CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY INMEIJI

JAPAN: THE CASE OF KOZAKI HIROMICHI

By Helen Ballhatchet

The path followed by Protestant Christianity inMeiji Japan (1868-1912) has

frequently been viewed as an index to the general process of Japanese
development up toWorld War II. The beginnings seemed promising. According
to the accepted picture, the early converts included a significant number of young
ex-samurai whose clan had not supported the winning side in the Meiji
Restoration. The new regime dismantled the feudal order which had given their
lives purpose and meaning, and they felt alienated and rejected as a result. They
first came into contact with Christianity from a desire to study Western learning
and thus make a new start in life; they were indifferent, or even hostile, to the
Western religion itself. The early missionaries and foreign teachers who led them
to Christianity in spite of such initial attitudes seem to have been, if not men with
actual military experience, people of strong personality and puritanical ideals.
Matching samurai stereotypes of courage and single-minded determination as
they therefore did, they attracted the admiration and loyalty of their lordless
pupils, who pledged themselves, through their teachers, to Christ. Conversion
was often accompanied by the discovery of a new purpose in life, the task of
spreading the new religion. This was a restatement of the samurai obligation to
set a spiritual example to others, and also represented a patriotic mission to save
the nation both morally and materially, through providing the proper basis for
the adoption of Western civilization.1
Missionaries were both surprised and delighted by the appearance of such
educated and high-ranking converts, for in other parts of Asia, such as India and
China, itwas primarily the low-ranking and uneducated who showed interest in
Christianity.2 More recently, scholars of Meiji Christianity have made similar
observations and linked this phenomenon to the general early Meiji openness to
change. Just as Christians in the West had been in the vanguard of movements
for individual freedom and social welfare, they have portrayed early Meiji

1
For an English-language description of this picture, see Irwin Scheiner, Christian Converts
and Social Protest inMeiji Japan, Berkeley, 1970, pp. 21-30, 41-66, 82-99. F. G. Notehelfer
emphasizes "moral dislocation" rather than a sense of lost status. See Notehelfer, American
Samurai: Captain L. L. Janes, Princeton, 1985, pp. 185-97.
2
E.g. William Elliott Griffis, A Maker of the New Orient: Samuel Robbins Brown, New York,
1902, pp. 299-300.
 350 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY

Christians as the potential leaders of a radical defeudalization and liberalization

of Japanese society.3
This general framework does much to explain why the most famous and well
studied Japanese Christian in Japan today should be Uchimura Kanz?
rHM le H ( 1861-1930).4 His fierce independence of spirit and willingness to
speak out in opposition to both government policy and public opinion, for
the Russo-Japanese War, make him seem like a realization of
example against
the ideal Protestant leader. In fact, however, as is generally acknowledged,
Uchimura was an exceptional figure who stayed outside mainstream Protestant
circles and was very critical of them. By the end of the Meiji period itwas clear
that Christianity was not going to be a force for radical change in Japan, and the
middle class "intellectual" pattern of membership which still characterizes
Christianity in Japan today had become firmly established.5
Christianity is part of a general feeling that the Meiji modernization process
somehow "went wrong". Japanese scholars have tended to see Christianity as
surrendering to pressure from a reactionary, absolutist state and failing in its
mission to reform the feudalistic, non-democratic elements in Japanese society.6
This interpretation seems questionable for two, related, reasons, however. First,
even granted that Christianity consistently acted as a positive liberalizing and
reforming influence in the Christian West, it is surely unrealistic to expect it to
have acted in the same way in a predominantly non-Christian country, and in
such a short space of time.7 The second reason concerns the effect such

3 are by Sumiya n no Keisei to

The classical works MikioPH ? IIJ?, e.g., Kindai Nihon
M& t ?
Kirisutoky?:Meiji Shoki PurotesutantoKy?kai Shiron i?tf?i? ?k<<0 V X hEt :
?Bf?#?JtJ?:/nT-;** xs hlfci?U?, Tokyo, 1950 (see esp. pp. 17-18, 42) and Nihon no
Shakai Shis? :Kindaika toKirisutoky? B* (Dtt le:S $! ?: ft 4b ? * ? X h i?, Tokyo, 1968
(see esp. pp. i, 5-7), and Takeda Kiyoko ? B3U ^, e.g., Ningenkan no S?koku: Kindai Nihon no
Shis? toKirisutoky?AM?oD*M:??ftB*0Sffi?*? X Ufe ,Tokyo, 1959 (see
esp. pp. 11-14). For English-language studies which adopt similar approaches, see Ernest E.
Best, Christian Faith and Cultural Crisis: The Japanese Case, Leiden, 1966, and Scheiner.
4 The
For English-language studies of Uchimura, see, e.g., Carlo Caldarola, Christianity:
Japanese Way, Leiden, 1979; John F. Howes, "Japan's Enigma: The Young Uchimura Kanzo",
Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1965. The amount written on him can be gauged from
Shinagawa Tsutomu $? )\\ jj , Uchimura Kanz? Sunken Mokuroku p*g
^f ? H Je fifc@H ?
enlarged ed., Tokyo, 1977.
5 no Keisei,
Sumiya, Kindai Nihon pp. 137-140.
6
See, e.g., Sumiya, Kindai Nihon no Keisei, pp. 131-33; Takeda, preface pp. 4-5, p. 24. Such
assumptions are also apparent in more recent works such as Dohi Akio zh AG0B^ >Nihon
Purotesutanto shi B^/DjX^y^'J X hlfcSt, Tokyo, 1980, and Kudo
Kirisutoky?
Eiichi X ? ?$ ?: Nihon Kirisutoky? Shakai-Keizaishi :
Kenky? MeijiZenkio Ch?shin toshiteB ^
* U_* r-?&?!!?*?# :mf?mMfrtp'?t U, Tokyo, 1980.
7
Ohama Tetsuya X M %. tfc has made a similar point about attempts to link early Meiji rural
interest in Christianity with the growth of a capitalistic ethic. See his review of Kud?, in
Shakai Keizai Shigazu ft?r?^r^-^ 16 (Feb. 1981), pp. 86-87, and also Ohama,
"Nihon Kirisutoky?shi ni kansuru Dansh?" 0i+ U X YEi^^Mi~?>^?M, Fukuin
to Sekai jg^ t W ?? 35 (Sept. 1980), pp. 21-7.
 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY 351

expectations have had on the study of Christianity inMeiji Japan. Interest has
been focused on "liberal" elements, in particular on evidence of attempts to

challenge the Meiji state, leading to an enormous amount of work on Uchimura

Kanz?, as mentioned above, and an emphasis when other on
examining figures
this aspect of their activities. There has been comparatively little written on those
whose Christianity was more overtly "nationalistic" and who avoided such
confrontations.8 This focus on "liberal" elements seems and may
misleading,
well have distorted understanding of the nature of Christianity inMeiji Japan.
The aim of this article is therefore to examine Kozaki Hiromichi /h W? 3? i?
(1856-1938), a more mainstream Christian than Uchimura Kanz?, through an
analysis of his first major literary work, Seiky? Shimon J&ifc?ffiA (A new
examination of the relationship between religion and government). Seiky?
Shimon was widely read by Christians and non-Christians alike, and has been
described as one of the two main works of early Meiji Christianity along with
?~
Shinri Ippan JEM ?S (A general outline of the truth) by Uemura Masahisa
??.t? IE {K ( 1858-1925).9 In itwe can see Kozaki's early view of the political role
of Christianity, a theme of significance in terms of the expectations about Meiji
Christians outlined above, and the way in which he related Christianity to
Confucianism, and to the past, present, and future of Japan, topics of great
interest to Japanese Christians. Seiky? Shimon has been praised for its
understanding of the idea of the individual and its thorough criticism of the
traditional Japanese ethos,10 but these aspects should be put into perspective.
Kozaki's approach to Confucianism will therefore be compared with the
attitudes shown both by non-Christian Japanese intellectuals of the time, and by
contemporary Western writers.

