甲午战争前晚清中国人的日本观

宪兵司令

甲午战争前晚清中国人的日本观

——以社会生活为中心



（浙江大学日本文化研究所硕士研究生  贾莉）



一、引子

近世末期，日本的开国虽然是被迫实现的，但由此展现在日人面前的欧美无疑对他们产生了莫大的吸引力。紧接着的明治维新被称为日本历史上一个划时代的转折点，自此，日本开始了全面效法欧美的时代，社会面貌为之焕然一新。日本的变化引起了一衣带水的邻邦中国的极大兴趣。十九世纪七十年代，中日正式建交以后，两国互派公使，清政府也由此开始向日本派遣游历考察使，这些外交官和游历官在日留下了大量对日研究的著作和访日游记。

这些研究著作和游记，除了对明治维新后日本在各方面的变化进行了大量的记录，以图对深陷于民族危机的中国有所裨益外，还对沿途所见所闻的日本民风民俗进行了介绍。众所周知，民俗作为一种生活文化，是在漫长的历史长河中积淀下来的，是一个国家和民族中的广大民众所创造、享用和传承的，它和社会表面的制度文化不同，不会随着国家政令的改变而马上改变。因此这些外交官和游历官在文章中，对日本的民风民俗大多抱有“唐风犹存”、“古俗不废”的感慨。本文拟从赴日游历者的游记、日记中，梳理出从日本开国至甲午战争前日本社会民风民俗的记录并加以分析，从另一个侧面来透视开国后的日本社会。



二、概说

（一）甲午战争前晚清中国人的日本观之先行研究

有关甲午战争前晚清中国人的日本观，前人已经有很多论述，但近年来，在全面研究这一阶段中国人日本观的论文并不多。其中，周启乾的《晚清知识分子日本观的考察》（《日本学刊》1997年第6期）一文，对自19世纪中叶至20世纪初晚清知识分子的日本观从工业和商业、金融机构、各类教育、市井生活与风俗习惯四个方面进行了论述，揭示了他们对明治维新后日本之发展的认识和评价。但由于篇幅所限，所探讨的日本观全面但是不深刻。

在众多的论著当中，值得提出的是王勇教授的日文专著《中国史中的日本像》和南开大学孙雪梅所著的《清末民初中国人的日本观——以直隶省为中心》。

在《中国史中的日本像》一书中，王勇教授将中国人的日本观从古至今进行了统说，大致可以将中国人的日本观分为以下几个阶段：隋朝以前朝贡时代的“宝物之岛”；遣隋遣唐使时代的“礼仪之邦”；元明时期的“海贼倭寇”；近代以来的“西学之师”。书中将中国人心目中日本形像的变迁进行了基于史实的分析，有理有据，逻辑严密，令人信服。在讲到日本开国以后中国人的日本观时，重点将罗森、陈其元、何如璋、黄遵宪等人的日本观进行了详细的分析，以此为代表，将晚清中国人的日本观展现在读者面前。

《清末民初中国人的日本观——以直隶省为中心》是南开大学孙雪梅的博士论文，主要论述了自甲午战争至民国初年（1928）的直隶省东游者的日本观，从东游者所见之日本教育、日本实业、日本司法、日本行政、日本社会民俗等几个方面对日本详加阐述，资料详尽、分析全面、眼光独到，比较全面地反映了这一时期直隶省东游者的日本观。

（二）甲午战争前晚清赴日人员及其游记、日记概况

    日本开国后甲午战争前，关于日本社会生活及民风民俗的记载散见于这一时期赴日外交官、游历官的游记以及日记当中，这些记录真实地反映了开国后日本社会风貌的变化和作者对当时日本的看法，也是前人所未涉及到的部分，本文的着眼点也正是在于此。

1871年中日正式建交后，两国互设公使、互派官员，相互之间的人员往来增多，对日研究的论著和游记大幅度增加。1874年日本出兵琉球，更使清廷感觉到近在咫尺的近邻日本不可小觑。1885年，御史谢祖源上奏，广收奇杰之士游历外洋，获得朝廷首肯。1887年，《出洋游历人员章科》出台，标志着近代出洋游历制度的建立，同年付诸实施。[1]以此为契机，清朝政府选拔派遣官员出洋游历，也因此留下了大量出洋游历日记，也就是通常所说的“东游日记”。

甲午战争前晚清赴日者所撰主要“东游日记”一览表：

日记（或游记）名称
作者
职务·身份
赴日时间
主要经过地

《日本日记》
罗森
文人（翻译官）
1854.1－1854.6
横滨、下田、箱馆

《环游地球新录·东行日记》
李圭
游历官（浙海关文案）
1876
长崎、神户、大阪（大阪）、横滨、东京

《使东述略》

《使东杂咏》
何如璋
驻日正使
1877.11
长崎、平户、神户、大阪、西京（京都）、横滨、东京

《使东诗录》
张斯桂
驻日副使
1877.11
同上

《日本杂事诗》
黄遵宪
驻日参赞
1877－1882
同上

《扶桑游记》
王韬
文人
1879.闰3－7
长崎、神户、大阪、西京、东京、横滨、日光

《谈瀛录》（《东游日记》、《东洋琐记》）
王之春
游历官（道员）
1879.10－1880.1
长崎、鹿儿岛、丰前、丰后、马关、神户、大阪、横滨、东京

《日本纪游》
李筱圃
文人（曾任江西省吉安府莲花厅同知）
1880.5.4－6.16
长崎、神户、西京、横滨、东京

《游历日本图经余记》
傅云龙
游历官
1887.11.14－

1888.5.29
长崎、神户、东京、

静冈、名古屋

《东游日记》
黄庆澄
游历官
1893.5－9
长崎、神户、横滨、东京、西京




三、甲午战争前晚清中国人眼中的日本社会

（一）   日本的风光

1、风光旖旎

日本地处亚洲东部，四面环海，大部分地区属于海洋性气候，四季分明，气候宜人，再加上多山和森林，往往给人如诗如画的感觉。东游者所乘之船进入日本海之时，就开始对隐约进入视线中的日本之美景大加赞美，长崎海面，“四日不观天涯，海水共长天一色”[2]，“晓起观日，曈曈之景，径旸谷，浴扶桑，仰射云霞，异采焕发。”[3]进入里海，“两岸山环一水，萦带非复，大海之汪洋一片，凭舷远眺，诸山忽断忽续，或圆如覆笠，或削如笔尖，或巉岩而历乱，或苍翠而清奇。”[4]入港口之后，“（长崎）港势斜趋东南，蜿蜒数十里，如游龙戏海。尽处名野母崎，北则群岛错布，大小五六，山骨苍秀，林木森然，雨后岚翠欲滴，残冬如春夏时。”[5]景色迷人，古所谓“三神山”，果然让人留恋往返。游历者大多经长崎登岸，因此长崎及周边的美景给他们留下了踏上异乡国土之初的美好印象，旅途中的劳顿也消除了不少。

