The Banner of Exclusion and the Pages of the Bible: The Realism of the Young Men Who Gathered at the Hulbecki Residence (Late 1860s to Early 1870s, the End of the Edo Period to the Beginning of the Meiji Period)

The Banner of Exclusion and the Pages of the Bible: The Realism of the Young Men Who Gathered at the Hulbecki Residence (Late 1860s to Early 1870s, the End of the Edo Period to the Beginning of the Meiji Period)

In Japan from the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji period, the Emperor's exclusion of foreigners was not just an ideology, but an essential language of social legitimacy. Without a clear stance of rejecting foreigners and crowning the emperor, political credibility would be lost in an instant. On the other hand, in a reality where contact with Western powers had become inevitable, the survival of a nation was impossible without cross-cultural understanding. This was a time when the tension between ideology and reality was tautly bound up in every aspect of daily life.

Under these circumstances, the fact that Okuma Shigenobu and Soejima Taneomi, both from Saga, were studying Christianity at the private residence of missionary Guido Hulbecki caused a strong sense of discomfort among those around them. A man who advocated the Emperor's exclusion of foreigners from Japan was exposed to Christianity, which had been avoided as an evil sect. This fact gave rise to rumors of ideological betrayal and the mask of exclusionism, materials that jeopardized their political position.

But this action was not a conversion to the faith. For them, Christianity was not an object of prayer, but an intellectual resource for understanding Western society. In Western countries, religion is an important element in shaping ethics, a sense of justice, and even the foundation of international public opinion. To engage in diplomatic negotiations without knowing how it works was tantamount to arguing with an opponent without the premises of their thinking.

It is symbolic that Okuma later recalled that his knowledge of Christianity was a great help in diplomacy. Understanding what the other side considered good and what the other side considered justified was essential to protecting the national interest. The attitude of studying foreign thought while upholding the Emperor's exclusion of foreigners was a contradiction, but not an unacknowledged confusion. It was an extremely conscious strategy to separate ideology from practice.

What is manifested here is the pragmatism characteristic of modern Japan, which prioritizes practical effects over ideological purity. The phrase "reign of the Emperor, expulsion of the barbarians" was necessary to maintain domestic order, while an understanding of Western thought was indispensable to get through foreign relations. They were prepared to take on this dual structure.

This attitude would eventually become the basic character of the Meiji nation. While preserving the symbolic order of the emperor system, they boldly adopted Western legal, military, industrial, and ethical systems. The prototype was already taking shape in the quiet reception room of the Hulbecki residence. The banner of exclusion and the pages of the Bible were not opposites, but realities simultaneously held together for survival.