Kozaki and the background to Seiky? Shimon

Kozaki's conversion to Christianity fits neatly into the pattern outlined above.
Born in 1856 and having received an initial training in Chu Hsi Neo
Confucianism (shushigaku 9k 7*^), Kozaki entered the newly-established
school of Western learning at Kumamoto in 1871, at the age of 16. At this stage
he intended to follow a political career. He had been exposed to Buddhist and
Shinto beliefs as a child, but his Confucian training had led him to reject religious

8This cf nHI53 -f, Ebina no Seiji Shiso

point has also been made by Yoshinare Akiko Danjo
?**?JEOft?6H?l, Tokyo, 1982, pp. 3-4.
9 Yasushi Kindai Nihon to Kirisutokyo:
E.g. Kuyama {K (-U?t, ed., Meiji-hen
?EftH*?*?:*Mfe: ?%?, Tokyo, 1956, pp. 105-107.
10
E.g. Sumiya, Nihon Shakai to Kirisutokyo, p. 25; Takeda, pp. 82, 85. For a contrasting
interpretation of Seiky? Shinron, linked to a lower-key appraisal of Kozaki himself, see Dohi,
"Kozaki Hiromichi: Ichi Shid?sha no Kis? 4^&*&>M.-^%?M%(D)?%b, in Wada Y?ichi
fumW?, ed., D?shisha no Shis?katachi RJEitoDSffiSfc*), II, Kyoto, 1973,
pp. 31-88.
 352 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY

belief as non-rational. The school authorities were hostile to Christianity and

intended that students should obtain moral sustenance from jitsugaku H ^, a
form of Confucianism developed by Yokoi Sh?nan fll#/h IS (1809-1869) which
combined elements of both Chu Hsi and Wang-Yang Ming Neo-Confucianism
(y?meigaku ?j| Bfi^). Kozaki eagerly attended the lectures on jitsugaku, and was
so convinced of the moral and spiritual supremacy of Confucianism over the
irrationality of Christianity, that he even saw it as his duty to preach to Captain
Janes, the American teacher at the school. While increasing numbers of students
slowly began to show interest, and then belief, in Christianity, Kozaki remained
outspoken in his opposition. Even when drawn to study Christianity seriously, by
the arguments and evident sincerity of his friends, and by Janes's earnestness in
prayer, questions such as the divinity of Christ caused him much difficulty. At
the end of one and a half years of spiritual and intellectual torment, he eventually
came to belief and was baptised by Janes in 1876. Looking back, however, and
this is important, Kozaki felt that Confucianism had in fact been a help rather
than a hindrance. For him, as for many of his fellow Christians, particularly
those who formed the Kumamoto "band", conversion had not involved the
of Confucianism. *l
rejection
In the year of his baptism, the twenty-one-year-old Kozaki left Kumamoto
and, in company with most of the other students who had become Christians,
entered the D?shisha, the school founded inKyoto by Niijima J? 0? $?$ S (1843?
1890) in association with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions. He entered the theological section and on graduation in 1879 went up
to Tokyo, where young Christians from various parts of Japan were beginning to
gather. Here he became involved in various activities involving evangelism,
journalism, and the general spreading of knowledge about Christianity. In later
years he was a controversial President of the D?shisha and one of the leading
members of the Kumiai Kyokai fi^KEe, the Japanese equivalent of the
Congregational Church.12
Seiky? Shinron initially began in 1884 as a series of articles in two Christian
newspapers with which Kozaki was closely involved, and was published as a
whole in a revised and enlarged version in 1886. As the title suggests, it was
primarily concerned with the relationship between religion and the state, but
11
Kozaki Hiromichi, Reminiscences of Seventy Years: The Autobiography of a Japanese Pastor,
trans, by Nariaki Kozaki, Kyo Bun Kwan, 1933, pp. 26-39; Notehelfer,passim; Takeda, pp. 69
76. For discussions of how far this affected their understanding of Christianity, and the affinities
of various forms of Neo-Confucianism with Christianity, see, e.g., Kuyama, pp. 79-90; Takeda,
pp. 3-26, 68-72; Yoshinare, passim; in English, see Notehelfer, "Ebina Danj?: A Christian
samurai of the Meiji period", pp. 36-41, 44-45, Papers on Japan, II, Harvard University, East
Asian Research Centre, 1963, pp. 1-56. Watanabe Kazuyasu $? 22 fu" if analyses Seiky? Shimon
in terms of the influence oijitsugaku on Kozaki's understanding of Christianity in "Kirisutokyo
toJuky?:Meiji Jidai o Ch?shin to shite"^ UX Y& t lilfc: $?f?f?ft ? ^ '? t It ,
pp. 117-23, Kikan Nihon Shis?shi ^flj ? * ? $& , no. 8 (1978), pp. 111-28.
12
See Kozaki, passim.
 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY 353
Kozaki's interests lay in examining the actual Japanese situation rather than in a
theoretical discussion. While criticizing Confucianism, both with regard to its
ideological role in pre-Meiji Japan and with regard to its possible role in the
future, Kozaki argued that some form of religion was essential to political
stability. Comparing Confucianism with Christianity, he presented the latter as
the ideal religious basis for the new Japan.
It is not surprising that Kozaki chose to write about Confucianism and
Christianity from the point of view of their relationship with government and
- -
society. As he himself pointed out, Japan like China had a long tradition of
political manipulation of religion ; this tradition doubtless influenced his lifelong
interest in the relationship between religion and government.13 Although he did
not make this explicit, itwas of course a tradition which, at least in the past, had
very much affected attitudes to Christianity. More immediately important to him
than this, however, was the unsettled atmosphere of the mid-1880s during which
he was writing. Christianity itself was enjoying an unprecedented boom,
accompanied by a renewed enthusiasm forWestern customs as a fresh round of
negotiations for revision of the "unequal" treaties began. Political tension was
extremely high, however. In 1881 ?kuma Shigenobu ^cKttfi (1838-1922)
had been ousted by the government, which had then taken steps to strengthen
limits on freedom of speech and of the press, and to introduce the teaching of
Confucian ethics into the educational system. The people's rights movement,
which had responded to the promise of representative government in 1890 by
eagerly forming opposition parties, was riven by internal dissension, and the
more radical elements were responding to government suppression by planning
armed uprisings.14 Kozaki himself clearly felt that the situation was very
precarious. As he stated in the first chapter of Seiky? Shimon, "Today a Period of
Reform", the country was in a delicate period of transition between the "old" and
the "new" Japan and nowhere was this truer than in the areas of government and

religion. The old Asian-style despotism had gone, but civilized democratic
government had yet to be established and people had very little idea of what it
involved even though parliamentary government was soon to be started.
Religious affairs were in a similar state. Shinto, Buddhism and Confucianism
had lost their influence and clearly could not survive along with Japan's new