进入日本内地，其美丽的景致同样给观光者留下了深刻的印象。王韬进入长崎街衢后，看到周围树木蓊郁，把衣袖都映成了青绿色，石径环绕，颇有曲径通幽之感。[6]黄庆澄也感觉到，长崎虽人口稀少，但是街道整洁，山水秀丽，豁人心目，虽然是通商码头，但没有嚣尘湫隘之气。[7]王韬在神户观瀑布时，听着訇然的瀑布声，顿觉万念俱空。观西京东寺，看到“长堤数里，旁植树木，浓荫下蔽，苍翠万状，入其中顿尔忘暑。”[8]王之春游东京西山，“树木阴翳、禽鸟啁啾”，“东山老木杈桠、虬枝盘曲”。观游东照寺（宫），见其周围“苍松乔木，阴蔽天日，中甃石级，曲折盘旋”，古寺幽然之处也在于此。[9]傅云龙在冬日游琵琶湖，看到大洞、胆山的美景，周围“千峦一白，湖光沁人心脾”，[10]不觉让人陶醉其中。说起日本不能不说富士山，东游者自然也不能放过这个机会，傅云龙在十二月的隆冬时节来到富士山麓，白雪覆盖山顶的富士山，犹如“白扇倒悬”[11]，可谓形象的比喻。温泉也是大自然赐给日本的丰富资源之一，温泉中又含有天然矿物质，常沐浴温泉有驱病强身的功效。东游者也不忘体验一下东人这一舒适的生活，李筱圃曾约同伴至关山看温泉，[12]王韬也曾在妙见宫等处浴温泉。[13]日本人喜欢去温泉洗浴，喜欢在大自然中洗去一身的疲惫，并感受自然的幽静与闲适，这可以说是日本人生活中的一大享受了。

2、环境舒适

在拥有如此美丽的自然景致之外，日本人还喜欢将大自然移植到自己的身边，也就是说，日本人擅长将自然的美景浓缩到小小的庭院之中，从而不必远行便可与自然融为一体。日人于种植花木，剪裁培灌，独具匠心。[14]李筱圃曾观横滨野猫山花园，芍药正开，色极灿烂，矮屋四五所，陈设幽雅，除了松、兰、梅、竹等常见的植物外，还有洋花十余种。另外，园中的盘扎松柏盆景制作精巧，亭亭有致，给李留下了深刻的印象。[15]对自家庭院日本人也精心修整，“庭前必有方池蓄鱼，荇藻缤纷，令人有濠濮间想。池旁杂花小草，藉作点缀”[16]。生活在其中，让人颇觉舒适。自家之中，“室虽小，必留隙地栽花种竹，引水养鱼，间以山水点缀之，颇有幽趣”。[17]不管家境贫富，“贫仅壁立者，亦种花点缀”。[18]

3、似曾相识

    由于日本与中国地缘上的相近，气候也颇具相似之处，因此游历者在欣赏日本风光的同时也多发“似曾相识”之感慨。何如璋是广东大埔人，在游长崎北园时，看到园四周以竹篱相围，依林枕溪，时则霜菊就残，而寒梅着花，横斜水次，让作者顿觉似故乡风景而徘徊许久。[19]王韬在夜幕下，远远望见长崎，景色奇美，“灯火参差，远近高下”，使作者觉得“景色略如香港”[20]。这样似曾相识的感觉让东游者一进入日本便少了几分陌生，多了些许亲切。

（二）   日本的民风

1、俗好清洁

“清洁”是日本留给游历者的普遍印象。不仅仅是日本本土，就连日本的客轮也卫生清洁。江宁李圭赴美国参加博览会搭乘的是日本三菱公司的轮船，船上房间内衾枕洁净，垫褥厚软。盥漱器及面巾、香皂诸琐物无不备。榻幔窗帏，皆洁白可喜。[21]李筱圃乘坐的是“高沙丸”号日本三菱公司的商船，客房内灯、镜、面盆、香皂、手巾、溺器俱全，卧榻的垫褥、盖毡软厚，[22]王之春所乘坐的东洋公司的轮船也是如此，这使人一上船便有宾至如归的感觉。

直至日本本土，长崎大小街巷，均极洁净平坦；神户街道悉宽广洁净，河水清澈；东京河渠深广洁净，道路开阔，时时洗涤之，经过处无纤毫秽物。[23]日人居住之处亦是如此，如横滨的“山崎屋”旅舍，入户必脱屦徒跣而行，房内悬书架，窗几户壁纤尘不染。[24]自家院落也花木萧疏、庐舍精洁[25]。日本人也很注意个人卫生，“日必沐浴”[26]，无论大街小巷，到处都有“钱汤”，即公共浴池。沐浴同日常饮食一样，是日本人每日生活中不可缺少的一部分。

2、风俗尚正

游历者到日本之后，对日本国民的良好素质和质朴民风深有感触。罗森在日本即将开国之时赴日，“抢掠暴劫之风，亦未尝见破其屋。门虽以纸糊，亦无有鼠窃狗偷之弊”，使作者不觉感慨道，“此见致治之略，各有其能矣”[27]，下田一带，“妇女羞见外方人，深闺屋内，而不出头露面。风俗尚正，人民鲜说淫辞”[28]。

及至开国后，民风依然质朴。王韬在日期间，看到日本的房屋皆木结构，“薄壁短垣，盗贼易入，而从未闻有宵小”，足见其风俗之厚。[29]王之春于1879年赴日，“入市购买，不受人欺，法良善。”“价皆划一，虽使五尺童子适市莫之或欺。”[30]可见当时民风淳朴之一斑。黄庆澄1893年东渡扶桑，听说 “倭俗素质朴，未通商前人人安分守业，几乎道不拾遗，近则内地之人，尚有不识庐山真面者，其各口岸人口庞杂，俗渐浇（狡）诈，盗窃之事亦间有所闻。”只能感慨，“世风不古，中外类然”矣。[31]但总得来说，“细察其人情，微勘其风俗，大致较中国为朴古”[32]。

另外，日本各地的民风也有差异，何如璋在访西京（京都）时，那里“民俗文柔，喜服饰，约饮馔。其质朴不及九州，视大阪之浮靡，则远过之”。[33]可见，乡下比城市民风淳厚，而古都又比商业都市略显质朴。

3、风流浪漫

日本人的风流雅致是众所周之的。日本人男女俱尚扇，又多酷爱中国文字诗词，罗森在日期间，短短一个月录扇不下千余柄。[34]赴日游历者大多数都与日本人有唱和汉诗的经历，首任驻日公使何如璋在任期内，经常与日本诗人文士翰墨交往；王韬在日期间曾与日本文士小野长愿唱诗作对，小野诗云，“虽云殊域岂其然，文字相通兴欲仙；蓬岛风光尚如旧，迟来徐福二千年。”，二人甚有相见恨晚之意。[35]另外还与寺田宏、冈千仞等人对诗笔谈，日本人酷爱中国文字诗词看来并非虚言。

