Introduction

Kawakami Kiyoshi (1873–1949) was a Christian socialist and prominent journalist for Yorozu chōhō (Complete morning report) in late 1890s Japan. Kawakami was also a founding member of Japan’s first but short-lived Social Democratic Party (Shakai minshutō, established on 18 May 1901). After the party was forced to dissolve on 20 May 1901 under the Public Peace Police Law (Chian keisatsuhō, 1900) on 16 July, Kawakami left for the USA. On 15 August, he landed in San Francisco amidst agitation against Japanese instigated by members of the Union Labour Party (ULP) and Christian socialists ([76], pp. 12–14). From then on, the rejection of his compatriots was an ongoing concern that eventually overtook his interest in gradual social reform. Later, he referred to this period as a “lonely pilgrimage” and an exile ([56], p. 440: [58], p. 397).

The steadily intensifying anti-Japanese agitation reached a new phase in 1906 when the San Francisco School Incident denied Japanese children access to the city’s schools. In 1907, President Roosevelt proposed the Gentlemen’s Agreement—initially directed at stemming the flow of Japanese settlers from Hawaii—that the Japanese government would voluntarily refrain from issuing passports to subsequent would-be immigrants. However, the diplomatic solution sought for the local issues in California involving both governments did not quell the agitation against the Japanese workers and the question of Japanese immigration ([69], p. 74: [86]: pp. 68–69). In speaking out on behalf of his compatriots, Kawakami decided to live indefinitely in the USA, despite being an alien ineligible for naturalisation.

In 1907, Kawakami married Mildred Clark in Illinois. In 1913 they moved to San Francisco and established the journalistic Bureau of Literary Service, Pacific Press, in order to improve communications between the USA and Japan ([73], p. 107: [80], p. 7: [82], p. 54).Footnote 1 In 1923 they moved to Washington DC, where Kawakami also worked as a correspondent for Mainichi shinbun (The daily news), becoming an influential apologist for the Japanese government. This changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbour, after which he spent 3 months in an internment camp. Once released, he assisted US governmental agencies in writing propaganda aimed at inducing Japanese soldiers to surrender ([73], p. 139).

In his last work, Beiso tatakawaba (The next war), Kawakami asserted that a state must run in accord with its moral principles ([72], p. 320).Footnote 2 Throughout the 50 years of his life spent in the USA, he remained a prolific writer convinced of Christian teachings and the chivalrous moral tradition of loyalty, sympathy, tolerance, benevolence and righteousness as the basis of his intellectual activity ([73], p. 10). Despite numerous publications and over two decades of working as a correspondent for major Japanese newspapers, this prodigious and influential journalist is now little remembered both at home and abroad.

Amongst the few existing studies of Kawakami’s life and thought, Shimano Masatoshi’s “Kawakami Kiyoshi and Japanese-American Relations” (1985) focuses on Kawakami’s commitment to resisting the passage of the Anti-Japanese legislation that subsequently culminated in the 1913 Alien Land Act in California and ultimately the 1924 Japanese Exclusion Act. Shimano points out that Kawakami’s early experiences in the USA led to the development of his remarkable pragmatism in dealing with domestic and international problems and that throughout his journalistic career in the USA (1905–1945), he never freed himself from the conditioning he had received in Japan ([82], pp. 5, 167).Footnote 3

This paper elaborates Kawakami’s thoughts developed during his US pilgrimage from 1901 to 1907 when he came to embrace the principles he had imbibed in Japan as the basis of his subsequent intellectual activity. Firstly, I will briefly outline the historical and social background of 1890s Japan and that of California in the early 1900s, as well as provide a biographical account of Kawakami’s journalistic career prior to his departure for the USA. I will, then, examine developments in his thoughts as expressed in reports to Yorozu chōhō, Beikoku danjo shosei katagi (American University Students, 1903), his published MA thesis, The Political Ideas of Modern Japan (1903), Japan and the Japanese as seen by Foreigners, and other earlier works in English (1905–1907).Footnote 4 Through his observations of “the sacred land of liberty”, this study traces Kawakami’s shift of interest from Western Christian social reforms to anti-Japanese agitation and the Japanese immigration issue.

From a Christian Socialist in Japan to an International Journalist in the “Sacred Land of Liberty”

Kawakami’s shift of interest from embracing Western Christian social reforms, to subsequently becoming a prominent spokesperson in defence of his compatriots (from the late 1890s to late 1900s), reflects Japan’s emergence on the world scene after winning wars with China (1894–1895) and Russia (1904–1905). The reparations obtained from China and the opening of the continental market triggered the country’s industrial revolution, characterised by two major industries, armaments and textiles. Zaibatsu, the financial and industrial conglomerates that collaborated with the government, monopolised these industries and overwhelmed smaller manufacturers. After the land tax revision (Chiso kaisei, 1873) became effective, redundant farmers flowed into urban factories. At textile factories, the predominantly female workforce—mostly farmers’ daughters—toiled for long hours in appalling conditions for excessively low wages. The government policy of “enriching the state, strengthening the armed forces” (fukoku kyōhei) benefited capitalists and politicians but impoverished the majority of the populace, only deepening the divide between the affluent minority and the impoverished masses ([6], pp. 385–387).

Adding to the pre-existing problems of unemployment and overpopulation since the Meiji Restoration (1868), the rapid development of capitalism created a new “labour problem”. The living and working conditions of workers and their general well-being became serious social issues in late 1890s Japan. Concerned about the prevailing poverty and its impact on society, many Christian intellectuals provided workers with material and moral support. Despite their declassed samurai backgrounds, Christian socialists such as Abe Isoo (1865–1912) and Katayama Sen (1859–1933) both studied in the USA and embraced the Western ideas of the Christian socialist and international labour movements ([2], p. 89). After returning to Japan, they disseminated “new ideas” about gradual social reform and trade unionism guided by their Christian faith. The journals of both men, Abe’s Rikugō zasshi (Universe) and Katayama’s Rōdō sekai (Labour world), became their mouthpieces ([35], p. 567: [78, 79], p. 91). We will see Kawakami came to associate with them and contribute articles to their journals.