13 in Kozaki Zensh?
Seiky? Shimon (SS), pp. 306-307, /Jn 0$ ? M, HI, Tokyo, 1938, pp. 296
399; Takeda, pp. 82-83. The relationship between religion and government had also been a topic
of discussion among the Meirokusha BQA ft. See Meiroku Zasshi: Journal of the Japanese
Enlightenment, trans, and with an introduction by William Reynolds Braisted, Tokyo, 1976,
passim.
14For
the 1880s as a period when clear differences were emerging in the ideology of
government and opposition, see Maruyama Masao % [UM !B , "Meiji Kokka no Shis?"
m^m^(D^M,pp.2\6-20,'midem,Sench?toSengonoAida>1936-1957m.^ t $&CDf?fl,
Tokyo, 1978, pp. 202-50 (first publ. 1949).
354 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY

civilization, but there was nothing to take their place. He was particularly
worried by the general obsession with political affairs, especially since it was
accompanied by a lack of concern for religion and morality.15 As he declared
later on in a direct criticism of the people's rights movement, politics and
freedom had no meaning as ends in themselves, but only when they were
understood as means to bring about human happiness.16
He did not, however, agree with the solutions proposed by other concerned
Meiji intellectuals. He criticized those who felt that the cold moral philosophy of
the West could provide a satisfactory ethical basis for society, presumably a
reference to "enlightenment intellectuals44 (keim? shis?ka %?il S ?ffiSe) such as
Nishi Amane IS ffi (1829-1897). On the other hand, here presumably aiming at
figures such as Motoda Eifu X EB^c^ (1818-1891), Lecturer on Confucianism
to the Emperor, he equally took issue with those who thought that worthwhile
ethical values were to be found only in the East, and who were therefore working
for the revival of Confucianism.17 According to Herbert Spencer, the period
between the disappearance of one ethical order and the arrival of a new one was
the most dangerous time for any society. Itwas to this crisis that Kozaki intended
to address himself.18
As the above reference to Spencer another influence on
suggests, important
Kozaki's in Seikyd Shinron was the idea of evolution, in the sense of an
outlook
ordered process of unilinear development in the general direction being taken by
the industrialized societies of the West. For Kozaki, as for Meiji thinkers of a
of a correct of this process was
variety political persuasions, understanding
meant to provide the key to Japanese development: failure to follow the process
correctly would result in social collapse and disaster. In Kozaki's case, however,
there was a close and explicit identification between the process of evolution and
God's plan for the world, with evolution and Christian revelation ultimately
44coming out on the same track".19 As I hope to make clear, the idea of evolution

influenced not only his interpretation of Japan's path of development but also his
understanding of the relationship between Confucianism and Christianity.
15
SS, pp. 288-303.
10
SS, p. 344. For an analysis of Kozaki's general attitude to the people's rights movement, see
Dohi, "Kozaki Hiromichi", pp. 51-9.
17
SS, p. 303-4. For an English-language study of Nishi Amane, see Thomas R. H. Havens,
Nishi Amane and Modern Japanese Thought, Princeton, 1971, esp. pp. 114-63; for Motoda, see
Donald H. Shively, "Motoda Eifu: Confucian lecturer to the Meiji Emperor", in David S.
Nivison and Arthur F. Wright, Confucianism in Action, Stanford, 1959, pp. 302-33. Kozaki was
not the only person to be worried about attempts to revive Confucianism during this period. See
Maruyama, "Fukuzawa Yukichi no Juky? Hinan"?g ^ m n" <7)^ |fc #t ?4 , pp. 106-7, in
(first publ. 1942) and John B. Pierson, Tokutomi Soh? 1863-1957: a Journalist
op.cit., pp. 93-115
for Modern Japan, Princeton, 1980, pp. 103-15.
18
SS, pp. 304-5.
19
SS, pp. 394-5. For a general survey of Meiji interpretations of evolution, see Funayama
Shin'ichi & 04E ? ,Z?hoMeiji TetsugakushiKenky? ig mf?&?&ffi%, Tokyo, 1965,
For a recent English-language
?
pp. 294-349. on article the influence of Spencer, see Yamashita
 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY 355

The ideal relationship between religion and government

Kozaki approached his solution to Japan's present crisis through a critical

examination of the relationship between religion and government in pre-Meiji
Japan. As in China, government had always been the dominant partner.
Learning had been reserved for potential holders of political office and thought
irrelevant to the lower classes of or to women. It was therefore natural that
society
the lower classes of society had been reduced to the level of slaves or beasts,
purely passive members of society who had no other object than to live out their
lives. Only the samurai were qualified to be citizens and to form the life of the
nation, but their loyalties were focused on the emperor rather than on the nation
as a whole. Itwas Confucianism which had brought about and sustained this type
of society. The most important element of Confucianism here had been ch?k?
& ?? (loyalty and filial piety), which had been of great influence throughout the
East, and an important factor in the Meiji Restoration. This teaching of
Confucianism had, in fact, made Japan what it was.20
The main object of Confucianism was peaceful government; its rituals were
designed to benefit the state. It sought to produce peaceful government through a
hierarchical structuring of society in terms of the first four of the five relations
(ruler-subject, father-child, man-wife, older sibling-younger in a
sibling)
pyramid (piramiddo). This pattern was appropriate to primitive or half-civilized
societies, but not to the situation in which Japan now found itself. People in a
Confucian society had no individual rights and therefore no freedom; no power
tomake their own decisions and therefore no true morality. It was impossible for
a society in this state to progress, as could be seen in the case of China. Neither
was it possible to separate the ethical teachings from the rest of the Confucian
system and operate them side by side with political and other structures of
Western as some
origin, proposed.21
While Confucianism had no relevance to the new Japan, however, something
had to be found to replace it. Government alone could not support a country;
without morality and religion nations could not survive, as could be seen in the
case of Greece and Rome. Neither was knowledge in itself sufficient, as the
advocates of theories of civilization liked to suggest. In fact, since the power of
customs and superstitions tended to weaken the more a country advanced, the

Shigekazu, "Herbert Spencer and Meiji Japan", in Hilary Conroy et al, ed., Japan in Transition:
Thought and Action in theMeiji Era, 1868-1912, Rutherford, 1984, pp. 77-95. For an analysis of
Japanese Christian interpretations of evolution, see (Ch?) Takeda Kiyoko ( J| ) & EB it -f ?
"Shinkaron no Juy? H?h? to Kirisutoky?" f?4tW*(D%?$?J5& t + U X h |fc, Bungaku
j^^47 (April, 1979), pp. 198-208; for Kozaki himself on evolution see, e.g., "Kirisutoky? to
Shinpo" g^tfc t ?*. to'?rwgo ZomAi /N-?*S, no. 96 (Dec. 1888), pp. 500-7.
20
SS, pp. 306-12.
21
SS, pp. 316-18, 333-40.
 356 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY

bonding power of religion and morality actually increased in importance.