日本人爱美，所以天性风流浪漫。日本人喜欢及时行乐，饮酒、赏花、宿娼之事，习以为常,饮酒时不伴歌舞不能尽兴。罗森在1854年3月间，与日本官员数十在火船上大宴，宴罢，于船歌舞，日暮方终。[36]日本人也常于酒店宴别亲朋好友，何如璋曾在长崎一个园亭中的酒家受邀饮酒，推杯换盏之间看裙屐纷错，饶有风致。[37]在日本，开妓院已经被官方承认，招牌中有“官许”字样的意为已纳关税，得到官方的许可，此中之妓亦名之“官妓”，当然与“官妓”相对的暗娼数量当然也不少，大阪的福原是当地的“妓丛”，“一至黄昏，明灯万点，弦管之声如沸；名妓列坐，以便人择肥瘠、辨妍媸”[38]，官妓暗娼为数众多且生意红火，与日本人天生风流的品性不无关系。但日本的一般女子，则给东渡国人留下了良好的印象。何如璋对长崎的女子描写道：“编贝描螺足白霜，风流也称小蛮装”，说她们牙齿洁白，皮肤白皙，装束古秀而文，如观仕女图[39]；张斯桂在东京看到的则是传统的家庭妇女的形象，“客来席地郎陪坐，亲捧杯盘跪献茶。”[40]日本女性温柔的性格和优雅的举止给东游者留下了深刻而美好的印象。可见娼妓作为一种能给人带来享乐的职业，并不影响日本女性在东游者心目中的形象。

4、热情周到

日本自开国后至甲午战争前，对近邻中国抱的是友好和睦的态度，1871年两国正式建交也是建立在平等的基础之上。因此，日本自官至民，对待赴日的外交官及游历者态度十分热情友好，招待也细致周到。

在李圭赴日的船上，“侍者粤人、日本人参半，服务勤谨，闻呼即至”，招待颇周。[41]王之春在日本轮船上同样受到了周到的服务，但同样也应该看到，在日船上，受到周到服务的只是在上、中等舱的乘客，下等舱不仅没有侍者服务，连用品都极为简陋。[42]

赴日者在日本，所到之处都受到了热情的迎接，驻日大使何如璋偕随员到达神户，上岸时，两岸张灯结彩，“商人具仪仗驺从以迎，辞不获已。汉官威仪，见所未见，日人间有从西京、大阪百十里来观者。西人亦欢携妇孺，途为之塞。”其国主临幸不过此礼，如此热情的东道之意，令何如璋“眷眷可念”。[43]

日常起居方面，日本人的细致体贴也充分表现出来，李筱圃在东京“伊东屋”旅馆住宿时，寓主人见作者不习惯席地久坐，特备西式软垫靠椅及书桌，让作者颇为感动。[44]

（三）   日本的民俗

1、渐趋西俗

日本自明治维新以后，“近趋欧俗，上自官府，下及学校，凡制度、器物、语言、文字，靡然以泰西为式。”[45]游历者所到之处无不感受到了强烈的泰西风情。

从东游者踏上日本国土的那一刻，西化之风就象海风一样迎面吹了过来。快到岸时，“我舟挂日本旗，放炮廿一声，云以敬其国君。彼戍上兵亦悬我龙旗，放炮如数，以敬我大皇帝。”这是西人水师通行的迎接礼仪，也就是所谓的“祝炮者”。[46]船所经过的地方，岸边“台上升旗为礼，亦泰西之例。”[47]何如璋赴外务省公宴，“太政官以下，各长官咸集。筵馔西式，奏乐亦仿欧洲。”[48]可见，那时官方的仪式中，大多数都已西洋化了。

开国之前，日本人的饮食生活比较单调，以稻米、蔬菜、海产品为主。食品方面，罗森搭乘柏利舰队的船到达日本时，日本官方所赠的食物有，“萝葡一艇、鸡二十头、蛋五百枚、柑数箱、葱数担”，各官在馆内招待的有“饼食，款待不过鲜鱼、蚝蚬、鸡蛋、萝卜、黄酒而已。”官方赠物及招待都如此简单，难怪罗森说，“以言食物，则万不及中国矣。” 其处人民不畜牛羊豚豕，也不宰生而食客，家中所养的鸡数年都不宰杀，[49]可见当时日本人尚无吃肉食的习惯。鸡鸭猪牛肉摆上寻常百姓家的餐桌，是在明治维新以后。为了显示其开化程度，明治维新刚开始不久的1876年，首当其冲在日本的远洋轮船上，饮食已经“皆外洋风味”[50]了。酒水方面，日本于1873年在甲府开始生产麦酒（啤酒），之后啤酒生产所陆续建成；葡萄酒早在明治维新开始的第三年即1870年试生产成功后开始大量生产。[51]傅云龙在赴日期间就参观了位于爱知县的铃谷村酒工场，所制酒有三种：日本清酒、泰西的碧儿酒（啤酒）和葡萄酒。年产酒数量可观，并且啤酒的年生产量远远超过清酒的一千二百石，为六千石。[52]可见，明治维新后不到二十年，饮洋酒的风习已较为普遍。

一个民族的着装，可以说是最能吸引外邦人的地方。服装服饰作为一种民俗现象，它的变化最能体现一个国家审美观的变迁和文化类型的倾向。东游者对所见日本人的着装、发式作了大量记录。明治维新前，日本人穿着传统的民族服装。罗森赴日时，见官方妆饰，“阔衣大袖，要佩双刀，束发，剃去脑信一方，足穿草履，以锦裤外套至腰”[53]；维新后，从官公用的礼服开始，着装逐渐西化，明治五年（1872）日本政府制定了文武官礼服一概用西式的方案，并于明治六年（1873）正式在全国实行。何如璋偕副使持国书见天皇时，见“日主西服免冠，拱立典中”，参赞捧授国书，“日主挟冠，引两手敬受”。[54]以日本天皇为首，官方着装已完全西化。东游者对日本明治维新后的“易服色”所持的态度不同，张斯桂认为“改装笑似皮蒙马，易服羞同尾续貂”，只不过凭添了“优孟衣冠”的笑柄而已，显然持的是否定态度。[55]何如璋对于“易服色”并没有加以贬削，“明治之初，参议大久保市藏上表，有曰：‘请至今不饰边幅，从事于简易。’后用其议，至易服色、改仪制，质胜于文矣。”[56]

说起历法，从公元553年起，日本一直“行夏时”，即袭用中国的夏历，明治维新以后，于明治六年（1873）起改用公历。何如璋于1877年赴日，刚好赶上日本人庆祝西历的元旦，何也与各国公使趋日宫庆贺。对于“改正朔”，张斯桂认为以“日”记历即用西历，容易造成“其望无定，或当晦朔而月圆者”，[57]对于生活农事未必就方便。

东游者对明治维新后的西化看法不一，他们的记载或多或少反映了日本近代化的过程，同时也从不同的角度反映了晚清中国知识分子对日本近代化问题认识的逐步提高和深化的过程。

2、古俗犹存

明治维新的全面改革，使国家在短时期内在包括教育、政治、服制、历法等制度文化层面上迅速西化，而人们生活的变化与制度的变化有一个时间差和地域差，不会随着制度的改变而迅速全面地改变，生活上的一些变化仅仅是为了图新鲜、赶潮流，而真正深层次的东西却并非可以轻易改变，在东游者记录中，这一点得到了很好的印证。

首先在服饰方面，官方服饰随着政令的更改而很快发生变化，但在民间，人们生活妆饰依然没有太大的改变，长崎男女，“均宽衣博袖，足蹑木屐。顷改西制，在上者毡服革履，民不尽从也”[58]；东京男子发式，依然是顶发空的“月代”头，脚下还是蹬得得做响的高木屐；东京女子梳头，皆如意式样，不得挽髻，身穿裙屐而并非西洋的服饰。[59]文明开化以后，官方公开的场合和仪式上着西装已经有了明文规定，但广大群众依然穿着的仍然是便于工作和生活的传统服装。

