New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-01-28
HISTORIC PARALLELS.
ROYAL, pECADENCE IN JAPAN AND IN
EUROPE

EUROPE A7e-MS. BY Charles Oman; NJ A., r. .
period l. PIP VIII. 5S2 Macmillan G 70
TUE sTopy OF Japan. BY David Murray: Pm d..
IL D. Late adviser TO Re pspPanese M? sons
Of Sfb Ed sfory Of the tip; "a Tor
Talking DR. Murray's book as guide one
easily fixes upon two principles tha' sNo
nifty and continuity to Japanese history.
I-ndoubtedly the narrative needs t"ie"u
unon which the fragmentary facts can pe
-. Cobes,on is not an obvious charac-
,ar;etic of JaDanese annals before the Hlu-
d,o NJ tho present century. OF course the
real defect NAV be in the observer. TO an Occ'-
denial student the evolution OF politics anu
society since japan began TO put away he' eN
clus.veness seems on the whole an ahalr orderly
and explainable But it is difficult to overcome
feeling Of justification In the presence OF '"ose
long lines Of emperors and shoguns VINO seem
only now and then to have stirred the COUNT
which they ruled into any sort OF actViS' U'
q thought forces itself on the mind OF the reaue'
as he passes from the name or one ru'ei W a."
other: he observes that almost inVa1apy 'nc
verdict of history Is that the hrst emperor vi
tho first shotgun In any dynasuc series Is 'ne
hest Of that series. 1t might be that he was
cruel and tyrannical. but he was certain u NC
q capable man; and the people, AFTER recovering
from, whatever resentment his policy may nave
caused looked back upon his acheNeihe"'' any
his character with respect. But the successors OF
the great man. with more or less certainty Va
having their work measured for them by him.
shhw = decreasing capacity for taking the in
,tiatjve IN any affair, make progress only IN IN
aoo,s;o, and end in inanity Getting this con-
ception Of japanese rulership into the mnd one
soon finds q parallel for ii in the vicssitudes oi
I,ranLisb history with its Merovngian sovereighs
and Corloyingian mayors Of the palace For the
Jananese shotgun stood to the emperor in rer
,at,on not unlike that Of the mayor 10 MS Kihs'
He was the executive of a monarch whose power
was in theory unlimited. but who IN TACT was
dependent upon him for the very fecessaries vi
life The difference between Japan ana the oiu
Frank realms was that in the latter the Kiiie anu
the MAYOR were not likely TO become lhcoihpe
terS together while it certainly does look DIS IL
~ two aspects of absolutism in the Pacific
Island Kingdom were equally senile and wrinKieu
and impotent about the time when COMMODORE
Perry made his famous demand Tor treaty
One can number on his fingers all the men "hoih
the severely levelling processes or Japanese
chronicles allow to rise above their kind DR..
Murray's book attests this He gives whoie
cbapter TO only one man in the whole period OF
more than two thousand years which he reviews.
Tovotomi Hideyoshi would certainly have been
in any country. But there were great captains
the world over in his day, the close OF the SIX
tnenth and beginning OF the Seventeenth CEN
turtles. and the man who thought he could con-
ouer Corea as he would roll up rug ana TUCK II
under his arm and then failed to accomplish the
task would not have cut large hgure IN the
wars of Europe.
Indeed one has to scan the lists pretty care
fully In Japan as in China, for great men. TN
the other hand. the people taken as "hoie
awaken the profound admiration OF the reader
of theit history. This leads to the discovery OF
another principle that gives form and unity 10
the apparent disorder of the past In Japan. III
the rea illness to accept ideas from every source
the japanese seem to have been ever the same
They have been the pupils by turns of the
Coreans, the Chinese, the Portuguese, the Du'ch
and of the whole Western World. Whatever the
Influences that were at work upon them, they
have nevertheless through all retained ma
tional Individuality Even the Buddhism which
they absorbed from China and the system OF
writing and the literary style drawn from the
same source did not shake the equilibrium or
q people whose character had been moulded
apparently. out Of diverse elements far back in
the prehistoric period.
The comparison between Franks and Japan
csc quite naturally leads to volume like MI
Oman's European History. In the period
which he discusses, that between the years 4I6
and 9lS the Franks figure largely. and the prin-
ciple Of royal decadence can be watched at its
worst. If the character Of successive kings
had really potency in moulding the people,
then the civilization Of Europe as the outcome
Of such tutelage must seem a miracle. If Mr..
Oman had brought into strong and immediate
contrast the principles that were at work in the
different corners of Europe. he would have given
his book look Of unity which now 1t does not
possess, and he would have given his readers
a clearer notion of the relation between the
period he treats and universal history. In the
North and West there not only the decay
of royalty to be considered but also the in
veterate tendency Of powerful monarch to
break up his kingdom. so that his children
might share and share alike. Among the Goths
and Vandals. the decay Of the princes seemed
to keep pace only with that Of their follow
ers vanda, visigoth. Ostrogoth exhausted
themselves in conques; and then frttered away
their new possessions in unaccustomed luxury.
Nor does the principle seem to have been differ
ent in the case of the Lombards. though they
came so near the unity of Italy. But while the
decay Of families was the cause of trouble in
the West. the Eastern Empire, as Mr.. Oman
points out, was strong only when there was
family series at the head Of affairs. In the
highly artificial society of the Empire the ma
chinery Of government. perfected by ages Of use
and by the ncessant application of legal formulas,
was bound to run well as long as the popuace
had no pretext for medding with II. When each
emperor could nominate his successor, In ac-
cordance with recognized rules the people easily
acquiesced They yielded even to eXtortionate
taxes and TO cruel tyranny. But break In the
succession was signal for tumult and rebellion
The aims % one emperor counterbalanced those
OF another. single reign suf.ced to restore
- disordered finances and to fill an exhausted
treasury. A surplus Of money a signal for
and for costly works Of architecture. Thus
the circulation kept up between the centre
and the boundaries of the Empire, and the vast
political structure seemed. we'll to those who
viewed it from within to those without, some
thing which time could not affect. Yet those
were times that shook every political fabric.
The Empire resisted the shock OF repeated con-
0icts with Persia and the onset of Islam II