Religions, moreover, acted as a sort of social "safety valve", dissatisfac
giving
tion with society a way of escape. There was therefore a danger that, without
religion, the increased self-awareness which inevitably accompanied better
educational opportunities would encourage interest in socialism and commu
nism, causing grave political destabilization. This was so because, however free a
society, discontent caused by inequalities of ability, and therefore of prosperity,
was inevitable in this world. Such discontent would be cleared away, however, if
people believed inChristianity, which taught man to regard this world not as the
place where he should seek to fulfil his desires, but as a place of preparation for
the world to come.22

Christianity's role in society was not, however, confined to such stabilizing

activities. It also provided the vitality which had made possible the sustained
progress of Western civilization. In non-Christian civilizations any progress soon
lost momentum. Growth in knowledge led to contempt for traditional religion,
resulting in the moral corruption which had led to the downfall of Greece and
Rome. A rich country (fukoku l? B) would not provide the basis for a strong
army (ky?hei 3??) (as was implied by theMeiji slogan fukoku ky?hei), but would
undermine it by leading to extravagance and a loss of courage and the simple
customs of old. In any case, non-Christian countries lacked any idea of eternal

progress to a future, perfect society ;according to them, the perfect society lay in
the past, and the future held only decay. Christian nations, on the other hand,
were full of life; they valued the individual and had the spirit which made
sustained progress toward an ideal future society possible. It was Christianity
which provided this spirit in a society just as itmade individual Christians into
the 44salt of the earth".23
This spirit provided by Christianity had three main elements. The first of these
was the value given to the individual. This arose from the Christian view of men
as all possessing eternal souls and being equally sinners in the sight of God. No
one man should therefore be despised more than any other, nor treated merely as
the tool of someone in power. The second was the high position given to women,
which ensured the purity of the family, the basis of any state. Third came the
Christian stress on high standards of morality and social welfare, as seen in the
movement for the abolition of slavery. The motive here was not to gain merit,
which was the goal of humanitarian work in Buddhist countries, but to express
the Christian love of mankind. All the good points of Christian countries had
been nurtured either directly or indirectly by Christianity. It had acted as a

22
SS, pp. 342-57. A dig at Fukuzawa Yukichi is presumably intended here. (See David A.
Dilworth & G. Cameron Hurst, trans., Fukuzawa Yukichi's An Outline of a Theory of Civilization,
Tokyo, 1973, pp. 71-123.
23
SS, pp. 365-71.
 CONFUCIANISMAND CHRISTIANITY 357
"conscience", without which they would not have reached their present level of
development.24
To import the machinery and customs of the West without its life and spirit
was thus to court disaster. Only if Japan accepted Christianity could it "gain
equal footing with the countries of Europe and America and be able to shed the
light of the new Japan over the world". Those who hesitated over this had two
main fears of what Christianity might do to Japan. The first of these was that it
would bring religious discord. It was true that no other religion could survive
alongside the ultimate truth of Christianity, and that there would be some
conflict, but this was inevitable in any revolution. In any case, any conflict was
unlikely to be serious either at a popular or at an ?lite level, both because the level
of attachment to existing religions was so low, and because knowledge of the
bloodshed caused by religious wars in Europe had made Japanese politicians
very wary of interfering in religious disputes. As long as this was so, Japanese
religions would be replaced by Christianity "through the workings of natural
selection", and with the minimum of upheaval. The second fear concerned the
possibly destructive effect of Christianity on Japanese culture.25 Kozaki's
method of dealing with this will be looked at in more detail later.
In his penultimate chapter, Kozaki at last got down to discussing the ideal
relationship between religion and government. Peaceful government was
impossible without religion, which provided the basis for family and society.
Without it people could not preserve their rights and freedom, or achieve true
happiness. The actual relationship between the two differed among the countries
of the West, but all agreed on their mutual importance. Kozaki's ideal was the
situation found in the United States, where church and state were institutionally
separate, but politics was greatly influenced by religious principles. This both
ensured individual religious freedom and encouraged an independent and
vigorous church. The United States was in fact both the freest and the most,
religious country in the world. Kozaki was glad that, after the early attempts of
the Meiji government to make Shinto part of its organizational structure, the
present trend in Japan was for separation between religion and government. He
earnestly desired that the Emperor and all those involved in political affairs
would become Christian and govern with a Christian spirit, but without directly
interfering in religious matters, in accordance with Christ's message of rendering
unto Caesar that which was Caesar's.26
In his final chapter, "The Individual and Society", Kozaki put his discussion
into a broader national and theological perspective. While Japan could not
neglect military matters or disarm herself, she should ignore foreign affairs and

24 372-9.
SS, pp.
25 379-83.
SS, pp.
26 386-94.
SS, pp.
358 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY

concentrate on internal reform, with Christianity in the one hand and learning in
the other. By gaining a position of equality with theWest and becoming a leader
of civilization in the East, Japan would be fulfilling the divine mission with
which she had been entrusted. Although the day of world peace was far away, the
Kingdom of Heaven would finally be achieved, at the point where "evolution
and Christian revelation came out on to the same track". Here and
religion
government could at last be truly linked, in unity under Christ.27
The one remaining question was the relationship between the individual and
society. What was our final purpose? The enlightenment of the country? The
progress of society? Did the individual exist for society or society for the
individual? Kozaki's answer was that 44Man cannot find satisfaction in the
reform of society and the progress of civilization alone; he must have a higher
purpose than this.. . Man
. ismade of both spirit and flesh ... he belongs half to
this world and half to a world which we cannot see." Only when seen from this
viewpoint was it clear that society was a training place for the individual inwhich
family, state, and church all had their role to play. This was a teaching unique to
Christianity.28
Kozaki therefore tended what I have presented as a primarily political
argument on amore religious note, and even pointed out that he had "stressed the
necessity of faith inChristianity . . .not only because it is essential to society and
civilization, but because I believe it is the authentic religion, the eternal truth
. . ,"29Moreover, parallel to this discussion he had also pursued amore
explicitly
religious line. In the next two sections I will examine this, and the way in which
he linked the political and religious levels of the work.

Kozaki s
analysis of Confucianism

Kozaki's main outline of Confucianism itself came in chapter three. He

described it as a form of social law or civil religion (gensei no sh?ky?
8?1B: <D^ife). While Confucianism was not without religious features, such as
the special place given to God (J?tei _h iW),mountains, rivers and the ancestors,
its real object was peaceful government. The hierarchical structuring of society
by which this was achieved was upheld mainly by ethical teachings, and by rites
and ceremonies. Vital to the Confucian system was the ruler. As the
representative of heaven he held extraordinary responsibilities, and had in effect
to be both ruler and Pope. The main requirement of the ruler was virtue.
Confucianism was further characterized by its image of the perfect society. All
religious and philosophical systems had some such image, but Confucianism was