历法方面，虽然于明治六年将阴历改成了阳历，但是乡下的岁时节日按照旧历而行的依然居多，何如璋有诗云：“插绿浑如换旧符，风行西俗遍街衢。村民未惯更除夕，欲饮屠苏酒懒沽。”东人都市效西俗，逢阳历新年，插松竹叶于门，如换桃符。然村野习旧俗、守旧岁，和都市不完全一样。[60]

住居方面，维新后，日本的房屋样式渐趋西式，李圭游览长崎街衢时，看见“衙署式若中华，庙宇亦间有西式者，皆近年所建”；大坂官署仿西式；东京延西人建筑者，最得形势，为京城门户。[61]但东游者所见的日本人的民居多木质结构，薄壁短垣，室内拉门皆以纸糊，这是日本传统的住居样式，日本人也常常在这样的日式房屋内招待远方来客，脱履进屋，席地而坐，或品茶、或饮酒，看着拉门外精心布置的庭院，逢雨天还能听到从“缘侧”（日式房屋外的走廊）顶棚上滴答落下的雨声，这样的意境是西洋式建筑很难带来的，也是日本人至今也难以舍弃日式建筑的原因之一吧。

    从以上几点可以看出，在强劲的西化风吹拂之下，传统的民俗依然得到保存，对于东游者来说，西化之风固然给他们带来了新奇，但保存下来的古俗也让他们深切感受到了日本传统中的古朴和韵味。

3、陋俗难改

    传统的东西并非都是美的，东游者也见到了一些让他们感到难以接受的陋俗，比如说，罗森在明治维新前的11年赴日，所见“女人多有裸裎（裸体）佣工者。……男不羞见下体，女看淫画为平常。”更有甚者“有洗身屋，男女同浴于一室之中，而不嫌避”[62]。文明开化后，这些陋习依然存在。李筱圃在关山的温泉看到日本人男女同浴于中，诚为陋俗。[63]王韬偕好友往浴温泉，对男女裸体并入水中的陋习，感觉“如入无遮大会”，也难以接受。[64]李圭见“国中船夫、车夫及工作之徒，多赤下体，仅以白布一条，叠为两寸阔，由脐下兜至尻际”，实在难以用笔墨形容，也听说“士商人中，亦不著裈，惟裹帛幅，女子亦然”，又见“男女数十人同浴于一室”而不嫌，“街旁巷口置盆桶，亦男女轮浴”，李圭当时的厌恶感可以想见。当然日本人也很注意自己的对外形象，恐怕这些陋俗“贻笑远人，严申禁令”，但无奈“习俗已久，仅能稍改耳。”[65]

    一种习俗是否可称为“陋”，和观者的文化背景很有关系，在儒家传统思想影响下的中国，男女授受不亲的思想根深蒂固，因此东游文人对日本这样的习俗大多持否定态度是可以理解的，这可算是日本在东游者眼中的一点缺憾。



四、结语

纵观甲午战争之前的“东游日记”，通过记录社会世相、民风民俗的文字，我们不难看出清人眼里的日本是个怎么样的光景。但我在这里只是给出了一个总括、一个缩影，有待于今后进一步将其放大，探求细节，以便于对当时的日本社会和日本人有一个更全面的认识和了解。

在晚清的东游者眼中，日本的风光秀美、人民淳朴、做事周到、办事细致，但一些东游者依然认为日本人“喜动不喜静，喜新不喜故，有振作之象，无坚忍之气。”[66]其实，日本作为一个国土狭小、资源匮乏的岛国，危机意识远比中国强烈得多。早在19世纪初，日本已有不少人为西方列强海上入侵与俄国势力南下而感到忧虑，提出“海防论”与“北方危机论”。中国发生的鸦片战争更是给日本敲响了警钟，日本幕府官员、诸侯大名、武士儒生纷纷提出要以此为“前车之鉴”，他们迫切要求了解世界形势和外国情况，因此中国的《海国图志》、《瀛环志略》等书在本国虽未得到重视，但传入日本之后，被誉为“天下武夫必读之书”，广泛流传。[67]仅1854至1856的短短两年时间内，《海国图志》在日本被翻刻、训点和翻译的选本就达22种之多。[68]“一方水土养一方人”，国土狭小、资源匮乏，造就了日本人的忧患意识；风光秀丽、气候宜人，养成了日本人喜好清洁和风流浪漫的习性。种种这样的国民性糅合在一起，形成了具有日本特色的“岛国根性”，造就了樱花之国的巨大魅力。

日本从开国到甲午战争前的剪影就这样留在了晚清东游者的日记、游记里，当时的东游者赴日多少还抱有一些“游历”态度的话，随着甲午战争的爆发和清朝的惨败，他们的态度发生了巨大的改变。甲午战后官派赴日者是以“考察者”的身份东渡，大多是针对某一方面对日本进行详细的考察，以作为对清朝的借鉴，因此着眼点和甲午战争前不同，少了几分“游乐心”，而多了一些“危机感”。“考察记”中，对日本民风民俗的记录更是零星和琐碎，有些“考察记”甚至只字不提。这是甲午战争前后，晚清中国人日本观的差异之处，也是我们考察晚清中国人日本观时不可忽视的一个重要因素。





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[1] 见王宝平《近代出洋游历制度的建立——游历制度的提出》一文。

[2] 罗森《日本日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第33页。

[3] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第90页。

[4] 王之春《东游日记》，载《小方壶斋舆地丛钞第十帙》，台湾学生书局印行，民国六十四年元月印行，第727页。

[5] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第91页。

[6] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第91页。

[7] 黄庆澄《东游日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第322页。

[8] 王韬《扶桑游记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第397、402页。

[9] 王之春《东游日记》，载《小方壶斋舆地丛钞第十帙》，台湾学生书局印行，民国六十四年元月印行，第729、730页。

[10] 傅云龙《游历日本图经余记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第229页。

[11] 傅云龙《游历日本图经余记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第222页。

[12] 李筱圃《日本纪游》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第165页。

[13] 王韬《扶桑游记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第397、399页。

[14] 王韬《扶桑游记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第399页。

[15] 李筱圃《日本纪游》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第170页。

[16] 王韬《扶桑游记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第399页。

[17] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第91页。

[18] 何如璋《使东杂咏》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第112页。

[19] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第92页。

[20] 王韬《扶桑游记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第393页。

[21] 李圭《环游地球新录·东行日记》，湖南人民出版社，1980年第1版，第120页。

[22] 李筱圃《日本纪游》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第161页。

[23] 李圭《环游地球新录·东行日记》，湖南人民出版社，1980年第1版，第122、124、126页。

[24] 黄庆澄《东游日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第330页。

[25] 王韬《扶桑游记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第398页。

[26] 李圭《环游地球新录·东行日记》，湖南人民出版社，1980年第1版，第122页。

[27] 罗森《日本日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第41页。

[28] 罗森《日本日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第43页。

[29] 王韬《扶桑游记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第399页。

[30] 王之春《东游日记》，载《小方壶斋舆地丛钞第十帙》，台湾学生书局印行，民国六十四年元月印行，第731页。

[31] 黄庆澄《东游日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第323页。

[32] 黄庆澄《东游日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第338页。

[33] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第96页。

[34] 罗森《日本日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第42页。

[35] 王韬《扶桑游记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第407页。

[36] 罗森《日本日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第38页。

[37] 何如璋《使东杂咏》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第113页。

[38] 王韬《扶桑游记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第398页。

[39] 何如璋《使东杂咏》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第112页。

[40] 张斯桂《使东诗录》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第144页。

[41] 李圭《环游地球新录·东行日记》，湖南人民出版社，1980年第1版，第121页。

[42] 王之春《东游日记》，载《小方壶斋舆地丛钞第十帙》，台湾学生书局印行，民国六十四年元月印行，第726页。

[43] 何如璋《使东述略》、《使东杂咏》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第95、118页。