With the commencement of a regular non-stop sea service from Japan to Hawaii in 1886, Hawaii became a popular destination for Japan’s unemployed. After Hawaii was annexed by the USA in 1898 and became a US territory in 1900, many Japanese settlers there moved to California where the Union Labor Party (ULP) members had already organised the anti-Oriental campaign [5]. This agitation culminated in the Chinese Exclusion Act (1884), which was renewed in 1892 and became “permanent” in 1902. The newly arrived Japanese settlers replaced the Chinese labourers. The patience and hard work of Japanese skilled labourers were appreciated, especially on farms, orchards and railway construction sites. This situation continued while the ULP members organised a new anti-Oriental labour movement directed against Japanese and Koreans throughout California in the 1900s ([56], p. 74: [57], p. 483: [60, 63]).

Concurrent to the rapid increase in the number of Japanese settling in California was Japan’s emergence as one of the “world’s greatest powers” (ittōkoku), as demonstrated by the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902) and expanding territorial control over neighbouring countries. This caused “a sort of antipathy” towards Japan and its compatriots ([57], p. 483: [5], p. 26: [75], p. 200: [86], p. 86). Kawakami was concerned that a dearth of English publications concerning the aspirations of the “New Japan” and its people meant that misconceptions about his compatriots remained unchallenged ([69], p. 74).

It was during this period of nascent anti-Japanese agitation (1901–1907) that Kawakami was in exile in the USA. His intellectual and journalistic pilgrimage in the land of his childhood dreams saw a shift away from his earlier interest in gradual social reform guided by a Christian faith. As we will see, Kawakami came to focus his thoughts and energies on the immediate problems of the anti-Japanese labour movement and the question of Japanese immigration. His exile disabused him of his “imported knowledge” of Western ideas as he became immersed in the down-to-earth reality of life in the West: The unexpected barriers of racial prejudice and social discrimination against the Orientals ([82], iii). Before examining Kawakami’s thoughts during his pilgrimage, we now briefly study his life in Japan prior to his departure for the USA.

An Embracer of Western Christian Social Reforms and an Esteemed Editor for the Yorozu chōhō

On 2 August 1873, 5 years after the Meiji Restoration, Kawakami was born in northern Japan, the youngest child in the family of a declassed samurai. Facing social and economic hardship, Kawakami’s parents and two of his brothers passed away before he could remember them. Although his maternal grandfather was wealthy, he did not support Kawakami’s brothers and sisters who were forced to support themselves by selling heirlooms such as classical Chinese books, paintings and swords. Despite his incomplete schooling, Kawakami, under the guidance of his teacher and old wet nurse, read both Chinese classics and Western books. One such, Kajin no kigū (Strange Encounters of Elegant Women), left him with a profound impression of the USA as the sacred land of liberty and of Americans as civilised and industrious people ([72], pp. 285–293: [82], pp. 3, 13–15, 36).Footnote 5

During the year 1890, in order to continue his education while working as a house servant, the 17-year-old Kawakami left for Tokyo which was rapidly becoming a new centre of Western civilisation with Christianity as its backbone ([2], p. 89). Kawakami first attended Hōgakuin (presently Chuō University) and Keiō gijuku (presently Keiō University), graduating from the former. While he was at Hōgakuin, Kawakami associated with Tajima Kinji (1867–1934), a young lecturer who was enthusiastic about socialist ideas ([73], pp. 42–44, 51). Kawakami proceeded to study at Aoyama Gakuin (a Christian English school established in 1874, presently Aoyama Gakuin University), converting to Christianity and becoming a socialist. As he dreamt of 1 day becoming a newspaper editor, he wrote reports on socialist trends and Christianity in Europe for the institution’s journal, Aoyama hyōron, as well as junior high school history textbooks for publishers in Tokyo ([70, 73], pp. 42–44: [82], p. 22).Footnote 6 An encounter with Tamura Tetsu, also a contributor of Aoyama hyōron and one of his classmates, became decisive in directing Kawakami’s future. Tamura, who later studied at the University of Iowa, arranged a postgraduate scholarship for Kawakami at the same institution where he was to be supervised by Professor Benjamin Shambaugh in the Faculty of Political Science ([73], pp. 87, 89).Footnote 7

In late 1890s, Kawakami associated with an older generation of Christian socialists, Abe Isoo and Katayama Sen. These men believed in “socialism and Christianity as a set of new moral norms–a spirit of fair play, sentiments of sympathy and enlightenment–that would guide Japan into the path of true modern civilisation” ([82], pp. 5, 55: [10], p. 233). While supporting Katayama’s call for workers to form labour unions, Kawakami maintained in Rikugō zasshi that the political moral bankruptcy of capitalists and politicians was responsible for Japan’s contemporary social and political problems ([35], pp. 561, 569: [73], pp, 87, 89: [83], pp. 17–19).

Piety, generosity, mercifulness, and self-sacrifice, which have descended from the knighthood of olden Japan, are constantly giving way to the greed of gain and the aspirations for wealth. Not self-sacrifice, but selfishness was the guiding spirit of the upper class, and its viciousness is almost irresistible in every circle of the community ([35], p. 562).

Kawakami believed that the traditional moral culture should accompany any material growth of society and that this would resolve the current neglect of the vulnerable.

