<論説>王政復古政府論

Abstract

王政復古政府とは、慶応三年一二月九日の王政復古クーデターより翌年一月三日から始まる鳥羽伏見戦までの政府である。本稿はこれの政治過程と政権構造を明らかにしたものである。政治過程についての主要論点は以下の通り。一、薩摩と徳川慶喜の対立はこの時期、一貫して高まっていたわけではなく、クーデター後しばらくは薩摩は慶喜に対し融和路線をとっており、それが武力対決路線に転じたのは、二四日以降である。二、関東での薩摩の攪乱行動は西郷隆盛の大謀略ではなく、薩摩指導部の見合わせ命令を無視した現地の暴走であった。三、二四日以降、薩摩は開戦を望みながら、公議原理にのっとった名分を見つけることが出来ず苦悩し、薩摩藩邸焼き討ちの報にも事情がわからず困惑していた。政権構造について見れば、その理念は列藩会議を核とする天皇・公議体制であった。しかし、この理念は現実のものとならず、成立したのは、公家倒幕派が決定権をもつ一種の公家政権であった。新政権は武家勢力を十分に包摂できず、この時期、諸藩の割拠傾向は極点にまで達した。公家倒幕派は政権への求心力をたかめるべく、公議原理にしたがった政権運営にむけて動くが、これは政治的には、「公議政体派」への接近を意味し、薩摩倒幕派は窮地に陥ったのである。

The regime known as the Ousei-fukko, revival of the monarchy, government was the government that was in power from the time of the coup d'etat of the Restoration of Imperial Rule, January 3, 1868/ Keiou.3.12.9, until the outbreak of the battle of Toba-Fushimi, January 27, 1868/ Keiou 4.1.3. The purpose of this article is to illuminate the actual political processes of the period and analyze the political structure of the regime. As regards these political processes, this article makes the following points: 1, the Satsuma domain, han, maintained a rather conciliatory attitude toward its political rival Tokugawa Yoshinobu after the coup. It was only after December 24th that Satsuma decided to destroy Yoshinobu politically and militarily; 2, the disturbance organized by some Satsuma men in Edo that December was not executed on the order of Saigo Takamori, one of the top leaders of the Satsuma han, but was an arbitrary act of the Satsuma men in Edo, and it took the Satsuma leadership in Kyoto by surprise; 3, after the 24th, Satsuma leaders hoped to attack Yoshinobu, but they felt the necessity of a pretext that many people would feel legitimate. As they could not find such a pretext, they were remained troubled and at a loss until directly prior to the battle of Toba-Fushimi. This article also clarifies some of the characteristics of the structure of this government. The political ideal of the government was that of Tennou-kougi 天皇公議, a government in which the dainyou 大名, lords of the domains, played the core role in a national assembly. However, the actual character of the government was oligarchic, a small clique of kugyou 公卿, elite aristocrats, ran the government. As a result, many domains refused to follow the orders of the government. The authority of the central government had been declining since the arrival of Perry in 1853, but this trend reached its peak with the ousei-fukko regime. In order to enhance the support of the domains for the central government, the kugyou gradually changed their political stance, moving away from support for Satsuma toward Yoshinobu. This move drove Satsuma into a deeper crisis.