Resolutions exchanged behind the silence: The reality of national unification as told by Tomomi Iwakura (early Meiji period, late 1860s to early 1870s)

Resolutions exchanged behind the silence: The reality of national unification as told by Tomomi Iwakura (early Meiji period, late 1860s to early 1870s)
In Japan immediately after the Meiji Restoration, national unification was not an idealistic idea, but a practical task at hand. Although the government had been shifted to a new government through the restoration of the monarchy and the restoration of the Grand Council of State, powerful feudal lords and old clan forces still retained their power, and the authority of the new government was unstable. In order to establish a centralized state, compulsory obedience was essential before designing the system. Iwakura Tomomi's statement in front of his foreign advisor, Guido Hrubecki, that it was necessary to subjugate the feudal lords without bloodshed, shows his cool-headed recognition of reality. As symbolized by the abolition of feudal domains, the dismantling of local power could not proceed by agreement alone, and the use of force was also contemplated. It is noteworthy that this true intention was revealed not in official records but in front of foreign advisors. Hulbecki
was a man who understood the history of state formation in the West and with whom one could share the reality that ideology and violence are inseparable. Iwakura's statement was not cruelty, but an expression of his resolve to avoid the collapse of the nation, and it clearly illustrates the process by which the Meiji nation was established while using both ideals and reality.