Hermann Roesler and the Making of the Meiji State. Johannes Siemes
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In no way does Roesler show himself in his German publications to be a narrow-minded conservative monarchist; in his sociological views he appears rather to be a liberal, a liberal, however, with a historical sense for the organic in cultural growth.7 Immediately before his coming to Japan he had still advocated, in his criticism of Bismarck's federal constitution, parliamentary government as the ideal.8 Taking stock of the political forces he met on the Japanese scene at the beginning of the second decade of the Restoration era, he became a determined advocate of a strong monarchical rule for new Japan. But he was never an advocate of patriarchal or absolute monarchy. He wanted a constitutional monarchy—a true and substantially constitutional monarchy, not a constitutionalism which was a mere façade. The synthesis of imperial sovereignty and constitutionalism, the organic modernization of the Emperor's rule by adopting into it the universally valid elements of a true constitutionalism— this was for him the guaranty of the healthy development of the new Japanese state.
The basic tenets of a monarchical constitutionalism he found in the constitutions of the German monarchies. For the particular articles, the Prussian Constitution of 1850, which was the latest and most highly developed legal expression of monarchical constitutionalism, presented the most usable material of reference. But he was in no way a mere imitator of the Prussian Constitution. The most essential feature of his constitutional conception, the stress on the social administrative role of the state, goes beyond the horizon of the authoritarian monarchical constitutions of the 19th century.9
Roesler's memoranda helped to shape very substantially the constitutional program of Iwakura which was adopted by the government in 1881 and remained the guide for the framing of the constitution. Iwakura's constitutional program is contained in three documents written by his mentor, Inoue Kowashi,10 who was in fact the inspiration of Iwakura's program. These documents are truly remarkable for their clear grasp and adequate formulation of all essentials of a constitutional system according to the monarchical principle. Inoue's teacher was Roesler: Inoue had his expert knowledge from Roesler's memoranda, as a comparison between them and Inoue's writings shows.11 The cardinal point of Roesler's memoranda is his incisive analysis of the English system of parliamentary government. He characterizes this system as the absorption of state power by the rule of the majority party, in which the cabinet is an executive committee of the party and the monarch excluded from any real governing.
From 1881 on, Roesler was continuously and intimately connected with the preparation of the constitution and the buildup of a state system in line with the projected constitution. He became a close collaborator of Itō Hirobumi, who was entrusted with the task of preparing the constitution. Many writers stress the influence of the German scholars Rudolph von Gneist and Lorenz von Stein, from whom Itō received instructions on constitutional matters during his study journey to Europe in 1882 and 1883. But Roesler's influence on Itō's constitutional ideas was much more fundamental. All that Itō received from Gneist and Stein was in the nature of deepening and confirming the ideas which he had already formed under the influence of Roesler. Certain ideas of Gneist and Stein, especially on the relative independence of the administrative power from the legislative, are indeed realized in the Meiji Constitution. But those were ideas which were approved and constantly urged by Roesler. Roesler alone had an immediate share in the preparations of the constitution, which were carried on in strict secrecy during the years 1884 to 1888 and which were chiefly in the hands of Inoue Kowashi. An immense labor went into the preparation of the constitution. Every point of the draft was most thoroughly studied and discussed. Roesler's advice was sought on every single point. Seventy-five memoranda of his which are directly concerned with the draft of the constitution are preserved in Japanese translation. Every one of them is written with great care and ability. Generally they give an entire historical and systematic conspectus of the question under discussion, presenting extensive material as substantiation. They testify to his immense legal knowledge and his considered political judgement. There were in the course of years several drafts of the constitution successively worked out. Roesler submitted one of his own. Comparing the successive drafts, it is very interesting to note how closely the final draft approximates Roesler's proposal. In fact, the promulgated constitution follows, with only one essential exception—the bansei ikkei,12 'by aline of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal' of Article 1—in its material content and to a great extent in the formulation and order of the articles, Roesler's proposal.13
I do not want to give the impression that the constitution is Roesler's work alone. The circle around Iwakura had decided on a monarchical constitution before it sought Roesler's advice. Inoue had already translated the Prussian Constitution in 1874 and had a good knowledge of European constitutional law. He displayed his own ideas in the framing of the constitution, always kept the lead in the deliberations, and gave the constitution its definitive form. Nevertheless, Roesler's contribution was fundamental and was much more than merely submitting reference material for the deliberations and assisting technically in the formulation of the articles. What the fathers of the constitution owe to Roesler was the deeper understanding of its basic principles, the working out of the ground scheme, the insight into the rationale of the particular articles, the shaping of the elements into an integrated constitutional system, and, finally, the precise formulation of the articles. Above all, the Meiji Constitution owes to Roesler its most distinctive feature, the synthesis of the imperial authority and the rights of the people: that is to say, in consistently carrying through the principle of sovereignty of the Emperor into all functions of government it leaves intact the fundamental principles of a liberal constitution, i. e., government according to laws consented to by the people.
Footnotes
6 三条実美, 岩倉具視, 伊藤博文, 山県有朋
7 Monumenta Nipponica, 1962, XVII 2ff.
8 Hermann Roesler, Gedanken über den konstitutionellen Wert der deutschen Reichsverfassung, Rostock, 1877, pp. 25-6: 'In der parlamentarischen Regierung liegt diejenige Fülle, Macht und Lebensfähigkeit der politischen Aktion eines Staates, welche aus der wirklichen Einheit zwischen dem Souverain und der Nation entspringt.'