[44] 李筱圃《日本纪游》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第171页。

[45] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第107页。

[46] 何如璋《使东杂咏》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第111页。

[47] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第93页。

[48] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第102页。

[49] 罗森《日本日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第34页。

[50] 王之春《东游日记》，载《小方壶斋舆地丛钞第十帙》，台湾学生书局印行，民国六十四年元月印行，第726页。

[51] 涩泽敬三编《明治文化史·生活》，原书房，昭和五十四年版，第163、165页。

[52] 傅云龙《游历日本图经余记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第228页。

[53] 罗森《日本日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第34页。

[54] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第101页。

[55] 张斯桂《使东诗录》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第145页。

[56] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第101页。

[57] 张斯桂《使东诗录》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第145页。

[58] 何如璋《使东述略》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第91页。

[59] 张斯桂《使东诗录》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，，第143、144页。

[60] 何如璋《使东杂咏》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第127页。

[61] 李圭《环游地球新录·东行日记》，湖南人民出版社，1980年第1版，第122、124、126页。

[62] 罗森《日本日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第39页。

[63] 李筱圃《日本纪游》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第165页。

[64] 王韬《扶桑游记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第397页。

[65] 李圭《环游地球新录·东行日记》，湖南人民出版社，1980年第1版，第123页。

[66] 黄庆澄《东游日记》，载钟叔河编《走向世界丛书》，岳麓书社，1985年3月第1版，第338页。

[67] 王晓秋《近代中日启示录》，北京出版社，1987年版，第24—37页。

[68] 黄丽镛《魏源年谱》，湖南人民出版社，1985年版，第228页。

马赫迪

http://www.east-asian-history.ne ... rly%20Meiji%20Japan

Chapter Four: Making Japanese by Putting on Clothes

[align=justify]Privateindividuals such as Okakura Tenshin were relatively free to criticizeEuropean feelings of cultural superiority. Meiji Japan’s government,however, had to tread with greater caution. First, Japan was at asevere structural disadvantage owing to the unequal treaties signed inthe 1850s. The commercial treaty of 1858, for example, resulted in aloss of tariff autonomy for Japan. Even more onerous was extraterritoriality (in Japanese there are two terms: chigai hōken 治外法権 and ryōji saibanken 領事裁判権).Under extraterritoriality, citizens of countries like France, Britain,and the United States were governed by their own country's laws whileresiding in Japan. If they violated these laws, they would be subjectto legal action only by their onwn country's embassy officials.[align=justify]TheMeiji government went to great lengths to regulate the behavior ofordinary Japanese living in the cities in which foreigners also resided(the above-mentioned treaties restricted foreign residence to severalof the large ports). Why was the behavior of ordinary Japanese in theseport cities of any particular importance for the Meiji state? Becausethe stated rationale by western governments in insisting onextraterritoriality for all of their citizens was that Japan and itspeople were insufficiently civilized. Therefore, if Japan was tosucceed in re-negotiating the treaties, it had to make the case that itwas "civilized," and the western powers determined the definition of"civilization" owing to their superior military strength. So the Meijistate had little choice but to try to make ordinary Japanese--at leastthose residing in the so-called "treaty ports"--adopt modes of dailylife in rough accord with western sensibilities. Culture, domesticpolitics, and foreign relations were all interconnected in modernJapan, at least during the Meiji period.[align=justify]Astudy of the Meiji state's attempt to regulate the daily life of itsnew citizens provides insight into the growth of the power of themodern Japanese state and its use to constrain what we might call“carnivalesque” dimensions of social life. “Carnivalesque” in thiscontext refers not only to popular forms of entertainment that goagainst or subvert the ordinary grain of society, but also to popularcultural practices the Meiji state deemed immoral or immodest. [align=justify]Althoughduring the Tokugawa period, the bakufu and domain governmentsperiodically issued regulations aimed at improving the moral life ofordinary people, the premodern state lacked sufficient reach to enforcethem thoroughly. During the Tokugawa period, rural villages werelargely autonomous as long as they paid taxes on time, and the bakufulacked the power and will to effect significant social control in thecities. A general characteristic of modern societies throughout theworld is a great increase in the “reach” of the state, usually down tothe level of the individual. Furthermore, most modern states have takenan active role in attempting to shape culture in general and individualmoral behavior in particular. In this respect, the modern states havetaken over many of the socializing functions once performed byfamilies, neighborhoods, and religious institutions. Japan’s Meijistate followed this general pattern. Takashi Fujitani explains thematter as follows:[blockquote][align=justify]Thisnew conception of rule unleashed a torrent of policies aimed atbringing the common people into a tightly disciplined nationalcommunity and a unified and totalizing culture. A kind of culturalterror, understood as being pedagogical, swept through localcommunities as the state’s agents attacked folk religions through thedestruction or manipulation of local shrines and the suppression of“irrational” beliefs . . . while also instructing them in the properforms of worship. The new rulers preached ideas about “civilization andenlightenment” while also prohibiting numerous folk practices such asextravagance in festivities . . . or excessive leisure or gambling.From a very early date, in fact, the cultural policies reached down tothe most mundane level. In Tōkyō, for example, the authorities launchedaggressive campaigns against mixed bathing, public nudity, andurinating in public (tachi shōben). In 1876, the Tōkyō policearrested 2,091 people for nudity and 4,495 others for urinating inpublic. And in what was then called Toyooka prefecture, the authoritiesprohibited a seemingly innocuous summer custom, daytime napping.[sup][sup]1[/sup][/sup][/blockquote][align=justify]Incidentally,public urination was commonplace throughout Japan in the Tokugawaperiod and, though still illegal, remains so today.[align=justify]Theoverall motivation for the Meiji state's interest in personal behaviorwas not some inherent sense of prudery. Instead it was concerned withthe image of Japan and its people in the eyes of the powerful Westerncountries. Elise K. Tipton explains:[blockquote][align=justify]Astrong desire to gain Western approval and avoid its ridicule isrevealed in measures seeking conformity to Western standards of publicdecency. A newspaper article explaining an ordinance against publicnakedness directed towards rickshaw men and day laborers declared, 'youmust not be laughed at by foreigners". Similarly, the headline 'Do notbe laughed at by foreigners" preceded an article about anotherordinance requiring public bath-owners to place screens at the entranceand to separate men and women. Officials issued warnings againstobscene plays and tried to ban pornographic art. (Modern Japan: A Social and Political History [New York: Routledge, 2002], p. 46)[/blockquote][align=justify]Thefirst major attempt to modify public behavior and morality came in 1871when the Meiji government issued a series of regulations againstinappropriate behavior (Ishiki chūi jōrei). These regulationsapplied to the residents of the capital and surrounding urban areas andspecified fines for violators. Rendered into a series of pictures withsimple text for the benefit of illiterates, the regulations were postedthroughout Tōkyō. As you see from the statistics Fujitani providesabove, all indications are that the police were diligent in enforcingthem. [align=justify]The *complete set of regulations is shown here*.Included are prohibitions against: selling spoiled or diseased meat;public sideshows and freak shows; transporting excrement (a valuablecommodity) in uncovered buckets; brawling in public; women gettingshort haircuts without permission of fathers or husbands; publicurination; throwing objects up onto telegraph wires; and shouting outof windows to people passing by below—and more. A large number of theseprohibitions seem to have been for foreign consumption, that is, theyaddressed behaviors that Japan’s new leaders were embarrassed to haveforeigners see. Throwing objects onto telegraph wires, for example,might damage the wires.  But it might also suggest to a foreignobserver of "the " Japanese a rustic or childlike lack of appreciationfor important modern technology. One version of the drawingillustrating this prohibition (not the one shown in the link above)shows a foreigner walking down the street as Japanese men and womenlaugh while throwing objects onto telegraph wires. Also, foreignerswere often the objects of insults or comments shouted out from thesafety of upper-story windows and sometimes complained about being soldbad meat--hence the regulations about these matters.[align=justify]Theseregulations are significant for two reasons. First, they indicate agrowing willingness of the state to “micromanage” personal behavior.Second, they indicate the importance the government placed on puttingon a good appearance when under the gaze of Europeans and Americans.Significantly, regulations such as those mentioned here did not applyto all or even most Japanese. At their widest, they applied only toresidents of the relatively few cities open to foreign residence.[align=justify]Nudityis, of course, an issue closely related to appearances. Below weexplore government-sponsored and other attempts to regulate nudity inJapan from the Meiji period through the 1930s, with some comparativereference to Europe and the U.S. Our investigation will shed light on anumber of issues connected with cultural differences, cultural power,the power of the state, social class, views of the body, and more. Thematerial presented here derives in large part from a series of essays, Civilization and the Nude Body, by Inoue Shōichi, which appeared throughout 1992 in Gekkan Asahi. Specific references to the series will appear in parentheses as (month:page#).

