Charter Oath

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The Charter Oath as officially published.

The Charter Oath (五箇条の御誓文, Gokajō no Goseimon^?, more literally, the Oath in Five Articles) was promulgated at the coronation of Emperor Meiji of Japan on 7 April 1868.^[1] The Oath outlined the main aims and the course of action to be followed during Emperor Meiji's reign, setting the legal stage for Japan's modernization. It remained influential, if less for governing than inspiring, throughout the Meiji era and into the twentieth century, and is considered by political historians to be the first constitution of modern Japan.^[2]

1 Text
2 Origin and subsequent influence
3 Notes
4 References
5 Further reading

[edit] Text

As the name implies, text of the Oath consisted of five clauses:

By this oath, we set up as our aim the establishment of the national weal on a broad basis and the framing of a constitution and laws.

Deliberative assemblies shall be widely established and all matters decided by open discussion.

All classes, high and low, shall be united in vigorously carrying out the administration of affairs of state.

The common people, no less than the civil and military officials, shall all be allowed to pursue their own calling so that there may be no discontent.

Evil customs of the past shall be broken off and everything based upon the just laws of Nature.

Knowledge shall be sought throughout the world so as to strengthen the foundation of imperial rule.^[3]

[edit] Origin and subsequent influence

The Oath was read aloud by Sanjo Sanetomi in the main ceremonial hall of the Kyoto Imperial Palace in the presence of the Emperor and over 400 officials. The text of the Oath was written by junior councilor Yuri Kimimasa in January 1868, and revised by junior councilor Fukuoka Takachika in February. The final version was approved by Kido Takayoshi before being presented to the Emperor. The purpose of the oath was to issue a statement of policy to be followed by the post-Tokugawa bakufu government in the Meiji period. It set a new path in Japanese history with an emphasis on modernization and the establishment of a new social structure. While a remarkable document expressing noble sentiments, the Oath was purposely phrased in generalities to minimize resistance from the daimyo. The Oath was also restated as the first article of the constitution promulgated in June of 1868, and the other articles expand the policies outlined in the Oath.^[4] Almost eighty years later, in the wake of the Second World War, Emperor Hirohito paid homage to the Oath in an imperial rescript (issued 1 January 1946) renouncing his divinity.^[5]

The promise of reform in the document initially went unfulfilled. A parliament with real power was not established until 1890, and the Meiji oligarchy from Satsuma, Chōshū, Tosa and Hizen retained political control into the 20th century. Nevertheless, the second article was important for the repudiation of the feudal caste system and its implication of social mobility. The third article established that commoners, bureaucrats, and military (the traditional Confucian division of society) should unite for the common welfare. The fourth represented a general repudiation of Tokugawa rule, and the last evoked the Taika Reforms, although Japan would seek knowledge from the West rather than China.

[edit] Notes

^ Keene, p. 137. Other translations are acceptable, such as Five-Article Oath or Charter Oath in Five Articles.
^ Keene, p. 340, notes that one might "describe the Oath in Five Articles as a constitution for all ages."
^ McLaren, p. 8, quoted in De Bary et al., p. 672.
^ De Bary et al., pp. 672-3.
^ De Bary et al., p. 1029.

[edit] References

De Bary, William, Carol Cluck, and Arthur Tiedemann (eds.) [1958] (2005). Sources of Japanese Tradition, Vol. II: 1600 to 2000, 2nd edition, New York: Columbia. ISBN 023112984X.
Jansen, Marius B., Gilbert Rozman (eds.) (1986). Japan in Transition: From Tokugawa to Meiji. Princeton: Princeton. ISBN 0691102457.
Jansen, Marius B. (2002). The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge: Harvard. ISBN 0674009916.
Keene, Donald (2005). Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912. New York: Columbia. ISBN 023112340X.
McLaren, W. W. (1979). Japanese Government Documents. Bethesda, Md.: University Publications of America. ISBN 0313269122.

[edit] Further reading

Akamatsu, Paul (1972). Meiji 1868: Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Japan, Miriam Kochan (trans.) (in Japanese), New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0060100443.
Akita, George (1967). Foundations of Constitutional Government in Modern Japan 1868-1900. Cambridge: Harvard. ISBN 0674312503.
Beasley, W. G. (1995). The Rise of Modern Japan: Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312233736.
Murphey, Rhoades (1997). East Asia: A New History. New York: Addison Wesley Longman. ISBN 0321421418.