The decline of feudal notions of mutual obligation and the selfishness of the rich left the workers without a way of sustaining themselves. In order to survive, men, women and children were forced to work day and night in appalling conditions in factories. The workers were merely tools for the machines. They were physically exhausted and left with no time to enrich their lives or heighten their moral conceptualisation ([12], p. 564: [13], pp. 40–42). “If a mother does not discipline a child at home or a state does not educate a child at school,” Kawakami argued, “how will the child learn ethics? One would expect that a state would protect the most vulnerable – women and children – and educate its juvenile workers and encourage them with austerity in order to augment national wealth”. Modern factories, he claimed, were producing a deskilled and disabled future workforce ([13], 40–42).Footnote 8

As John Crump notes, “Christianity symbolized the West and was identified by many young Meiji intellectuals with civilization and progress” ([2], p. 89), Kawakami was one amongst those intellectuals. “Having not even designated a national religious day”, Kawakami argued that Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism could not enliven the workers’ spirits in Japan. He believed that workers needed to be cared for and guided by Christian faith, as occurred in Western countries. “Most workers [in the West] were Christians and maintained their high moral standards by having Sundays off to attend churches, for example, in Austria, factories across the country were closed on Sundays”. Employers in Japan should follow Austria’s lead by providing workers with at least a period of rest during working hours and/or 1 day-off a week ([12], p. 564). In addition, the improved working conditions achieved in the UK demonstrated that the only way for workers to oppose unfair conditions and resist destitution was to form a union. Arguing that worker solidarity was the necessary foundation for establishing a new social order, he called for unions to be protected by law. He advocated strong national unification borne out of Christian brotherhood and opposed wars which destroyed brotherhood and divided people ([14–16, 18], pp. 465–466: [20, 21], pp. 376, 386).Footnote 9

Some of Kawakami’s articles caught the attention of Kuroiwa Shūroku (1862–1920), publisher of the newspaper Yorozu chōhō. With prominent contributors such as Kōtoku Shūsui (1871–1911) and a fervently Christian Uchimura Kanzō (1861–1930), by the end of the 1890s, Yorozu chōhō enjoyed the largest circulation amongst the daily papers in Tokyo. In 1898 Kawakami joined the editorial team ([19, 70]: [73], pp. 65–66, 78).Footnote 10 On 18 May 1901, five Christians inclusive of Abe, Katayama, Kawakami, Kinoshita Naoe (1869–1937), and Nishikawa Kōjirō (1876–1940), in addition to Kōtoku founded Japan’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) in an attempt to safeguard workers from appalling working conditions and entrenched poverty by helping them form a union ([11], pp. 34–35: [15, 16, 18], pp. 465–466: [21], pp. 376, 386).Footnote 11 After they dissolved the Party (20 May) because of the Public Peace Police Law,” a death knell to labour movements” ([11], p. 58: [22, 23]), the key contributors of the Yorozu chōhō and its founding members—most of whom were Christians—formed Risōdan (Ideal corps) ([22–24]). Far from yielding to the authorities’ repression, they called for volunteers to join the corps from within its staff and its readership, their friends and families ([35], p. 561: [74, 82], p. 23). The Risōdan members believed that a state must be run just like a family, with loyalty and respect, and hoped that the moral standard offered by Christian faith would not only guide politics but also commerce and education [74]. Christianity appealed to samurai converts who had been instilled with a samurai ethos and educated in Confucianism. It offered an alternative moral code to the “by gone one” abolished by the Restoration ([10], p. 107: [84], p. 84). At the early stage of disseminating socialist ideals in Meiji Japan, the pioneering advocates of Western Christian social reforms were theoretical but not radical that they did not envisage reforming the existing institution.

Suddenly though, on 14 July 1901, Kawakami bade farewell to his 150,000 readers of Yorozu chōhō. On 16 July he was to sojourn overseas in anticipation of consolidating his “socialistic conviction and his belief in trade unionism” ([25, 82], p. 65).Footnote 12 In freeing himself from Japan’s political oppression, he was also fulfilling his childhood dream of visiting the “sacred land of liberty”. Kuroiwa, the publisher of the Yorozu chōhō, offered him an ongoing role at the paper as a US correspondent. On this basis, Komori Yoshihisa points out that despite his postgraduate student status, Kawakami can be regarded as a forerunner of overseas correspondents dispatched by major Japanese media firms to foreign shores ([73], pp. 107, 117).Footnote 13 So it was that the 27-year-old embracer of gradual social reforms and prominent journalist left Yokohama on board Amerikamaru, never imagining that he would become an apologist for Japan, let alone that he would marry an American.

Reports to the Yorozu chōhō from Iowa and Wisconsin: Kawakami on a “Lonely Pilgrimage” and in Exile in the Sacred Land of Liberty (1901–1907)

When Kawakami arrived in San Francisco on 15 August 1901—greeted as “Jon Chinaman”, “Jap”, or “little brown man”—he was struck with “a sense of utter alienation and unspeakable bewilderment” about the West, particularly the USA. The city’s skyscrapers, towering chimneys, clanging trolleys, ceaseless roar of traffic, street crowds, and much more forced him to believe that he was in the “sacred land of liberty” that he read so much about. Bound eastward, the “sensation of estrangement” grew even more intense as he travelled through the wildernesses of Montana, Wyoming and then through the fields of the Midwest. Away from the shockwaves of California, Kawakami settled on a relaxed campus of the University of Iowa (and later at the University of Wisconsin) ([38, 56], p. 440).Footnote 14

Beikoku danjo shosei katagi (American university students) depicts Kawakami’s observation of both the brighter and dark sides of daily life in Christendom. The most noticeable point of contrast between life in Iowa and campus life in Japan was the liberal approach to education. In the USA, not only co-ed institutions but also women-only universities existed to teach women how to become full and equal citizens ([45], p. 62).Footnote 15 Students could study when they needed higher education and graduate upon completion of their study. These students took a part-time job or time off from studying in order to work and make ends meet. Male and female students casually mingled in dormitories, canteens, and libraries to discuss their studies, hobbies and future plans. At social events such as concerts, dances and games, female students—respected and escorted by their male colleagues—were sociable and talkative. Such behaviours were regarded as essential social skills for women, unlike in Japan where they were considered “evil” ([34, 42, 45], p. 62).