Nudity and Daily Life in Tokugawa & Early Meiji Japan

[align=justify]Members of the samuraiclass, men and women, did not (or at least were never supposed to)appear in public without being fully clothed. Many norms and values ofthe samurai class resembled those of Chinese elites, for whomincomplete dress indicated incomplete civilization. In Japan’s terriblyhot and humid summers, men and women performing manual labor outdoors *often worked semi-naked*. Scant clothing, therefore, was mainly an indication of manual labor, and one way that samuraidistinguished themselves from laborers was by their more formal andcomplete attire. In the summer, male laborers in rural and urban areascommonly wore only a loincloth both during work hours and whilerelaxing. Women often went topless and in any case did not wearunderwear (more on this below). [align=justify]Itis common in today’s world to link nudity with sex. Clothing serves asa personal boundary marker, and its removal or lack in the sight ofothers is often an invitation to intimacy. The lack of clothing wasespecially an invitation to intimacy in Western society of thenineteenth century because the skin itself, along with the secondarysexual characteristics of the body (e.g., curve of hips, breasts,etc.—but not the genitalia) had long been eroticized in visualrepresentations. But clothing or its lack need not function this way inall times, places, or circumstances. While sexuality does have abiological basis, the ways in which it manifests itself are largelyproducts of complex social codes. In Tokugawa and early Meiji Japan, *clothing—not nakedness*—played a greater role in eroticism than it did in most of the Western world. As Timon Screech explains:[blockquote][align=justify]Otherthan the rich (who would not be much encountered in the ordinarytownsperson's life), then, fine clothes meant the garb of theatricalityor of paying sex. The Edo male would have touched finer fabrics in thearms of these two categories of provider than on any other occasion.The *sexual power*of texture and look in first-rate cloth was commensurately great; itmay very well have excelled in excitement the feel of skin, since goodcloth was harder to come by than good skin and was more expensive whenone did.[sup]2[/sup][/blockquote][align=justify]Fineclothing, worn in certain ways and accompanied by certain gestures,typically conveyed sexual messages. Nudity per se, however, usually didnot convey sexual messages in Japan at this time, especially cases ofhabitual nudity such as a woman doing laundry outside topless. Ascholar of the relationship be­tween clothing and eroticism explains:“In general, when any­thing is constantly exposed to view, it leavesnothing to the ima­gination, tends to be perceived as ordinary, and,eventually, is hardly noticed at all. The eye be­comes jaded; habitualnudity is notably unerotic.”[sup][sup]3[/sup][/sup][align=justify]Thesex act itself, of course, involved varying degrees of nudity, but itneed not involve much. And, prior to the twentieth century, it wasprobably rare, in Japan or in Europe, for the sex act to take placewhile totally or mostly nude. As Screech explains:[blockquote][align=justify]Thereis no reason to assume that people stripped to have sex. Societies thathave easy access to heating and cooling may well enjoy nakedness, butsuch was not the Edo case. The seasons controlled the temperature, withonly minor scope for human intervention by means of braziers and fans.. . . Even in Europe, where the sexual power of the bodily surface wasstrong and the value placed on erotic cloth less, and where bothpornography and the tradition of the nude made for a high valorizationof nakedness, it still seems that people made love with their clotheson, right up into the twentieth century.[sup]4[/sup][/blockquote][align=justify]Inshort, the typical American or European living at the time of Japan'sMeiji period usually regarded nudity as erotic and sexual, even if s/hedid not regard sex as necessarily requiring nudity. In Japan, bycontrast, it was clothing, especially fine clothing, that mostbroadcast sexual messages. It is mainly for this reason that themajority of sexually explicit images from early-modern Japan feature arich array of colorful clothing.[align=justify]Thebest example of this point is in the area of bathing. During theTokugawa period, even ordinary Japanese bathed frequently, which was amajor contrast with European habits and one reason for Japanesecharacterization of Europeans as “stinking of butter” (bataa kusai).In large urban areas, however, only the wealthy could afford to buildand maintain their own bathtubs. Especially in urban the cities, mostJapanese went to public bath houses. There, they would wash themselvesoutside the main tub, in which they would later soak for relaxation. Inmany public bath houses, *men and women bathed together in the same tub.*In fact, in most cases there was only one tub, mainly for reasons ofeconomy—it was much easier and less expensive to maintain one large tubinstead of two or more smaller ones. The more expensive baths hadseparate tubs for men and women, and there was a period of time at theend of the eighteenth century when a high-ranking bakufu official triedto prohibit mixed bathing in Edo (but not anywhere else). So not allpublic baths in Edo/Tokyo featured mixed bathing, but the American andEuropean foreigners seemed to have quickly zeroed in on the ones thatdid.[align=justify]Men and women ofall ages bathing in close proximity to each other was, of course,shocking to European and American visitors to Japan. And they said soin various ways. Yet, strangely enough, many of these same foreignersseem to have made *many visits to mixed public baths!*A British observer in the early 1860s recorded an interesting encounterin his diary. He and some other foreigners were traveling though thestreets of Edo (Tōkyō). As they neared a public bath, someone insidethe bath noticed that exotic foreigners were in the vicinity and letthe other bathers know. They all came running out of the bath house,completely naked of course, to gawk at the British travelers, who nodoubt did some gawking of their own. According to the diary: “Men andwomen were all bathing together. They all came running out of the bathhut to gawk at us as we passed by. Not a single one made any attempt tocover up. They were like Adam and Eve before the fall, appearingto us just as they had been born” (8:206; keep the reference to Adamand Eve in mind for later). Another British traveler made the followingobservation regarding bathers at a *natural hot spring* (onsen):“Two short, attractive women had come out of the hot spring. The twowomen appeared without wearing so much as a thread and proceeded to drythemselves in the sun. Then, within plain view of the town’s residentswho were walking across the bridge, they put on their clothes” (8:206).[align=justify]Among the foreigners, twoviews of Japanese nudity developed. One, not surprisingly, held thatpublic nudity was proof that Japan was obviously a depraved, sinfulsociety. One American wrote, “There is no other country on earth inwhich men and women conduct their lives together by such indecentmanners” (8:207). Matthew Perry’s interpreter, Rev. S. Wells Williams,while generally a sympathetic observer of Japanese customs,nevertheless declared Japan the “most lewd” of “all the heathennations” he had ever described. He continued: [blockquote][align=justify]Modesty,judging from what we see, might be said to be unknown, for the womenmake no attempt to hide the bosom, and every step shows the leg abovethe knee; while men generally go with the merest bit of rag, and thatnot always carefully put on. Naked men and women have both been seen inthe streets, and uniformly resort to the same bath house, regardless ofall decency. Lewd motions, pictures and talk seem to be the commonexpression of the viler acts and thoughts of the people, and this tosuch a degree as to disgust everybody.