27
SS, pp. 394-6.
28
SS, pp. 396-8.
29
SS, pp. 399.
 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY 359
unusual in that its ideal did not lie in the future or in life after death, but had
already existed and needed to be restored from the past.30
Confucianism was therefore a simple, rather arid, teaching, which could not
satisfy man's questions about the deeper meaning of life. In spite of this,
however, it had clearly wielded great influence. This, Kozaki felt, could only be
explained by the fact that it contained some "fragment of the truth" (shinri no
?~
ittan j? S <D ?S) which had enabled it, however slightly, to sway men's hearts.
Kozaki mentioned three elements to support this assertion. First, Confucianism
was extremely practical and matter-of-fact in its attitude to life and so provided a
relief from the excessive metaphysical speculation indulged in by other Asian
religions. Second, and again in contrast to other Asian religions, itwas optimistic
both about life and about human nature, and world-affirming rather than world
negating. Finally, there was the identification of religion with government. This
provided the outside support needed to make Confucian ethical teachings
effective, through the authority of the state and, ideally, through the example set
by the virtuous ruler. While not effective on a purely human level, the ideal of a
state ruled justly by a perfect ruler, with government and religion as one, was in
accordance with the Christian teaching of the Kingdom of Heaven.31
In practice, Confucianism had clearly failed to bear out its optimistic view of
the world. As he had already explained, Confucianism required a perfect ruler,
but the optimism which such a requirement implied revealed an ignorance of
human nature. Sin was not caused simply because people were unaware of the
difference between right and wrong; the teaching of moral rules was not
sufficient to keep man from evil. Even on the rare occasions when a virtuous man

such as Confucius himself did come to life, he did not necessarily gain, or even
have the talent for, political leadership. Moreover, the Confucian structure of
society had hindered progress.32
Confucianism stressed almost exclusively the duties of son to father and
subject to lord. The individual was swallowed up in society; he belonged to his
lord or to the government and had no individual rights or freedom, either to act or
think. In more advanced societies, relationships were reciprocal. The ruler

subject relationship was replaced by one between government and people with
duties on both sides, and narrow to a ruler became love of one's
loyalty country.
This shift to amore reciprocal relationship was especially marked with respect to
husband and wife and the family system. While the object of a Confucian
marriage was the production of an heir, the Christian ideal was a perfect union
between marriage partners.33

30
SS, pp. 315, 318-21. As we have already seen, Kozaki later states that all non-Christian
countries locate the perfect society in the past (SS, p. 367).
31
SS, pp. 322-30.
32
SS, pp. 331-3.
33
SS, pp. 334-9.
360 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY

It was impossible for Confucianism to develop in this direction, however.

Lacking the spiritual support which was available to Christianity, Confucian
morality could only function successfully in a rigidly structured, hierarchical
society, and relied heavily for its influence on the identification of political rulers
with moral teachers. Since this was the only type of society in which it could
survive, it inevitably formed a barrier to intellectual and technological change.
This criticism could even be levelled at the apparently noble virtue of loyalty and
filial piety, which in fact devalued man by setting unquestioning respect for
parents and ruler as the main objects of life. Man in a Confucian society was
therefore little better than a slave, and did not have the opportunity to develop an
individual will or sense of moral responsibility.34.
As a philosophical teaching only, divorced from society, there was no reason
for Confucianism to continue to survive, and it could even have a harmful effect,
by leading people to despise morality. It was not, however, necessary for it to
disappear completely, and some of its teachings, for example on the importance
of sincerity, would be of value for later generations. Kozaki therefore hoped that
study of Confucianism in Japan would come to occupy the place held by Greek
and Latin in theWest, both as a key to the thought and ethos of old Japan and to
help improve them.35 He also had another, more important and more surprising,
role for it inmind, which he introduced in chapter nine. This was nothing less
than as a preparation for Christianity.

The relationship between Confucianism and Christianity

Kozaki saw Confucianism as an obstacle to Christianity in that although

people were gradually coming to have a more favourable attitude to the latter,
many were prevented from actual conversion by their attachment to Confucian

ism. It was, however, possible to make Confucianism into a "go-between"

{baikai $k4t) to faith in Christianity.36
There were many religions in the world, but they could all be divided into two
types: "natural" (shizen @ f&) and "revealed" (tenkei 3??9- The first group had
been developed by man in his search for God; they were particularist and
imperfect, though possessing something of the truth. The second group, which
contained only Christianity, had been revealed by God in his search for man.
Christianity was of universal relevance and free from imperfections. The natural
religions were in fact only temporary affairs, "ladder preparations" (kaiteijunbi
f? ?g?!? flg) for Christianity. While Judaism was the direct preparation sent by
God to his chosen people, the Israelites, he had also prepared for Christianity

34
SS, pp. 336-40.
35
SS, pp. 341-2.
36
SS, pp. 358.
 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY 361

indirectly, through the philosophers and sages of the world who discovered
religious truth through their own powers of thought. Kozaki therefore quoted the
words of Christ inMatthew 5:17 :"Think not that I am come to destroy the law or
the prophets: I am come not to destroy but to fulfil." This, he declared, referred
not to Judaism alone, as the context might suggest, but to other religions as well.
All were being fulfilled (matt?/j?ju seraruru <$*&/ ?fcg? Ht?h ?> ?>) through
Christianity. He further supported this by quoting Paul in Athens, Acts 17:28?
27, to the effect that men had been created to "seek the Lord, if haply they might
feel after him, and find him", and by referring to the similar view held by
Clement of Alexandria with regard to Greek philosophy.37
Kozaki saw Confucianism, along with other religions, as preparing the way for
Christianity both negatively and positively, and compared it in some respects
with Judaism. In a negative sense, its strong emphasis upon morality made it

superior tomany other natural religions in producing an awareness of sin and of

the need for salvation, although it could not of course satisfy this need, or aid man
to reform. As with Judaism, and all ethical teachings which stressed self
there was moreover, a of self
improvement, always, danger producing

righteousness and hypocrisy. In a positive sense, and again like Judaism,

Confucianism looked forward to the coming of Christianity with its idea of a
perfect society ruled by a just leader. Although limited in time and place, and by
its stress on an elitist hierarchical structure, this view contained elements of
Christ's teachings about the Kingdom of Heaven.38
The last element of preparation referred to by Kozaki lay in the ruler-subject
and father-son relationships. While these were vertical relationships involving
benevolence in return for duty, however, Christianity saw man as tied to God
purely by the bond of love. This difference contained the essential clue to the
inferiority of Confucianism to Christianity. Few rulers were worthy of the loyalty
which Confucianism claimed for them, while ordinary men were robbed of
personal moral responsibility by the requirement for unquestioning loyalty. Yet if
the Confucian ideal of ch?k? were transferred to God, it would become a truly
high morality, worthy of being seen as a teaching which could lead the East to
Christ, just as Greek philosophy had led the Greeks. Ordinary people as well as
sages would be motivated to behave well, taught not by fallible men but by God
and by the example of Christ; the rules guiding men's actions would come not
from outside, but from inside, from the heart. All those who had been sincere
followers of Confucianism should therefore find themselves abandoning their
former beliefs and following Christ.39

37
SS, pp. 358-9.
38
SS, pp. 360-1.
39 this is precisely what seems
SS, pp. 362-4. As was mentioned before, to have happened to
Kozaki and other early Meiji Christians with a samurai upbringing.
362 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY

Later on in his argument, in chapter eleven, Kozaki expanded this general

evolutionary picture of Christianity as fulfilling, rather than destroying, pre
Christian elements, from a religious to a national level. This was how he
answered the fear referred to earlier, that Christianity would rob Japanese
culture of its distinctive beauty and goodness. Far from doing this, Christianity
would actually support and develop such qualities, for Christianity refined
countries just as it did individuals. All that was evil was swept away, but that
which was worth keeping was assimilated ;Christianity would reveal and fulfil
(matt? sum) its true value. The Christianity which developed in Japan would
therefore be as characteristic of Japan as the Christianity found in Germany,
Britain or the United States was of those countries. As specifically Japanese
virtues he selected, as well as the patriotic loyalty engendered by Confucianism,
the integrity and constancy of the samurai and the bravery and fortitude which
"
were called the Japanese spirit" (Nihon damashii 0 i *!t), none of which were
seen in other countries. These were in danger of being swept away by the frivolity
and lightheartedness that were entering Japan along with Western culture, but
Christianity would preserve and perfect them.40

