significant. It put an end to the all-absorbing, all-perplexing theme of the day. The question of foreign policy was settled.

The next act of the statesmen of the Restoration was to sweep away the abuses of the court, and to establish the basis of a firm internal administration. The most effectual means of accomplishing this, it seemed to the sagacious statesmen, was to move the court from the place where those abuses had their roots. Ichizo Okubo,⁶ a guiding spirit of the Restoration, presented the following memorial to the Emperor:

"The most pressing of your Majesty's pressing duties at the present moment is not to look at the empire alone and judge carelessly by appearances, but to consider carefully the actual state of the whole world; to reform the inveterate and slothful habits induced during several hundred years, and to give union to the nation....

"Hitherto the person whom we designate the sovereign has lived behind a screen, and, as if he were different from other human beings, has not been seen by more than a very limited number of Kuge; and as his heaven-conferred office of father to his people has been thereby unfulfilled, it is necessary that his office should be ascertained in accordance with this fundamental principle, and then the laws governing internal affairs may be established....

"In the present period of reformation and restoration of the government to its ancient monarchical form, the way to carry out the resolution of imitating the example of Japanese sages, and of surpassing the excellent governments of foreign nations, is to change the site of the capital....

"Osako is the fittest place for the capital ... For the conduct of foreign relations, for enriching the country and strengthening its military power, for adopting successful means of offense and defense, for establishing an army and navy, the place is peculiarly fitted by its position ... I most humbly pray your Majesty to open your eyes and make this reform....

"OKUBO ICHIZO."⁷

The result of the memorial was the ultimate removal of the seat of government from Kioto to Yedo, which afterwards changed its name to Tokio, meaning eastern capital.

But the most important event of the Restoration, from the constitutional point of view, was the charter oath of five articles, taken by the present Emperor on the 17th of April, 1869, before the court and the assembly of Daimios. These articles were in substance as follows:

1. A deliberative assembly should be formed, and all measures be decided by public opinion.

2. The principles of social and political economics should be diligently studied by both the superior and inferior classes of our people.

3. Every one in the community shall be assisted to persevere in carrying out his will for all good purposes.

4. All the old absurd usages of former times should be disregarded, and the impartiality and justice displayed in the workings of nature be adopted as a basis of action.

5. Wisdom and ability should be sought after in all quarters of the world for the purpose of firmly establishing the foundations of the empire.

The Emperor's promise henceforth became the watchword of the nation.

And this resolution to form a deliberative assembly was soon put into practice. In 1869 was convened the Kogisho or "Parliament," as Sir Harry Parkes translates it in his despatch to the Earl of Clarendon. But before we proceed to the description of the nature and working of the Kogisho it is necessary to state that this plan had been already suggested by the Shogunate. A proclamation of the Shogun Keiki, issued on February 20, 1868, says: "As it is proper to determine the principle of the constitution of Japan with due regard to the wishes of the majority, I have resigned the supreme power to the Emperor's court, and advised that the opinions of all the Daimios should be taken.... On examination of my household affairs (the administration of Shogun's territories), many irregularities may exist which may dissatisfy the people, and which I therefore greatly deplore. Hence I intend to establish a Kogijio and to accept the opinion of the majority. Any one, therefore, who has an opinion to express may do so at that place and be free of apprehension."⁸

But this attempt of the Shogun to establish a sort of Parliament came to an end with his fall. This idea, however, was transmitted through the Shogunate officials to the government of the Restoration. In fact, this idea of consulting public opinion was, as I have repeatedly said, in the air. The leaders of the new government all felt, as one of them said to Messrs. F.O. Adams and Ernest Satow, that "the only way to allay the jealousies hitherto existing between several of the most powerful clans, and to ensure a solid and lasting union of conflicting interests, was to search for the nearest approach to an ideal constitution among those of Western countries ... that the opinion of the majority was the only criterion of a public measure."⁹

Sir Harry Parkes was right when he told the Earl of Clarendon that "the establishment of such an institution (the Kogisho) formed one of the first objects of the promoters of the recent revolution."¹⁰

The Kogisho was opened on the 18th of April, 1869,¹¹ and the following message¹² from the throne was then delivered:

"Being on the point of visiting our eastern capital, we have convened the nobles of our court and the various princes in order to consult them upon the means of establishing the foundations of peaceful government. The laws and institutions are the basis of government. The petitions of the people at large cannot be lightly decided. It has been reported to us that brief rules and regulations have been fixed upon for the Parliament, and it seems good to us that the House should be opened at once. We exhort you to respect the laws of the House, to lay aside all private and selfish considerations, to conduct your debates with minuteness and firmness; above all things, to take the laws of our ancestors as 'basis,' and adapt yourselves to the feelings of men and to the spirit of the times. Distinguish clearly between those matters which are of immediate importance and those which may be delayed; between things which are less urgent and those which are pressing. In your several capacities argue with careful attention. When the results of your debate are communicated to us it shall be our duty to confirm them."

The Kogisho was composed mostly of the retainers of the Daimios, for the latter, having no experience of the earnest business of life, "were not eager to devote themselves to the labors of an onerous and voluntary office." Akidzuki Ukio No Suke was appointed President of the Kogisho.

The object of the Kogisho was