Women were also encouraged to be independent and socially involved after their graduation. Dignified and financially independent from men, women contributed their services to charities and various public and/or private sector projects. For example, women whose administrative skills were equal, if not better than those of men, occupied important positions in the Graduate Club ([45], pp. 56–57).Footnote 16 Kawakami thought that such freedom in taking initiative in the community provided the best chance for consolidating life-long education for all—the foundation of Western civilisation. He was convinced that women’s participation in the community, even without the right to vote, created a new and vital political power. In contrast, in Japan female students were expected to become a “good wife and wise mother” (ryōsai kenbo) after completing a girl’s high school education. Discouraged from higher education, women remained men’s amusement in the patriarchal family system ([33, 45], pp. 19–20, 29–30, 49, 56–57, 62: [81], pp. 12–14). “Herein lies the cause of all social problems”, he claimed, arguing that the male-centred moral code left half of the population deprived of any chance of social advancement ([45], pp. 56–57). Japanese, he asserted, needed to “fight” to be fully liberated, for democracy held the key to the future ([35], p. 569: [42]).

Kawakami also identified evidence of the dark side of US Christendom ([46], p. 198). On campus, he noted some students—even lecturers—were too heavily addicted to gambling to study or go to church on Sundays. Cities, he noted, contained many orphanages and prostitutes, politicians busily bribed their way into the Senate, and there were 100,000 divorces a year in the country ([82], p. 43).

On the west coast, Christian socialists and the ULP members have led agitation against Japanese workers, and on the east coast, the US Senate almost unanimously passed the Anti-Chinese Act! … Despite their ancestors taking generations to fight for independence and to free the slaves, contemporary Americans invaded the Philippines! ([27, 28, 32, 82], p. 46).

Christians not only tolerated such moral regression but also actively excluded the Orientals, denying them a chance for social advancement guided by Christian faith. This, Kawakami believed, contradicted the Church’s teachings on sympathy and tolerance, especially in regards to the vulnerable.

This gap between moral rhetoric and lived reality taught Kawakami the importance of learning the history of the environment, people and society of the country in which he lived and to carefully observe the current situation [28]. As such, he signalled to Risōdan readers a considerable shift in his thoughts on “imported knowledge” about social reform.

I must admit my foolishness that after I had read only the Old and New Testaments and a few volumes of socialist works, I was too quick to commit to Christian socialist ideals as a solution for solving social problems. I have found ‘a new bible’ that has brought a significant change to my thoughts. It teaches that no eternal bible exists and that one’s future will evolve and remain ‘transitory’ [28, 29].

The contradictions of life in the “sacred land of liberty” made “a dreamer of dreams” reassess his earlier position as a social reformer. If socialism was not founded on International Socialism and a theory for social reconstruction based upon new moral ideas, it did not mean anything to him ([68], vii).

The Political Ideas of Modern Japan: Developments in Kawakami’s Thoughts

The Political Ideas of Modern Japan best illustrates the development of Kawakami’s thought during his US pilgrimage. Early on, in response to the fall of the SDP, he was critical of the Japanese authorities who would “instantly interfere” with political organisations and their propaganda publications as they were supposedly “detrimental to the welfare of the community”. Without ensuring the rights of free speech and freedom of the press, the then constitutional government was, he argued, an “empty mockery” of democracy ([35], p. 569). However, in writing a thesis on modern Japan’s political traditions and its adoption of foreign ideas, he came to appreciate the tradition that enabled the Japanese to implement the Restoration ahead of other Asian nations. In the Preface to the book, he declared that he was an “ardent lover of his country, from which he would never divorce himself” ([46], iv).Footnote 17 In The Political Ideas of Modern Japan, Kawakami challenged many “disagreeable things and misunderstandings” regarding Japan and the Japanese ([51], ix-x). He argued that the general claim in the West that “the realization of a constitutional government in Japan is wholly due to the influence of the Western political ideas,” was incorrect. It overlooked Japan’s own political traditions:

For 25 centuries, Japan has always been on the onward path, she has never fallen under the yoke of foreign rule, she has always been ready to transplant foreign civilization to her soil, and above all her sons have displayed passionate patriotism whenever her national interest has seemed at stake ([46], pp. 19–20).

Kawakami went on to stress that such patriotism, supported by Japanese women, contributed to the political development of modern Japan ([46], pp. 40, 53–54, 80–81: [70], p. 800). He elaborated his view by referring to the ancient centralised government which existed in mid-seventh century Japan. Under the monarchy founded by Emperor Jinmu—an institution of Chinese origin but adopted to Japanese needs—women were “the co-equal of men both in domestic and public affairs”. For example, the Empress Jingū’s heroic leading of an expedition to Korea marked the “insular nation’s first contact with the continental civilisation” ([46], pp. 40, 58).Footnote 18 With successive emperors being generous and filial towards their subjects, Japanese men and women enjoyed peace under the family-like state until the end of the twelfth century. An earlier Emperor’s proclamation illustrates this social contract.

Like the sky which covered everything and like the earth which nourished all beings, the benevolence of the sovereign should be boundless, and any sovereign who disregards this fundamental principle of monarchy should be punished by divine power and reprobated by his subjects ([46], pp. 46, 62, 64).Footnote 19

Regarding the Shintoistic viewpoint towards the status of the Emperor, Kawakami maintained that loyalty and respect had been inseparable moral traits amongst the people since the dawn of the nation.