[sup][sup]5[/sup][/sup][/blockquote][align=justify]Presumably,the “everybody” disgusted by these practices was limited to otherprudish foreigners, for it would not have included most Japanese.Incidentally, the first edition of the official narrative of Perry’sexpedition to Japan included a modest oil painting of a public bathproduced by the expedition’s artist. The inclusion of *such a "lewd" painting* caused such an uproar in the U.S. that it was removed from all subsequent editions of the book. [align=justify]Otherforeign observers provided a different interpretation. DiplomatTownsend Harris, for example, perceptively pointed out that mixedbathing was not at all proof of a lewd or degenerate people. “Indeed,”he said, “the case is quite the opposite. This exposure serves toweaken the force of the passions excited by mystery and distress”(8:206). Recall the British observer’s reference to the innocentAdam-and-Eve-like quality of the nude bathers that came to stare athim. Some foreigners, in other words, regarded the  non-self-conscious,non-sexual nudity of Japanese daily life as proof of a primitiveinnocence akin to Eden’s original inhabitants. For Harris, theprevalence of nudity in everyday life actually helped reduce “thepassions” (i.e., sexuality) by de-mystifying the body. Although thisalleged innocence was certainly a more positive characterization thanthat of lewdness and sin, it points to a persistent stereotype aboutJapan and its people as childlike. An example: after the Second WorldWar, General MacArthur characterized Japan as resembling  “atwelve-year-old child,” much to the chagrin of his many Japaneseadmirers. [align=justify]In the Tokugawa period, samuraiand well-to-do members of society felt no embarrassment about the scantattire of the laboring masses. That they wore few clothes seemedperfectly reasonable. When Japan came under the *close gaze of Europeans and Americans* starting in the 1860s, however, upper class Japanese began to realize that most foreigners regarded allJapanese as essentially similar. When the bakufu sent its firstdiplomats abroad in the early 1860s, they were, of course, ac­companiedby servants, who carried the diplomats through the streets inpalanquins and performed other labor services. A samuraidiplomat in Prussia in 1862 was shocked one day to see a full pagepicture of a “typical” Japanese in the local newspaper. The picture wasnot of the impeccably dressed, dignified samurai, but of one ofhis loin­cloth-wearing servants. As the sense of nation, the feeling of“we Japanese” became stronger in the 1870s, the Meiji government becameconcerned that *all Japanese appear acceptable in the eyes of the powerful foreigners.* To the government, Japan’s laboring masses went from being kamin, “the lower orders,” to kokumin,“citizens.” With “citizenship” came new burdens such as higher taxes,military service, and increasing state intervention in the realm ofpersonal behavior.[align=justify]In 1872, *it became illegal* to appear in public in Tokyo(but not elsewhere) with the thighs exposed or with a nude upper torso.This law applied equally to men and women, and the fine was double fortotal nudity in public. Police enforcement of the law brought forth abrief period of public protest—in the form of #streaking#—butthe reaction of the state was to crack down even harder. People beganto cover up. In 1890, the Tokyo police issued an order prohibitingmixed ba­thing (police had broad powers to issue orders for the “publicgood”). Most bath owners could not afford elaborate renovations, sothey typi­cally ran a rope across the center of the tub to separate itinto sections for men and women. In this way, they complied with theletter of the law but not its spirit.[align=justify]In 1900, the prohibition became more serious when the Home Ministry *prohibited mixed bathing*throughout the country and required walls and other structures toprevent men and women from bathing within sight of each other. As theprohibition gradually achieved its intended purpose, a new problemdeveloped: peeping Toms (debakame 出歯亀).Once it became forbidden for men to see women bathing, secretly doingso became thrilling for many men. And not only for men. In at leastsome cases, women, having become aware that men might be peeping atthem, found sexual meaning in what had once been a non-sexual behavior.Mixed bathing remained the norm at hot spring resorts and was notuncommon even in the 1980s, but it is extremely rare today.[sup][sup]6[/sup][/sup]For reasons we explore in greater depth below, most residents oftoday’s Japan are just as self-conscious and embarrassed about theirbodies as are their American (but not necessarily European)counterparts—a sign of superior “civilization” no doubt![align=justify]. . . Or perhaps not . . .[align=justify](#public male public nudity in contemporary Japan#)

Cultural Power

[align=justify]Letus pause to consider the issue of cultural power and the image gapbetween Japan and “the West” as reflected in concerns over nudity. Inthe 19th century, Europeans and Americans looked at the relative lackof inhibitions connected with nudity in Japan and regarded it as a signof backwardness. At best, public nudity indicated an innocent,childlike backwardness; at worst it was a sign of lewdness and *depravity.*And bear in mind that by this time there was a strong association inthe minds of most westerners between nudity and a state of (allegedly) *primitive or savage life.*[align=justify]SoJapan’s Meiji-period leaders had little choice but to try and makeJapanese conform to European standards. Recall that revision of theunequal treaties was the highest priority, and this goal requiredEuropean acceptance of Japanese as “civilized.” As a result ofsubstantial state intervention, the tendency in Japan from the latenineteenth century and continuing well into the twentieth century wasincreased prudery. In other words, there was increasing official andunofficial pressure to cover up the body as time went on.[align=justify]In the twentieth century, inhibitions regarding nudity gradually began to weaken in some parts of Europe. The *first nudist organizations* began in Germany in the 1920s. #Nude bathing beaches and resorts#became examples of “natural” living and “progressive” thinking. By themid twentieth century, the relative prudery of Japan regarding nuditybecame a sign of “backwardness” in the eyes of many “enlightened”Europeans. Japan had no nudist organization until 1962. Japan inEurope's gaze: “backward” in the nineteenth cen­tury owing to a lack ofinhibitions concerning certain forms of nudity and “backward” in thenext century for excessive inhibitions—another example of Japan and itspeople never quite measuring up to "civilized" standards. Attitudesregarding nudity and the changes in lifestyle connected with them isbut one example of the disparity in cultural power between Japan and“the West” in Meiji and Taishō times. This disparity, of course, wasbased on “the West’s” superior military and technological power. Hadthe military power of Japan been superior to that of “the West,” whatjudgments might Japanese have made regarding the inferiority ofEuropean culture and its barbaric American offshoots?[align=justify](Notewell: by the turn of the twentieth century, all of Japan's unequaltreaties had all been revised. Culture and power continued to interactin various ways throughout Japanese society. However, posturing toimpress foreign powers, while sometimes done at the level ofindividuals, was no longer part of state policy after the Meiji period.Be sure to keep this point well in mind while reading the rest of thischapter.)

