Foreigners for Hire: Masked Exclusionists and Clandestine Learning: Men Who Attended the Hulbecki Residence (Late 1860s to Early 1870s, Bakumatsu to Early Meiji Era)

Foreigners for Hire: Masked Exclusionists and Clandestine Learning: Men Who Attended the Hulbecki Residence (Late 1860s to Early 1870s, Bakumatsu to Early Meiji Era)

The period from the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji era was one of extreme ideological tension in Japan. The Emperor's exclusion of foreigners was the common language of political legitimacy, and loyalty to the Emperor and exclusion of foreign nations were essential to the public discourse. Christianity, in particular, had been avoided as an evil sect since the Edo period, and remained associated with the memories of trampling and prohibition, attracting the fear and loathing of the people. To approach Christianity was an act that could be considered an ideological betrayal.

In this atmosphere, rumors began to circulate that Shigenobu Okuma and Taneomi Soejima had been visiting the residence of Hulbecki, their mentor since their days in Nagasaki. Although Hulbecki was a missionary and well versed in Western politics, law, and religion, he was first and foremost a Christian teacher in the eyes of the public. As a result, there was a rumor floating around that he was advocating the Emperor's exclusion of foreigners while, behind the scenes, he was bringing in the evil sect. This was not mere curiosity, but functioned as a suspicion to disqualify the other party in a political conflict.

In later years, however, Okuma quietly reflected on the event and its significance in a very different way. He did not accept Christianity as a faith from Hulbecki. He merely studied the doctrine as knowledge and tried to understand what Western society considered good and what it considered righteous. This knowledge proved decisive in the diplomatic negotiations over religious issues that occurred frequently in the first year of the Meiji era. If he had simply rejected Christianity as an evil sect, his discussions with Western ambassadors would have degenerated into emotional arguments and ended with ridicule of Japan's ignorance.

What emerges here is a dual structure of ideology and practice. The Emperor's exclusion of foreigners was the front word needed to run the politics of the time. On the other hand, a sober understanding of Western religion, ethics, and legal thought was indispensable for running a nation and conducting diplomacy. Okuma consciously separated the two, using the language of the times in the front and accumulating the knowledge necessary for the future of the nation in the back.

This duality was neither hypocrisy nor treachery. In the formative years of the modern state, ideals alone would not protect the nation, but ignoring them would result in the loss of political support. In between, many leaders moved forward while remaining silent, learning, and accepting suspicion. The rumor that he attended the Hulbecki residence symbolizes the contradictions of that transitional period. Behind the mask of the Emperor's exclusionist ideology, the knowledge that would sustain modern Japan was quietly being cultivated.