During the period of the Dark Ages of social development, when Buddhism and Chinese thoughts were introduced, the authority of the Emperor and noble character of Japanese women were gradually undermined, yet not completely destroyed. Kawakami pointed out that those foreign ideas took hold amongst the noblemen and high officials and that in seeking political power Buddhist priests became friends of the nobles and despised the poor and the vulnerable. However, because the “spirit of loyalty and homage to the Emperor was so deeply rooted in the minds of the people”, even the military magistrates continued to at least appear to respect him ([46], pp. 40–42, 47, 80–81: [56], p. 440). The status of Japanese women, despite being lowered, was also spared from total destruction thanks to the refined chivalry code which developed into the ethical system of the feudal period. Kawakami maintained that the chivalrous moral sentiments of Japanese—close to those of the knighthood of mediaeval Europe—manifested in patriotism, loyalty, honour, respect for the “weaker sex”, and self-restraint and sacrifice. Thus refined by foreign ideas, “tenderness towards women”, he claimed represented “one of the important characteristics of Japanese chivalry” ([46], pp. 40–42, 47, 59, 80–81).Footnote 20

Kawakami further argued that Christianity also contributed to maintain women’s participation in society. Unlike Buddhism and Confucianism, Christianity, which came to Japan centuries later, took root amongst the “lower class, among the sturdy men and women who lived by the sweat of their brows” ([46], pp. 40, 47, 80–81).Footnote 21 The most decisive difference between Christianity, Buddhism, and Chinese thought lay in the crusading spirit of Christians, as manifested by the preachers who bravely denied the divine decent of the Emperor. They openly declared that they ‘believe in the only one God’ and no other deities (kami) ([46], p. 80). Kawakami pointed out that this fighting spirit shared common ground with the chivalrous code of patriotic “men of the spirit” (yūkoku no shishi). Their vehement desire to restore the imperial authority, and their loyalty to the principles of the government rather than blind loyalty to the divine decent of the Emperor, gradually became the driving force for the Meiji Restoration. “Had there existed no chivalry”, he asserted the reformation and subsequent progress of the country would have been impossible ([46], 19). “Women’s contribution to the reformation behind the scenes”, he emphasised, “ought to be evident to any thoughtful observer” ([46], pp. 40, 53–54, 80–81).Footnote 22

Kawakami concluded that the Japanese were “capable of accepting and digesting higher thoughts from foreign sources in accord with their own ideas,” and adapting them according to the potent spell of the chivalrous moral principles ([46], p. 19). As such, the Restoration of the imperial authority signified the “revival of the centralized government and the dawn of the democratic spirit” ([46], pp. 40, 53–54, 80–81: [70], p. 800). In this way, Western thoughts only hastened the fulfilment of pre-existing political trends ([46], pp. 195, 199–200).

Regarding the dark side of Japan’s swift modernisation, Kawakami pointed out that material progress was isolated from moral culture and was yet to produce a “moral principle to replace the by-gone one” ([46], pp. 195, 199–200). Capitalists and politicians were becoming too greedy in pursuit of their own wealth to provide wage earners with the means to sustain themselves. This was why the “men of the spirit” (Kawakami amongst them) formed the SDP in order to relieve the masses from the misery of their daily struggle. “Although the government’s intolerance towards the organisation of the party was regretful”, he maintained that their oppression would be transitory. It had only been 30 years since the feudal system was abolished and only a decade since the establishment of the constitutional government, thus, “self-restraint” or forced loyalty was imperative during the transition towards democracy in order to avoid any resurgence.

There was no need to be disappointed about the disbanded Social Democratic Party and the dissolution of labour meetings. We should endeavour to gradually reach our ideals by educating the public to attain the equity, freedom of speech and press, and universal suffrage before socialism could be introduced ([46], p. 199: [29]).

In anticipation of Japan gradually transitioning into a democracy, Kawakami honoured the pioneers of Japanese socialism for having aroused an “intense interest in the study of social problems and social philosophy which were until then neglected” ([46], p. 193).Footnote 23

Kawakami even challenged his senior colleague, Uchimura Kanzō, who in an article recommended that people stay aloof from politics during the current era of political corruption [85]. Kawakami argued that “political corruption would take place when people neglected their rights, and became irresponsible towards their duty.”

Your [Uchimura’s] claim will confuse people about their political responsibility. I cannot agree with you, why should you not, instead, clarify the definition of the Constitution to keep them more prudent about democracy. Democracy is the future! ([30, 45], pp. 124–125: [73], p. 112).Footnote 24

For 6 months heated discussions between Kawakami and his former senior contributor to Yorozu chōhō captured their readers’ attention across the Pacific ([1, 4, 9, 31, 73], pp. 112–113).Footnote 25

Recuperation in Seattle: Reports from Japanese Rice Farms in Texas

In 1903 acute tuberculosis suddenly forced Kawakami to move from Wisconsin to Seattle. Amidst growing agitation against many Japanese settlers from Hawaii—perceived as a ‘threat’ to Californian workers—his time there provided him with an opportunity to not only extend his network amongst the Japanese Associations and business entrepreneurs but also consolidate his journalistic career. While recuperating in the care of his old acquaintance, Yamaoka Ototaka, the President of the Japanese Association in Washington State and the Tōyō Trading Co., Kawakami assisted him with his Shin Nihon (New Japan) a local Japanese newspaper ([3], pp. 175–176: [39]).Footnote 26

Kawakami largely attributed the agitation against the Japanese—propagated by the ULP members and supported by local media—to the dearth of English publications on the ‘New Japan’ and the Japanese immigrants ([3], pp. 140–141: [51]). In order to gather much needed data to help dispel misunderstandings about his compatriots and the question of Japanese immigration, he visited Japanese farms and establishments within and beyond California. Journals such as the Independent and the New York Times published his detailed reports to inform their readers of the actual conditions on the farms and settlements.