Seiky? Shimon in perspective

In Seiky? Shinron, Kozaki contrasted Christianity and Confucianism,

particularly with regard to the position of the individual, and presented a strong
argument for the former as the essential basis of a politically stable new Japan.
This is, perhaps, a natural apologetic stance, but there are some interesting
aspects to the way in which Kozaki presented his argument. Through skilful use
of the related ideas of evolution and fulfilment, he was able to portray
Christianity as both the progressive antithesis of Confucianism and the old
Japan which it had supported, and as their ultimate saviour. Continuity and
were two sides of the same coin.
discontinuity
It is possible to compare Kozaki's viewpoint in Seiky? Shinron both with that
of non-Christian Meiji intellectuals, and with that of contemporary Western
Christian writers. As he himself realized, Kozaki was responding to a common
Meiji concern for Japan's future stability. His "first acquaintances and friends"
on coming to Tokyo had been former members of the Meirokusha 58 7\ ?h(the
Meiji Six Society), the group of distinguished pioneers in Western learning
formed in the sixth year of theMeiji period.41 Like Fukuzawa Yukichi ?S ?K ??1ni
(1835-1901), itsmost famous member, in particular, Kozaki's main criticisms of
Confucianism were directed at the fact that itwas a barrier to Japan's progress.
His argument that by robbing people of personal responsibility for their actions

40
SS, pp. 384-6.
41
Kozaki, Reminiscences of Seventy Years, p. 364.
 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY 363
Confucianism produced weak individuals, which in turn impeded national
development, is highly reminiscent of Fukuzawa's Gakumon no Susume
^ f5j CO -f- ~f ?i)(An encouragement of learning, 1872).42
Missionaries and other Western Christian writers, like Kozaki, saw
Christianity as the basis of Western civilization; they too emphasized the
backward nature of Confucianism. Again like Kozaki, they criticized its
hierarchical views and over-optimism with regard to human nature.43 It was also

argued that since non-Christian religions were bound to disappear as a country

advanced, Japan was in danger of falling into a spiritual vacuum, with all the
social and political unrest which that would entail.44
The more positive side of Kozaki's appraisal of Confucianism also had its
parallel in writings by Western Christians, some of whom believed, on the basis
of serious study, that Confucianism could be used as a bridge to Christianity.45
Kozaki would certainly have been familiar with Tend? Sakugen ^Jfi?iiS
(Evidences of Christianity) by W. A. P. Martin (1827-1916), the American
Presbyterian missionary to China, which portrayed Christianity in terms which
emphasized its points of contact with Confucianism. This had appeared in
several versions in Japan and was widely referred to as the most influential
apologetic work on Christianity in Japan at the time.46 If anything, Kozaki was
more critical of Confucianism than Martin.47 The only Western work to be

42
Fukuzawa Yukichi's An Encouragement of Learning, trans., with an introduction, by David
A. Dilworth and Umeyo Hirano, Tokyo, 1969, pp. 16-20, 69-7'4. For an analysis of Fukuzawa
Yukichi on Confucianism, see Maruyama, "Fukuzawa Yukichi", esp. 95-105. In English, see
Carmen Blacker. The Japanese Enlightenment: a Study of the Writings of Fukuzawa Yukichi,
Cambridge, 1964, esp. pp. 60-86.
43 works on Chinese beliefs available when Kozaki was writing were Joseph
Among Western
Edkins, Religion in China: containing a Brief Account of the Three Religions of the Chinese,
London, 1877; James Legge, The Religions of China: Confucianism and Taoism described and
1880; John L. Nevius, China and the Chinese, rev. ed.,
compared with Christianity, London,
Philadelphia, 1882.
44
E.g., Henry Faulds, Nine Years inNipon: Sketches of Japanese Life and Manners, London,
1885, p. 299.
45 at this time, Joseph James Legge, and William A. P. Martin. All three of
Notably Edkins,
these were missionaries to China whose Chinese writings were available in Japan. See Ozawa
Sabur? /J\ ?RH ?|S, "Ch?goku Zairy? Yasoky? Senky?shi no Nihon Bunka ni oyoboseru

Eiky?^S&a^lliijaifce?tf) 0 ^.Xit ^Jfr?-& Z&W in idem,BakumatsuMeiji

Yasoky?shiKenky? g * 9?f?flB*|lfc& #r9? , 2nd ed., Tokyo, 1973, pp. 177-203.
40 Yoshida t? 51 M "Tend? to sono bunsho dend?
Tora, Sakugen fuky?: Ch?goku shinky?
hatten no ichisokumen" r^?iiSJ t **)#&:+H*r?**?S ? R 0)--< ffi
pp. 49-53. Shicho $ $|, no. 61 (1956), pp. 40-53. It was unanimously mentioned as the best
defence of Christianity available by leading missionaries and Japanese Christians in a
questionnaire distributed by the American Congregationalist preacher, Joseph Cook, during his
1882 visit to Japan. See "Twenty Four Questions on New Japan", in Joseph Cook, Boston
Monday Lectures: Orient with Preludes on Current Events, Boston, 1886, appendix IV, pp. 289
310.
47 see Ralph W. A. P. Martin:
For an English-language summary of Tend? Sakugen, Covell,
Pioneer of Progress in China, Washington, D.C., 1978, pp. 110-25.
 364 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY

-
actually mentioned and quoted - in the text o? Seiky? Shinron, however, was not
by a missionary, but a Juky?ron il ?fcWk (Discussion of Confucianism) by
someone whom Kozaki refers to as "the British scholar Matheson" (Eikoku no
gakushi Mashison^ffli^^i^C/? V y).48 Although no previous attempt
to trace it appears to have been made, this work is clearly a little-known lecture
on Confucianism given in a series on "The Faiths of theWorld" in Edinburgh in
December 1881 by the famous blind Scottish Presbyterian preacher and
Edinburgh minister, George Matheson (1842-1906).49 Although Matheson's
understanding of Confucianism is naturally inferior to Kozaki's, there are
intriguing points of similarity between the arguments which the two employ.
The first major such similarity occurs where Matheson, like Kozaki, asks why
Confucianism has been so influential despite its shallowness. Where Kozaki
talks of a "fragment of the truth", Matheson mentions "some truth of the
doctrine", and gives very similar positive aspects in evidence, including the
similarity between the Confucian ideal of perfect government and the Christian
idea of the Kingdom of Heaven. While Kozaki saw the weaknesses of
Confucianism in primarily social and political terms, however, Matheson was
more interested inmoral and spiritual issues. For him, the similarity between the
Confucian ideal of perfect government and the Christian idea of the Kingdom of
Heaven did not result from the actual political structure of the Confucian state,
which Kozaki emphasized, but from the fact that through seeing God's nature
reflected in the world order, Confucianism invested the secular word with a sense
of the divine. Again, both felt that Confucianism produced weak individuals, but
where Kozaki ascribed this to the excessively hierarchical Confucian social
structure, Matheson pointed to a defect in Confucian morality. Good behaviour
inConfucianism was not an end in itself, but an essentially self-centred means of
gaining secular advancement; China was weak because it lacked a high moral
ideal, and was made up of selfish, and therefore weak, individuals.50
The other major similarity between the two lies in their agreement that
Christianity could be approached through Confucianism. Like Kozaki,
Matheson here mentioned Confucian morality and its positive orientation to the
world, with the accompanying idea that "the goal of a perfect civilization is the
foundation of a kingdom of God".51 He did not go so far as to talk of Christianity

