Okamura – Rutgers Meets Japan: Early Encounters

Our First Impressions upon Foreigners

(Transcribed by Caitlin Moy and Raj Malhotra)

There was nothing but the ignorance of our people which caused them to think all foreign nations, except the Japanese, to be barbarous. It seems to me to be a very very unfortunate thing for us, that we, the Japanese, studied Chinese, the principle of which, that is, the doctrine of ____, is only to make us as ignorant as possible. According to the Chinese expressions, which one described in the history of that country, they called foreigners Iteki, Bani,__ (all meant brute) or Ken Yo (dog-sheep). We had used these disrespectful names until lately.

From the time of Nobunaga, to the commencement of the reign of Iye-Yasu, our people were more civilized than they were in after times, because we made trade with foreigners freely, merchants were allowed, by the government, to go to foreign countries and many foreigners lived in Suruga and Yedo. But, after the Battle of Amakusa, all foreign nations were excluded out from the country, because many Roman Catholic priests came and made great injuries to the people. Since this time, we had nothing about foreigners and thought them only as brute.

By a Dutch traveller, who wrote Sakokuron (opinion about the elite of the country for the Japanese), it it said that the Japanese have the sufficient power to exclude all foreign nations, and they can grow rich without trading with others, the opinion or Sakokuron prevailed through the whole country until the late revolution. This also said by Motoori, a great professor of Shinto, that foreigners have no heels, because they use artificial heels for their shoes and belong to the club(?) of the dog. One of the strongest opinions about foreigners, was Kirishitan-Iruman- bateren or Kirishitanshin (I think this is the Portuguese word which means Christian Religion) which was thought, by us, to make great injuries to us.

Some of the Japanese called foreign letters, event at present, Kanimoji (crab-letters) because the foreign letters are written from left to right side, as the crab goes laterally. There is a poetry, made by a Japanese, “those who study Kanimoji (crab letter) goes the way of our country laterally (that is they break the laws of the country).[”] Those, which I have mentioned above, were the feelings of our people upon foreign nations in the time of Tokugawa. Yet my impression was little different from theirs. Because I thought the Europeans were far civilized from us, therefore if we wish to fight against them, we must first imitate their arts and sciences, and then we must declare war.

Okamura

: OKAMURA TERUHIKO 岡村輝彦 (1855? – 1916)

Judge and lawyer of Meiji-Taisho Japan. He was born in Hamamatsu and studied Western Learning and foreign languages at a young age. In 1870, he entered Daigaku Nanko, then studied law at Kaisei Gakko from 1874. From 1876-1881, he studied at Kings College in London. Upon return he served as the judge of the Court of Appeals. He, along with Kikuchi and others, founded the Chuo University.

Also read his “Sketch of My Life.”
: Okamura begins his essay with a brief history of how Japan has viewed foreigners throughout the years. He states that originally, because they based many of their beliefs on the studies and principles of the Chinese, Japan believed all foreigners were barbaric. However, Okamura claims that this was a mistake and that the Japanese were ignorant to study these notions put forth by the Chinese. He describes how at first, and for a long period of time, Japan was “civilized,” using the term to refer to how the Japanese government traded with foreign nations freely and allowed merchants to go abroad. He then notes the period of isolation, in which Japan strictly cut off contact with all foreign nations, aside from the Dutch. He claims that this event was due to Roman Catholic priests harming the country and that it cast an unfavorable opinion of foreigners as a whole. The third paragraph continues to describe the reasoning behind Japan’s “closed-country” (or “Sakoku,” a term derived from the manuscript Sakoku-ron as mentioned in the text) policies, emphasizing the perceived barbarity of foreigners and harmfulness of Christianity. Okamura concludes the piece with a sharp change in tone—He says that his own opinion of foreigners is not all that different from what he described in the essay, and that because western and Japanese culture differ greatly, in order to fight them, the Japanese must learn from the west.

From his high-level use of the English language and the essay’s extensive background on Japan’s view of foreigners, it is apparent that Okamura is highly educated in both western and Japanese subjects. Regarding Okamura’s personal impression of foreigners based on his experiences, and not the generalized past views that he describes, he writes in the final few sentences, “… my impression was little different from theirs.” However, Okamura’s opinion seems to differ greatly from the previous opinions he discusses. At the start of the essay, Okamura states that it was ignorant of Japan to believe that foreigners were barbarians. He goes on to note that Japan cannot sustain itself by remaining closed to western ideas, and that in order to protect itself from the west, Japan must study western art and science. Although his duty to his country and pride in Japan aligns with his nation’s past beliefs, Okamura’s fundamental belief seems to be that there is much to be learned from foreigners if he wants to improve and protect Japan.
: Okamura’s essay on his impression of foreigners is insightful to his or her liberal, yet nationalist views on external influence in Japan. This student criticizes the ignorance of many Japanese people who channel their disapproval of Western culture by treating them like weak barbarians. Okamura argues that the Western powers are much stronger than the Japanese often give them credit for.

This student is certainly in favor of the Japanese plight to become the most powerful nation in the world. The essay ends with, “if we wish to fight against them, we must first imitate their arts and sciences, and then we must declare war.” This is an acknowledgment of Western academic superiority, as well as a testament to the importance of knowledge in Japan. The student did not reference military might, rather cited arts and sciences as the reason the Westerners would win, should they engage in a fight at their current standing. A large portion of this student’s essay was a critique of the egocentric view of the Japanese that blinds many with ignorance and would cause Japan to lose in a fight with the Western world. Many Japanese scholars consider Westerners to “have no heads” and lack unity in their civilization.

Okamura’s impression of foreigners is a harshly realistic one. He understands that they are ahead of Japan in certain spheres. This student believes that they are “far [more] civilized from us,” and the most dangerous mindset for the Japanese is to be as “ignorant as possible.” He continues onto the means of how Western nations are downplayed in Japan. The first example he cites is the names they are referred to, including animals such as dogs and sheeps, animals typically contained and domesticated. He later elaborates on how the Japanese look down on the Western way of writing, as it follows the opposite direction as their own. This is a very ethnocentric way of looking at another culture, and Okamura understands that and argues that for Japan to avoid succumbing to the Western world, it must acknowledge and act on its ignorance.

Ignorance is the key to losing. Okamura is certainly critical of Western culture, as he believes Japan should be dominant and wage war against them. Where this student differs with many Japanese at the time is in the clarity of his critiques. Many Japanese fell victim to the ignorance that comes from constantly humiliating and dehumanizing Westerners. To compensate for their long period of isolationism, Japan must adapt quickly to the progressing world if it hopes to stand its own and eventually emerge victorious from a war with the West.