Who is the Sovereign of Japan?:

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  • 日本の主権者は誰なのか
  • How the Western Diplomats Perceived Japan and Oriented their Policies 1858–1862
  • ―幕末駐日外交官の日本認識と外交1858～1862

Abstract

<p>  When the Yedo Treaties were concluded in 1858, it was a well-known fact among the Japanese intellectuals that they were signed without Mikado’s approval, which gave rise to the tremendous political turbulences of the following years, leading ultimately to the Meiji Revolution. However, the same fact was hidden by the shogunate from the Western diplomats who began residing in Yedo in 1859. On the other hand, the American representative Harris, who negotiated the first Yedo Treaty, was probably aware of the lack of imperial consent but remained silent about it toward his European colleagues. Consequently, it was only around 1862 that they learned the fact, interpreting the situation that the current treaties had not yet been ratified by the true sovereign of Japan. This article reveals that the perception gap thus generated among the Western diplomats influenced their diplomacies to such an extent that it led to the division and swing of their policies over the important diplomatic issues, including antiforeign terrorism and the deferring of the opening of the other Japanese ports. The lack of ratification meant the necessity of its achievement. This article also depicts at its end how the Western diplomats reached their perception, which was to culminate in their policy in 1865 of obtaining the imperial approval of the treaties with display of naval forces.</p>

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