48 314.
SS, pp.
49 Lecture III: "Religion of China in The Faiths
:Confucianism", of the World, St. Giles's
Lectures, Second Series, Edinburgh, 1881, pp. 73-108. For information on Matheson, see
Donald Macmillan, The Life of George Matheson, London, 1907. His (positive) views on
evolution are among those examined by James R. Moore in The Post-Darwinian Controversies :a
Study of the Protestant Struggle to come to Terms with Darwin in Great Britain and America, 1870
1900, Cambridge, 1979, esp. pp. 228-9.
50 101-4.
Matheson, pp. 87-94,
51
Matheson, pp. 99, 106-7.
 CONFUCIANISMAND CHRISTIANITY 365
as the fulfilment of Confucianism,52 but even so, Kozaki was not the first to
interpret Matthew 5:17 as referring to all non-Christian religions. His reference
to Clement of Alexandria and Greek philosophy shows that he was aware of this ;
what is not clear iswhether he was in any way influenced by the resurgence of the
idea of fulfilment among late nineteenth-century Western writers under the
stimulation of evolutionary thought and improved knowledge of non-Christian
religions, in particular of Hinduism and Buddhism.53
Most missionaries in Japan at the time seem to have taken a rather negative
attitude towards Japanese religions.54 Even so, Kozaki may have been under
missionary influence. He uses the phrase "ladder preparations" (kaiteijunbi), and
it seems significant that in 1877 we find Atkinson, an American Board
missionary to Japan, describing his preaching methods and noting that
"whatever is good in the teachings of Confucianism and Buddhism I do not
hesitate to praise; but according to my illustrations they are ladders too short for
man's absolute need."55 Kozaki actually accompanied Atkinson on an
evangelizing trip in 1878 while he was a student at the D?shisha and apparently
thought highly of his preaching ability, so he may well have been influenced by
him.56
It also seems significant that in August 1883 Uemura Masahisa, one of the
young Japanese Christians with whom Kozaki became closely associated after
going up to Tokyo, had published an article on Japanese religions which
explicitly introduced fulfilment theory, quoting Matthew 5:17 and saying that
just as Judaism had prepared the way for Christianity in theWest, "the religions
of Japan are ladders (kaitei) for the true religion of Christianity placed here in
advance by God as preparations (junbi) for the spreading of Christianity". He did
not go into as much detail as Kozaki, however, saying that in their positive
aspects Japanese religions had nurtured a religious sense, and in their negative

52 Later
in his life, however, he did come to support the idea of fulfilment. See Macmillan, esp.
pp. 279-81.
53 See E. C. The Christian Attitude to Other Religions,
Dewick, Cambridge, 1953, pp. 120-8;
Eric J. Sharpe, Not to destroy but to fulfil: the Contribution of J. N. Farquhar to Protestant
Missionary Thought in India before 1914, Lund, 1965, pp. 44^55, 97-102.
54
See, e.g., the two speeches relating to Japanese religion given at the 1883 Conference of
Protestant Missionaries to Japan, and the discussions which followed them: M. L. Gordon,
"The religious influence of Buddhism as an obstacle to the reception of the Gospel in Japan",
Proceedings of the General Conference of the Protestant Missionaries of Japan, held at Osaka, Japan,
April, 1883, Yokohama, 1883, pp. 90-101 ;H. Waddell, "The influence of Chinese literature as
an obstacle to the reception of Christianity in Japan", ibid., pp. 106-15.
55 - a
"Pioneer work most interesting tour", p. 373, Missionary Herald (Nov. 1877), pp. 372-9
(emphasis in original).
56 no Sh?ky? Shis? & W in
Kozaki, Wagakuni (D >n Ifc J??&!, p. 341, publ. posthumously
Kozaki Zensh?, II, 1938, pp. 286-384.
 366 CONFUCIANISMAND CHRISTIANITY

aspects made clear man's spiritual weakness and his need for the true religion of
Christianity.57
It is not clear how Uemura and Kozaki arrived at these ideas. They may have
discussed Atkinson's phraseology together or developed the theory independent
ly, possibly separately, possibly together, from their interest in the idea of
evolution, through analogy with the attitude of early Christianity, of which they
were both aware, and because of the nature of their own conversion
experiences.58 The major difference between the two is that Uemura, like
Western writers on fulfilment theory, limited its application to religions and did
not extend it to Japan on a national level.

Conclusion

Fulfilment theory appealed to other Meiji Christians besides Kozaki and

Uemura, and to other non-Western Christians, for example in India.59 While for
Western theologians and missionaries, appreciation of non-Christian religions
and the idea that they were preparations for Christianity represented a move
towards universalism and greater appreciation of non-Christian cultures,
however, for those, like Kozaki, who were from such cultures, the theory seems
likely to have had a more particularist significance. By giving intellectual and
theological support to the existence of positive links between Christianity and
other religions, it allowed a convert to demonstrate, both to himself and to the
world outside, that admitting the superiority of a foreign faith did not involve a
total switch in cultural loyalties. In Kozaki's case in particular, the extension of
the concept from a purely religious to a national level, and the vision of a
specifically Japanese Christianity which would preserve and perfect the
"Japanese spirit", provided him with evidence not only that conversion to
Christianity did not represent rejection and betrayal of Japanese culture but that
it could, in fact, be seen as an expression of ultimate loyalty.
The dual commitment to both Christianity and Japan which Kozaki was able
to bring together on a conceptual level through the use of fulfilment theory can