In his report from the rice farms in Texas, Kawakami challenged the credibility of the general discussion that ‘the rice-belt of the South would be flooded by too many cheap labourers from the Orient’ [50]. He argued that (1) ‘rice culture was an expensive industry’ that required enterprises to organise and invest in the whole project and (2) it required the ‘art of rice culture’ developed through generations of Japanese farmers—a tradition unsurpassed by any other country ([50], pp. 961, 963–964). More importantly, he pointed out that the whole project was recommended at the US-Japan diplomatic level. By invitation from the Rice Association of America, Consul-General of Japan in New York, Mr Uchida visited Texas and Louisiana in 1902. Owing to the considerable investment required for this industry and the high price of land in Japan, it was deemed necessary for established enterprises to finance long-term projects and import skilled rice farmers from Japan. Following a resolution unanimously passed by the Association, parties of Japanese rice growers moved in to realise the ‘rice-belt’. On their purchased land, they sank wells for irrigation. The farmers tilled the land with ‘indefatigable toil and unswerving patience, coupled with inherent dexterity and instinctive thoroughness ([50], pp. 963–964).

Kawakami argued that those enterprises and skilled farmers who worked for them only hoped to pursue long-term farming for mutual benefits. They were originally journalists, publicists, businessmen or scholars, such as S. Saibara, R. Onishi, S. Nishimura and Sen Katayama, Kawakami’s early mentor ([3], pp. 140–141: [7], p. 3: [50], pp. 963–965, 966–967: [64, 86], p. 188).Footnote 27 Being educated and established individuals, those men were exceedingly adaptable to the American lifestyle and would become citizens of the proud land they had been cultivating. Although their capital was not huge, through hard work, expertise and austerity they achieved more than their local rivals could, as seen in their production of fields “radiant with the golden hues of an ample crop” as early as autumn 1904. Industrious productivity and the “spick and span” appearance of Japanese farms in wide prairies were what Kawakami witnessed, not only in Texas, but also in California and Washington. He concluded that those enterprises–the most ideal immigrants–were anxious to see the Federal Law be revised so that they could swear allegiance to the Constitution and US laws as loyal citizens of the Republic ([50, 86], p. 188).

While in Seattle, Kawakami regularly visited Mercer Island, where he met a middle-aged Swedish immigrant couple, Alfred and Alberta Kristofferson, and Alberta’s younger sister, Mildred. Despite the agitation against his compatriots, the Kristofferson’s supported Kawakami while he compiled Japan and the Japanese as Seen by Foreigners Prior to the Beginning of the Russo-Japanese War (1904) ([51], xi: [73], pp. 118–122).Footnote 28 Publishing it in light of the then prevailing conflict with Russia, he anticipated that readers would lay hold of the fact that the ‘New Japan’ was no longer the ‘habitation of dear little weaklings’ ([51], xi). As we will see, his aspiration intensified when he represented the Yorozu chōhō on the international scenes in Louisiana and New England.

Kawakami as an International Journalist at the St Louis World Fair and the Portsmouth Peace Conference

Important historical events such as the St Louis World Fair (Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 1904) and the Portsmouth Peace Conference (1905) made Kawakami alert to Japan’s stance as a “world’s power”, ittōkoku, in the rapidly changing world order ([47, 53, 54], p. 647: [75], p. 197: [76], pp. 14–16).Footnote 29 Referring to a “remarkable” new publication by Henry Norman, Zen Roryō (All the Russians), he warned Yorozu chōhō readers of the US’s growing interest in China—a shift from its earlier interest in Japan as its ‘guardian’ for Westernisation. The American author, “known to be compassionate towards Japan”, Kawakami noted, drew attention to Russia’s colonial intention, which “knew no limit” in relation to Asia [37].

Representing Yorozu chōhō at the 1904 St Louis World Fair, Kawakami became concerned that his countrymen lacked awareness of being a member of the international community. In urging his colleagues, he referred specifically to Russia who justified their noticeable absence from the Fair, claiming its war with one of the “world’s great powers”. In contrast, although Japan participated dutifully and attracted a large audience, in his view it failed to meet international expectations. Without a central theme to the whole project, “how could a random display of a miniature model of Kyoto’s Golden Pavilion, a matchbox garden and tea room represent the aspirations of the great power?” 41, 48, 49]. The presentation of trade goods such as silk, lacquer ware and porcelains reminded him of a “collection of brick-a-brack” at village festivals in his hometown. Far from expressing a great ambition, he was concerned that his countrymen at large remained misunderstood as “yellow monkeys” who lived on an isolated island ([51], x).

The worst scenario, Kawakami asserted, was demonstrated by the absence of major Japanese press agencies at the International Press Conference held from 16 to 21 May 1904. Except for Jiji Shinpō (Current affairs) and Yorozu chōhō, other Japanese daily papers improvised their attendance with local staff in the USA. “Only two of us representing the new great power!”, Kawakami pointed out, while all Japanese delegates were governmental officials at the Fair. In contrast, all US delegates were business entrepreneurs because the US government would not dispatch their officials for “this kind of trade and business exposition” ([39–41, 48, 51], x-xi: [53]).Footnote 30 It was clear to him that in both the public and private sectors his countrymen needed to bear in mind that the grave responsibility of realising the “New Japan” rested upon their shoulders and thereby they needed to accurately represent its aspirations at such international events.

In US journals Kawakami reported the “signal change” that best illustrated modern Japan, referring to Japan’s first women’s university (Nihon Joshi Daigaku), established in 1901 by Naruse Jinzō (1858–1919), a Christian and graduate of Andover College ([56], p. 443:).Footnote 31 He nominated this pioneering of higher education for Japanese women as symbolic of a modern democratic Japan. Following America’s lead, Naruse had made an “invaluable contribution toward the advancement of our conception of education”, as at the time “the feminine half of the population remained ignorant” ([59], p. 74). Kawakami illustrated the change with the story of a 27-year-old teacher who devoted four lonely years to educating children in the heart of Mongolia. “Guided by the noble motive of carrying a message of civilization to the region’s backward inhabitants, she was inspired by her love for humanity … moved by the patriotic spirit inherent in her race”. In physical appearance she was as “tiny and fragile as her kimonoed sisters”, Kawakami maintained, yet she ranked with Western women in “courage, intelligence and moral integrity”. One is reminded that while he envisaging the “New Japan” to be equal to the West, he considered traditional modesty to be the sine qua non of true womanhood ([59], pp. 71, 74).

