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Sōseki on history
Natsume Sōseki on history, from his review of James Murdoch's History of Japan.
[...] Born as I was at the same time as the revolution that was the Restoration, the history of the Meiji period is, to me, my own history too. And just as my own history has unfolded naturally and spontaneously without any great trials, I cannot but think of the history of the Meiji period as forty years that proceeded properly and logically to the present day. One may object on the grounds that the treatment I receive and the critical reception of my work is atypical in some ways, but I have not the slightest inclination to wonder at the route, cause, or changes, for better or worse, that led to my becoming the person I have. I was born like so, I grew up like so, I was influenced by social changes like so, I became this person like so: I am aware only of this, and since nothing about this awareness is surprising, there is nothing to rouse my curiosity, or, therefore, my academic interest.
I am constrained by the logical conclusion of these facts, and in the same way I feel that a sense of what you might call obviousness permeates the history of the Meiji period in which I live. The navy has progressed, the army has grown mighty, industry has developed, learning has flourished: of these things I am aware, but along with my acceptance of this comes the sense that this was how things are meant to be, and I have never once thought to wonder how or why this might be so. In the end, we all live within a sort of current, and while we may be aware of being swept along, our muscles and nervous systems and brains all feel that is natural and accept it as such, and so there is simply no part of us left to find it queer or unusual.
Think of an insect that hides under leaves turning green to defeat a bird's gaze. The insect itself does not care whether it turns green or red. It accepts unquestioningly that changing color in the way it does is what should happen. The change of color is mysterious not to the insect but rather to the entomologist that studies it. Mr Murdoch's attitude towards us, the Japanese, is the same sort of amazement as that felt by entomologist towards an insect that suddenly changes color. He wonders at a people that, before the Restoration, had not progressed culturally beyond the level of Europe in the fourteenth century, yet in just fifty years have developed to a level comparable with that of the twentieth-century West. He thrills to the fact that we Japanese who were helpless before Perry and his mere five ships now have a navy that enjoys the greatest success in naval warfare since Trafalgar.
It seems that Mr Murdoch began from this sense of amazement, proceeded to curiosity, settled next into academic interest, and finally arrived at the publication of this weighty work. This is why in all of Japanese history the points that stimulated his interest most were how the Japanese first made contact with the West, and how the effects of this contact worked during the period before the arrival of the black ships to bring about the dramatic changes that occurred afterwards. [...]
Some of his analyses would never occur to a Japanese person. The theory that Westerners are surprised by Japanese culture because they [...] believed that anything non-homologous with Christian culture was not a civilization is one such example. Everyone knows that Western civilization is tightly linked with Christianity, but the idea that nothing except Christian culture could be called a civilization would never occur to an ordinary Japanese person. But one cannot but acknowledge this fact upon seeing it presented by Mr Murdoch as the opinion of the average Westerner. In this sense, this work not only has extreme merit as an introduction of Japan to foreign countries, but is also offers a great many insights into how foreigners with an academic interest in Japan perceive us. [...]
History is not born until we turn to look back at the past. How sad that today we find ourselves swept from instant to instant, unable to stop even for a moment to glance back at and ponder the path we have taken to get to where we are. For the sake of the future, our past is trampled as though it never existed. Like rootless upstarts, we are pushed along, forward, ever forward. When two peoples of widely disparate wealth, intelligence, strength, and morality first find themselves nose to nose, the weaker one abandons their past quite rapidly, driven by the fear that, regardless of their past, if they do not rise to the level of their rival they may lose their present. [...]
anonymous:
Small copyedit: "the opinion of the average Western" > "Westerner"?
Very interesting piece, though.