent contro- versies have shown. The Japanese Conservatives have not been able to cultivate a semi-religious devotion to the Imperial dynasty without bestowing a considerable sanctity on the Constitution which the Emperor Meiji promulgated, and political conflicts frequently turn on the interpretation of its clauses. But Mr. Causton is right in pointing out that the powers assumed by the services are not simply a matter of constitutional law, that the interpretation of certain provisions of the Constitution has varied from time to time according to the trend of politics, and that some claims of the military are recognised by custom without any legal basis.
For a part of his explanation of the modern Japanese chauvinist outlook Mr. Causton goes back to the feudal system and its ethical code which prevailed in the country before the Meiji Restoration. He recognises, however, that the social predominance of a military nobility did not a hundred years ago imply " militarism " in the sense of expan- sion abroad ; for more than two centuries before Perry's
blustering entry in 1858 Japan, secluded in her own islands, had not been involved in either an external or a civil war—
record which no European State had approached for the same period. It cannot be denied that Japan learnt the ways of colonial imperialism- from the European nations in the latter part of the nineteenth century, both by observation of their practice and also by direct experience of it, as in the bombardment of Kagoshima (which by a monstrous misprint appears in this book as Kasigathma). Once Japan, however, had learnt her lessons in the school of Western civilisation, it was discovered that the " Spartan " traditions of the samurai could be turned to good use in providing Japan with the military strength required for success in the arena of modern international politics. As the author puts it : " It was felt that her national existence depended on the possession of a modern army and navy without which there seemed a probability that so weak and youthful a nation might sink to the lowly and subservient position of other Eastern countries, such as India, the Philippines or China." From this fate Japan was saved and elevated to the rank of a Great Power mainly by the prowess of her fighting forces, which gained a corresponding prestige within the country.
But if nothing succeeds like success, nothing fails like failure, and Mr. Causton shows clearly how the fiasco of the Siberian expedition in 1918-20 brought the chauvinist leaders into disfavour and led to that growth of liberalism which was so marked a feature of the nineteen-twenties, for " events in Siberia, instead of leading to favourable results to which the military could point with pride, had bred a feeling of discontent amongst the people that so great a financial expenditure had led to so negligible and disappointing a result." It was the success of the Manchurian enterprise which restored the prestige and popularity of the military party ; nevertheless, the colossal armaments expenditure required for the " positive policy " has brought fresh discontent and the political conflict which has just proved fatal to the Hirota Cabinet.
A great contrast to Mr. Causton's academic study of army politics in Japan is provided by Mr. Hessell Tiltman's The Far East Comes Nearer. This book is brilliant, though often undiscriminating, journalism, reinforced by excellent photo- graphs. Its scope and his style are indicated by such chapter headings as " Death Knocks at Tokyo," " A Lesson in Lunacy," " North China Goes West," " America Stands Down " and " The Ever-Rising Sun." The author was in Tokyo at the time of the military mutiny last February, and gives a very interesting account of it ; he is of the opinion that although the rebel leaders were shot, the victory was really theirs and that " it is the soul of Captain Nonaka that goes marching on." He is not much impressed by either the strength or the resolution of Chinese nationalism, but he is impressed by the military power of the Soviet Union in Asia and takes the prospect of a new Russo-Japanese war very seriously. He thinks it would certainly spread to Europe, and holds that " a stray shot somewhere on that Manchukuoan-Russian frontier may at any time, while the present alignment in international affairs lasts, find Britain standing shoulder to shoulder with France and Belgium in defence of Soviet Russia."
The two Lawrence and Wishart books view this Far Eastern scene from an orthodox Communist angle. When Japan Goes to War is a serious and valuable piece of work by the authors of Militarism and Fascism in Japan (which had an introduction by Karl Radek, written while, as it now appears, he was plotting to hand over Eastern Siberia to Japan !). Tanin and Yohan expound the thesis that Japanese military power is " a mailed fist put into action by weak muscles," and that Japan must inevitably be defeated in a struggle with Soviet Russia. They set out an imposing array of facts and statistics to prove that Japan could not stand the strain of a long war. But if, as the Stalinists would have us believe, almost everyone of eminent ability in the Russian Communist Party sooner or later plots to ruin the Red Army and betray his country, Japan's chances might not be so negligible after all.
Mr. Walter Smith's book contains sonic interesting quota- tions from the works of Japanese chauvinist writers who appear to be unable to agree on which country Japan should first make war. The author does not appear, however, to know how Japanese names are pronounced or he would not write them in such forms as Sayondzi for Saionji, Kanagava for Kanagawa and Dana for Dan. The author shows no first- hand acquaintance with things Japanese, and the book looks very much like a compilation from the stock of a press-cutting agency served up according to a political formula.
C. F. Hunsox.
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