57
Uemura Masahisa, "Nihon shukyo no kotetsu" IlM '/{??k (D ?? i? in Aoyoshi Katsuhisa
fHyj \BX, Uemura Masahisa-den 4$M if-X ?a> PP- 161-6, Tokyo, 1935, orig. publ. in Tokyo
Maish? Shinp? jti?i % M ? AI, no. 2 (Aug. 1883).
58 For Uemura on his conversion see Saba Wataru
experience, {? #? S, ed., Uemura Masahisa
to sono Jidai^ ti l?X t &(Dt?rit, II, Tokyo, 1938, p. 687 (extract from Fiifaiw Shinp?
**-&?*, no. 115).
59
See, e.g.., Uchimura Kanz?, How I became a Christian: out of my Diary, pp. 190-2, in The
Complete Works of Kanzo Uchimura, I, with notes and comments by Taijiro Yamamoto and
Yoichi Muto, Tokyo, 1971 (first publ. 1895) and Ebina Danj? f????j*iE (1856-1937),
"Nihon Sh?ky? no SOsei" fl i ?fc ?&ay & *&, pp. 572-5, Rikug? Zasshi, no. 192 (Dec. 1896), pp.
568-77; ibid., pp. 169-71, Rikug? Zasshi, no. 196 (April, 1897), pp. 165-72. For India, see Kaj
Baago, Pioneers of Indigenous Christianity, Madras, 1969, pp. 3-4, 12-35.
 CONFUCIANISMAND CHRISTIANITY 367
also be seenin his more specific discussion of Japan's future path of
development. On the one hand, as we have seen, his outlook in Seiky? Shinron
had much in common with that of the contemporary Western missionary or
Christian writer, in seeing Confucianism as backward, Christianity as the sole
basis of Western civilization, and a modernized Japan without Christianity as
spiritually empty and therefore dangerously unstable. Thus Kozaki opposed not
only traditionalists who wished to revive Confucianism, but also secular
reformists, who did not realize the importance of religion to all levels of
civilization. He also made it clear that man's true purpose in life was to be found
not in this world but in the next, and looked forward to the coming of the
Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
On the other hand, Seiky? Shinron is undisputably the work of someone greatly
concerned with the political and social, as well as the moral and spiritual, welfare
of Japan. Missionaries believed that Christianity was the basis of Western
civilization, and linked Japan's progress in adopting Western civilization to the
likelihood of its becoming Christian,60 but as missionaries their primary concern
lay with Japan's spiritual development. For Kozaki, however, as one might
expect from the circumstances of his conversion, the adoption of Western
civilization was an end in itself. During large parts o? Seiky? Shinron, the desire to
ensure that this would take place smoothly and successfully even seems to be the
main reason for his advocacy of Christianity. Moreover, while his long-term
picture was very different, his short-term picture of the future of Japan reveals
concerns which were equally deeply held by his more secular Japanese
contemporaries, who were themselves looking for ways to reconcile cultural
borrowing with national pride, and worried about its possible disruptive effect.61
Sharing their anxiety about Japan's international position, he warned that a
wealthy Japan (fukoku) without Christianity was likely to be too corrupt to have
a strong army (ky?hei), and that Christianity was also essential if Japan was to
gain recognition as an equal with Europe and America and become a leader of
civilization in the East.
On this more concrete level too, Kozaki was able to bring together his two
commitments. He clearly saw no conflict between his long- and short-term
pictures of Japan's development, and in fact described the achievement of
equality with the West and leadership in the East as part of God's plan for the
country. If one agreed with Kozaki's argument in Seiky? Shinron, itwas clear that
all patriotic Japanese could do nothing better than become Christians.
The extent to which Kozaki's vision agreed with other views of Japanese
development is, however, somewhat disturbing if one expects Christians to have

60
See, e.g., Scheiner, pp. 28-30.
61 In inMeiji Problems
English, see Kenneth B. Pyle, The New Generation Japan: of Cultural
Identity, 1885-1895, Stanford, 1969.
 368 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY

had a distinctively defeudalizing and democratizing influence, particularly when

one considers his references to social order and the importance of civil morality.
Kozaki did provide an effective critique of Confucianism and exhibited an
understanding of the way in which Christianity had helped to mould Western
concepts of the moral responsibility and rights of the individual. But he did this in
the context of an attempt to show that Christianity was an integral part of a
successful new and in no way a challenge to it.
Japan,
The theoretical basis to his argument was evolution as a unilinear process of

development in the direction of an idealized Western-style, Christian, liberal

democratic society. Yet it is not clear how far Kozaki himself was truly
committed to this ideal. His criticism of the people's rights movement apart, he
seems to identify himself with the ruling ?lite which was trying to change Japan
from above, rather than with the ordinary Japanese who were presumably
waiting for his dual message of spiritual salvation and secular enlightenment.62
In a way, such an outlook was only the logical result of his stress on the
importance of Christianity to Japan's success in adopting Western civilization;
this naturally encouraged him to follow an elitist evangelistic strategy which
placed the priority on influencing the upper echelons of society, through his base
in Tokyo and literary work. In Seiky? Shimon we therefore find him looking
forward to the time when the Emperor and all the high officials of the
government would be Christian.63
Other elements of his elitism, however, suggest that it also has origins in his
Confucian upbringing and consequent initial desire for a career of political
leadership. He clearly places a high value on the national role of the samurai, as
opposed to the other three Confucian classes, and emphasizes how Christianity
can help to avoid breakdowns in social harmony and stability. Connected with
this tendency to identify with the ?lite is a basic optimism about the Meiji
government, and a belief in the unlikelihood that it would make any further
attempts at political interference in religious affairs, which seems surprising in
view of future events. Although one could perhaps argue that the situation was
still fairly open in the mid 1880s, throughout his career Kozaki continued to stress
the constructive role which Christianity had to play in producing a strong and
stable Japan and in developing, not destroying, Japan's national characteristics.
The most obvious change in his argument was a shift away from advocating the

62
Ohama characterizes this as an attitude of Meiji Japanese church leaders in general. See
"Nihon Kirisutoky? ni Kansuru Dansh?", p. 25.
63
This is also a point made by Takenaka Masao ?j ll' i\:.k , "Kozaki Hiromichi
ni okeru Kokka Shis? no Tenkai: Meiji Zenhanki o Ch?shin ni" >h it??'JA?M
K#lt?H*JSiB!tf>lSH! : l#J#?iw?JMfc+'6K, pp. 271-6, in D?shisha Daigaku
Jinbun Kagaku Kenky?jo Wfctt:k-f:?Xft'?~ffi%}?\, ed., Kumamoto Bando Kenky?:
Nihon Purotesutantizumu no Ichigenry? to Tenkai j^^^y FKf^ : H >k
?
-f d -r * ft v t- h 7(J*<D M?tLtBkWl., Tokyo, 1984, pp. 259-78.
 CONFUCIANISM AND CHRISTIANITY 369
American system of separation between church and state, to an emphasis on the
role of religion in fostering loyalty to the throne as in European monarchies such
as Britain and Germany. Towards the end of his life he was welcoming the fact
that successive governments had gradually come to see the importance of religion
in fostering morality.64
In Seiky? Shimon, fulfilment theory had enabled Kozaki to strike a reasoned
balance between his commitment to Christianity and his commitment to Japan.
The ideal expression of this balance was a relationship of mutual harmony and
institutional independence between religion and government. Later in his life,
Kozaki was to put more stress on the mutual harmony than on the institutional
independence, but this did not really represent a retreat from his earlier views.
His commitment to Christianity was clearly linked to a desire for change to a
degree which involved more than the introduction of the material aspects of
Western civilization, but was both shaped and motivated by a prior commitment
to Japan. To the extent that all Meiji Christians, even Uchimura Kanz?, shared
in these two commitments and wished above all to reconcile them, itwas clearly
going to be difficult for them to act as a consistently radical and liberalizing force,
and unreasonable of us to expect this of them.

64 no Sh?ky?
See Wagakuni oyobi D?toku ?fc lu (7)^%t & ig f?, pp. 415-53, in Kozaki
Zensh?, III, pp. 401-567 (firstpubl. 1903);Kirisutokyo toWaga Kokutai =&
# %Lt Ifc IS#, in
z?z?., II, pp. 530-46 (first publ. 1911); Kokka to Sh?ky? g ^ ? ^ ifc, esp. pp. 390-4, 505-7 (first
publ. 1913), in &?/., II, pp, 388-528; Reminiscences of Seventy Years, pp. 328-30; Nihon
Kirisutoky?shi 0 4; S If i? ?, pp. 206-8, publ. posthumously inKozaki Zensh?, II, pp. 1-283.
For a differing interpretation of the relationship between Kozaki's earlier and later thought, see
Takeda, Ningenkan no S?koku, pp. 82-5.