Kawakami’s thoughts in terms of the conflict with Russia manifested not only a clear shift from those of his Yorozu chōhō colleagues but also confirmed that he remained under the spell of chivalrous moral principles in working as an international journalist. Firstly, his position was contrary to that of Uchimura Kanzō and Kōtoku Shūsui, who left the press in support of a pacifist stance in relation to Russia, and secondly, with Kuroiwa, who was dissatisfied with the Portsmouth Peace Treaty (1905). As we have seen earlier, Kawakami opposed wars on the grounds that they would divide people’s solidarity. However, he now justified his pro-war stance from the viewpoint of chivalrous moral principles—fighting against “Russia’s grave insults and wrongs” in order to protect the security of Manchuria. He argued that Japan—or any country with a sense of honour and pride—would avenge “the giant intruder” ([53, 54], pp. 647, 657).

When the Muscovites, hand-in-glove with Germany and France, bullied us and robbed us of the Liao-Tung Peninsula, which we had legitimately obtained from China as the spoils of war, our pride was hurt to the heart … Succeeding the retrocession of the territory, Japan’s entire energy was bent to the completion of armament with the aim to chastise the affronts of the Russians ([53]).

Kawakami thought that Plenipotentiary Baron Komura proved the point at the Portsmouth Peace Conference. US President Roosevelt, acting as mediator upon a request by the Japanese government who could no longer afford to continue the war, recommended “peace without indemnity”. Despite a possible outrage by his countrymen and even a loss of his job upon returning home, Komura, in accord with his moral principles, accepted the proposal—a saving grace for Japan. Kawakami thought that Komura’s deed demonstrated that the war served to awaken China to the perils of Western aggression from which Japan could rescue her ([71], pp. 16–17: [88]).Footnote 32 In asserting that “the war at last succeeded in rectifying foreign misconceptions of Japan–where a thousand other means proved but of little avail”, Kawakami demonstrated his loyalty to the chivalrous moral principles [53].

“Japanese in New England”–the Mother of the New Civilisation in Japan

His encounter with Baron Komura during the Portsmouth Peace Conference opened Kawakami’s eyes to the historical significance of New England and the US-Japan relationship since the Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed in 1858. Komura, a graduate of Harvard University, was one amongst many Japanese youths, such as Hatoyama Kazuo (1856–1911), Asakawa Kan’ichi (1873–1948), Mitsukuri Rinshō (1846–1897), and Naruse Jinzō (1858–1919), sent to study in the USA during the early Meiji era. Upon returning home most of these graduates, trained in modern science and philosophy, assisted the ‘elder statesmen’ in nation-building and international diplomacy. Kawakami claimed such young intellectuals contributed to the rapid advancement of Japan as much as the adroit Marquis Yamagata Aritomo (1838–1922) or Itō Hirobumi (1841–1909) who “in the stormy days of the Meiji era successfully steered the ship of State” ([56], p. 443). Komura was one such patriotic youth who was determined to use his experience to form a bridge across the Pacific.

Not only at the state level but also at the grassroots, the Meiji youths were role models in improving the US-Japan relationship. New Englanders extended sympathy and tolerance to the vulnerable Japanese youths who were living in a Western country for the first time and studying in the foreign language. For ever after, the foreign graduates remained “grateful to their alma mater, their kind professors, and those ladies who looked after their well-being with motherly kindness”. One amongst them, Dr Mitsukuri, a graduate of Yale and a well respected scientist, never neglected to write to his “American mother”. He revisited the USA and took her back to Japan to reciprocate her hospitality. The elderly “American mother” enjoyed living with her “devoted Japanese son” and his parents. As we will see, this “union of the East and West by the invisible bond of tender affection and fraternity” inspired Kawakami with a hope for resolving the issue of Japanese immigration ([56], p. 443: [82], pp. 162–163).

Komura’s strong memories of the delightful scenery of New England inspired Kawakami to follow his trail. For the first time since his arrival in San Francisco 5 years earlier, the fresh air and lush landscapes of the east coast made him feel, “Here! I am back at home from a lonely exile!” ([56], p. 440). Unlike in California, only 89 Japanese lived in New England, with very few being engaged in agricultural or industrial pursuits. Most were involved in either various forms of trade or diplomacy in large cities. In addition to these were a few intellectuals such as Dr Jōkichi Takamine (1854–1922), a chemist of high repute and a goodwill ambassador, and Christian Dr Kan’ichi Asakawa (1873–1948), the chair of Oriental History at Dartmouth University. Whatever their individual character, achievements, or social standing, they all hoped to enter the inner circles of New Englander society. For “their skin being different from that of Europeans”, Kawakami wrote, “the land of liberty” summarily denied them the right to become American citizens, not only in one locality but throughout the entire Republic ([56], pp. 442–443: [58], pp. 394, 398). His later note, “Even Christianity had stricken its standard before the racial wall”, best summarises his dismay at the “unjust and unreasonable” contradictions of life in Christendom ([68], xi).

To Kawakami’s delight, however, unlike many Californians, New Englanders welcomed his compatriots in their community. They were not only supportive of the living “pilgrims and strangers who were as competent and virtuous as any immigrant from Europe” but were also keen to learn about Japanese culture, especially its fine art. A few of them were married to Japanese too. Their “crusading spirit” and Puritan traits touched “the inner chords of Kawakami’s heart”. True New Englanders, he believed, were still “under the potent spell of Puritan traditions – a character not dissimilar to that of the true Japanese samurai” ([56], pp. 440, 442–443).

