<論説>ドン・キホーテの夢 : 「文明国標準」の帝国日本の国際秩序観 (特集 : 文明)

Abstract

一九世紀、欧米諸国は国際社会を形成した。この国際社会への参入基準が文明国標準である。本論では、近代日本の国際秩序観の特徴を、文明国標準論の視点から通観する。文明国標準は、国家機構や法制度だけではなく慣習や価値観も西洋文明化することを要求した。日本は、西洋文明受容を大前提とした文明国標準の帝国としての発展をめざした。日本は文明国標準のルールの変更にも従ったが、人種の壁は越えがたいことを認識するようになった。文明国標準にどんなに忠実であっても対等に扱われないことへの不満は、一九三〇年代に日本が西洋国際秩序の否定を伴う新秩序構想を唱えることにつながった。しかし、日本は、西洋文明を批判しつつも、日本がアジアの盟主である根拠として、西洋文明の受容に先んじていることを挙げざるをえなかった。結局、日本は帝国主義の枠組みから抜け出せず、ドン・キホーテのように、一九世紀型の文明国標準の夢を追ったのである。

Western nations formed the international society of the 19th century. Meeting the standards of a civilized nation was a prerequisite for joining this international society. The aim of this paper is to analyze modern Japan's view of the international order from the viewpoint of the standards of a civilized nation. One can point out the following basic problems regarding the standards that needed to be met to be part of international society. First, as regards the standards for qualifying as a civilized country, they involved not only the institutions of the state and the legal system, but they also required that customs and values conform to those of Western civilization. Second, the international standards of civilization proclaimed the equality of all nations and the rule of international law, but Western nations ruled their colonies by military force, so the ideal and the reality were divergent. Third, there was no obvious standard to be employed when considering whether a nation was civilized or not. Fourth, within the hierarchy of international society, the line separating civilized and barbarian coincided with the global color line that demarcated races. From the Meiji period onward, Japan aimed to attain the standards of a civilized nation, but in the process a gap arose between the elite who could adopt the manners associated with civilization and the masses that could not. The Japanese elite came to see the mass of their fellow countrymen using the same perspective employed by Westerners in viewing non-Westerners. The class structure inherent in the idea that nations must meet standard to be civilized spread within Japan and engendered an anti-Westerner sentiment among the masses that became a hindrance when Japan later proceeded to pursue a policy of international cooperation. Based on the special characteristics of the standards required of a civilized nation, this paper examines Japanese reception of Western civilization in four periods. First is the period of the final stage of the Shogunate regime when civilization was adopted as a strategic choice. In this period Western civilization was not completely rejected as can be seen in the argument for "Japanese spirit and Western technology" (Wakon Yōsai), but frequently the stance was that the adoption of Western civilization was unavoidable in order to resist Western nations. The second was the period when Western civilization was seen as absolute and the products of Western civilization were faithfully copied. Japan then became aware of the two-faced character of the standards for becoming a civilized nation, in other words, that there were both the ideals of international law and the realities of imperialism. Japan adopted both aspects of Western civilization, determined to develop to the extent of achieving the standards of a civilized empire. The third was the period after the First World War when the rules governing the standards for a civilized nation changed. Japan was forced to change its policy of imperialism due to the rejection of imperialism. Japanese foreign policy shifted to international cooperation, but no matter how civilized Japan had become, discriminative attitudes toward the Japanese did not improve because their race could not be changed. The fourth was the period of the 1930s when Japan, dissatisfied with discriminatory treatment, appealed for a new conception of the world order and criticized Western civilization. Japan rejected Western civilization, but the basis for Japan's leadership in Asia was that Japan had successfully adopted Western civilization. Furthermore, although Japan criticized the imperialism of Western nations, many Japanese considered the East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere an extension of the Japanese empire. The actions of Japan that encompassed these contradictions made a caricature of the East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere. The figure of Japan continually inveigled by Western civilization resembles the wandering of Don Quixote within his unfulfilled dreams.