Kawakami [also] saw the “invisible bond of sympathy and tolerance” as the attitude needed for rectifying the issue of Japanese immigration without jeopardising US-Japan relations. Although the US law squarely denied Japanese on both coasts the right to become naturalised, Kawakami still respected the generosity and broad-mindedness of the USA in awakening Japan from its isolation from Western civilisation. The 1905 Tohoku Famine Relief organised by the mayors of New York and Massachusetts and instigated by the US President’s public call for support amply demonstrated the country’s continuing sympathy. “I am indebted to their spirit of chivalry for taking initiative in fund-raising to support the victims to whom the Japanese government was yet unable to fully attend amidst the post-war chaos.” In return, when the San Francisco earthquake occurred on 18 April 1906, the Japanese government donated goodwill aid of $250,000 (one tenth of the national budget, the largest amount of any nation) to help the victims. This was in addition to $25,000 donated to Japanese residents in the city ([52, 73], p. 132: [82], p. 70).

Following the San Francisco earthquake however, the agitation against Japanese culminated in the San Francisco school incident—the segregation of school children in the city (July 1906). Although only 93 of the city’s 25,000 children were Japanese, the authorities claimed that “these moral inferiors were crowding out and holding back American children.” Japanese residents expressed their concern that once this discriminative act was formally finalised it would likely be repeated in many municipalities throughout the entire State of California ([8, 55]). Causing diplomatic tensions in US-Japan relations, the incident was defused by President Roosevelt’s intervention in exchange for the Japanese government agreeing to cease issuing of new passports for labourers. On the condition that Japanese already in the country could at least apply for US citizenship, the Japanese government accepted the proposed Gentlemen’s Agreement (1907). Thus, the issue of the anti-Japanese campaign against the Japanese in California and the question of Japanese immigration throughout the Republic entered a new phase ([75], p. 11).Footnote 33 The diplomatic solution, however, did not quell the agitation against the Japanese in California, which ultimately culminated in the 1924 Japanese Exclusion Act.

Although Kawakami initially opposed the agreement, he came to consider it inevitable in order to avert further aggravation to the US-Japan relationship. It was at this time that he decided to appeal to American readers’ sense of fair play in regards to his compatriots. Thus, he undertook the task of clearing the “mingled sentiment of distrust and suspicion” towards them in order to provide the American people with “the brighter side of his native country” ([57], p. 483: [62]). He committed himself to gaining “fairness and tolerance” for his countrymen and to then have them accepted as US citizens ([56], p. 440).

Conclusion

This paper has engaged with Kawakami’s life and thoughts from 1901 to 1907 in order to better understand the shift of his interest from embracing Western social reforms to successively becoming a spokesperson for Japan and the Japanese way of life. His commitment as an international journalist reflected Japan’s rapid transformation from an isolated island nation to a new modern state on the world scene. It was a trying period for him as he readjusted his imported Western knowledge about Christian socialism to his lived experience of the contradictions of life in the “sacred land of liberty”.

One of the most significant developments in his thinking was in his understanding of the position of women in society. Experiencing a democratic society in which women were respected as members of the community convinced him that Japan had to become fully democratic before socialism could be introduced. Earlier, he considered women (and children) as the most vulnerable members of society, in need of protection from exploitation in factories and the patriarchal family confinement. However, in writing The Political Ideas of Modern Japan, he recognised the noble character of Japanese women and their contribution to social development. As we have seen, he nominated the story of a 27-year-old teacher’s devotion to Mongolian children as the best illustration of the significant changes of modern Japan. In recognition of “symbolic democratic qualities” in the establishment of the country’s first women’s university, inspired by the US’s liberal approach to education, he anticipated that Japan would gradually become a truly democratic country, a leading nation in the East, and the equal of Western powers. As such, he became an ardent spokesperson for his home country.

Kawakami’s inter-state pilgrimage amidst anti-Japanese agitation and Japan’s conflict with Russia urged him to rectify the dire communication issues concerning the “New Japan and Japanese”. He argued that inadequate and insufficient means of communication had been hindering the ability of people in the West to envisage Japan as a “new modern state”. Misconceptions about Japan’s advancement within the Asian continent and its labour migration to California/USA had to be rectified in order to provide better images of Japan to the American readership. At the same time, if Japan was to assume a place amongst world powers in the rapidly changing world order, it needed to clearly articulate its motives and intentions in international affairs. These matters of communication inspired Kawakami to dedicate himself to practice a brand of cross-cultural chivalrous morality through journalism.

Along with the US’s growing interest in Asia after the Russo-Japanese War, Kawakami became alert to Japan’s vulnerable stance as a new member of the world order. In light of the country’s modernisation fostered by the generosity of the USA, he strongly believed that maintaining US-Japan relations was integral to the country’s advancement as one of the world’s greatest powers. The vulnerable East had to practice self-restraint in return for sympathetic assistance and tolerance of the advanced West. Despite the contradiction that Christianity could turn its back on the “Orientals”, he was reassured by the true Puritan crusading spirit of New Englanders, which he saw as similar to the Japan’s chivalrous code of traditional moral principles, and thought this was a key to maintaining good US-Japan relations. From his exile in the birthplace of Japan’s modernisation, he became convinced that the “invisible bond of sympathy and tolerance” would quell the agitation against his compatriots and would resolve the immigration question. Having come to terms with both light and dark aspects of Christendom, he decided to live indefinitely in the USA and committed himself to the self-appointed mission of propagating a spirit of “fair play” amongst his American readership.

From this perspective, as Shimano points out, Kawakami came to see that “conflicts of issues between the East and West had to be addressed before the age of international socialism could dawn upon the world” ([82], pp. 49–50). Thus, the first initial years when Kawakami’s interest shifted from being an embracer of Western social reforms to becoming a spokesperson for both the USA and Japan was vitally important to the formation of his subsequent journalistic and intellectual careers which spanned the next four decades.