The Broader Context: A Brief Look at Late 19th-Century Europe

[align=justify]Wehave seen that early attempts by Japan’s government to suppress certainforms of nudity were motivated mainly by the perceived need to makeJapan look “civilized” in European eyes. We have also seen that mostAmerican and European observers associated the nudity they saw in Japanwith improper sexuality. What was the situation in Europe (and byextension, the U.S.) with respect to nudity and sexuality at the end ofthe nineteenth century? This question is too complex for an adequateanswer here, and there is much disagreement even among specialists. Wecan, however, make a few general observations that help shed light onthe reactions of many Europeans and Americans to the nudity theyencountered in Meiji Japan. [align=justify]Thereare three points to emphasize. First, much like atti­tudes in China,Euro­peans of nearly all social classes and groups saw clothing as ageneral indicator of civilization and refinement—or their lack. PopularEuropean depictions commonly portrayed “primitive” or “savage” peoplesas wearing few clothes. Nudity was, in this view, an outward sign of aprimitive culture. This European view of clothing was quite similar towhat prevailed in Tokugawa Japan, as we have seen.[align=justify]Butthere was an additional factor that worked to Japan's disadvantage inEuropean eyes: the idea of nations. By the middle of the nineteenthcentury, it had become common for Europeans to view other lands interms of alleged "national characteristics." In this way of thinking,all "Japanese," "Chinese," "_______" (fill in the nation), et ceterawere essentially the same in terms of culture. In midnineteenth-century Japan, clothing was indeed a mark of "refinement" or"civilization," but not by way of any alleged national characteristics.Instead, clothing or its lack was mainly a marker of social status. Thehigher up in society one was, the more clothes s/he tended to wear.What Japan's leaders were reacting to in the meddlesome regulations ofthe 1870s we have examined above was the tendency of Americans andEuropeans to see in "the Japanese" the lowest common denominator. Thusit became necessary for ordinary laboring Japanese in the cities opento foreign residence to cover themselves up.[align=justify]Thesecond point concerns clothing and its connection with sexuality inEurope, particularly in the case of female dress. The relation­shipbetween clothing and sexuality is and was highly complex, and ValerieSteele is correct to criticize the many overly simplistic theoriesadvanced to explain it.[sup][sup]7[/sup][/sup]For our purposes, we should note that European and American fashions ofthe late nineteenth century served both to promote modesty by coveringthe sexual body and, at the same time, to enhance the beauty andsexuality of individual bodies. Roughly the same, incidentally, couldbe said about many societies, including Tokugawa Japan among the upperclasses.[align=justify]Third, European art often featured female nudes. A common theme in this art was the #power of female sexuality# to subsume, and therefore destroy, male identity. By extension, female sexuality had the potential for #disrupting the social order#,at least in the minds of many men. Although most historians would agreethat male fear of female sexuality was a major cultural theme of thelate nineteenth century, its significance remains debatable. Manyinterpreters point out that these male fears led to oppression andsuppression of women in Victorian times. Others disagree, pointing outa variety of empirical and theoretical flaws in this argument.[align=justify]Thisissue, however, need not concern us here. The main point for us to bearin mind is that the nude female body, unrestrained by layers ofclothing, represented a source of potentially disruptive (morally,spiritually, socially, politically) sexual power to many American andEuropean men in the nineteenth century. Furthermore, many of the earlyEuropean and American interpreters of Japanese culture were Protestantmissionaries. As a group, these men would have been most likely toreact negatively to public displays of nudity. Notice that it was thepragmatic diplomat Townsend Harris who interpreted nudity in Japan as asign of a lack of passions. On the other hand, the otherwise culturallysympathetic Rev. Williams could not conceal his disgust for what heinterpreted as lewdness.[align=justify]Asyou surely know, the nude was a common theme in European art bothduring the nineteenth century and earlier. Because of the strongassociation of nudity with sexuality in Europe, how was it that suchart was produced and consumed in respectable, public circles? The quickanswer is that various distancing techniques were used. For example, inthe realm of theory, artists and critics often distinguished betweenthe "nude" figure and the "naked" figure. The naked figure was theunclothed body of specific people, and was thus vulgar at best andobscene at worst. The artist’s model in the studio, for example, wouldhave been “naked.” But the resulting painting, in order to bedesignated a work of "art," should not be simply a direct, accuraterendition of the model (for then it, too, would be “naked”). Instead,it should be an abstraction, derived from the specific naked model, butrepresenting a general, ideal type. In this form, it would become a“nude,” and thus a true work of art (philosophers: notice the Platonismat work here). (#Examples of the nude as art# / #Examples of nakedness#)[align=justify]Otherdistancing techniques are easier to comprehend. For example, nudesshould never be contemporary, for then they would become merely naked.Instead, men and women in classical settings of antiquity, oftenillustrating Greek myths of tales from the Bible would be sufficientlydistant in time and culture to be “nude,” not “naked.” If thisdistinction strikes you as ridiculous, your view has its academicadvocates. David Freedberg, for example, has argued persuasively thatthe alleged distinction between “art” and lesser forms of visualdepiction is a false dichotomy.[sup][sup]8[/sup][/sup] In any case, however, the pretenseof most educated Europeans in the late nineteenth century was that trueart, that is, the nude, is not sexual. European observers typically sawJapanese nudity in all its manifestations as nakedness, not nudity, iffor no other reason than the inability of most Europeans to acceptJapanese culture as being on the same level of artistic ortechnological sophistication as theirs.

马赫迪

Nudity at the Beach: Different Social Classes

[align=justify]Itwas not until the late 1880s that the first bathing beaches opened inJapan, for swimming in the ocean had previously not been a form ofrecreation. Even in the 1880s, #bathing at the beach#was more a form of therapy for certain nervous disorders than arecreational activity. Until about 1920, nearly all bathing beaches inJapan were #segregated by sex.# *Swimming suits for men and women during this early period* covered most of the body (#contrast with more recent styles#).Despite the segregation and thorough coverage, many women who went tothe beach during the Meiji period reported feeling self-conscious orembarrassed. Famous women’s rights advocate Hiratsuka Raichō,for example, in an essay reminiscing on her childhood, wrote of herfirst visits to the beach in the late nineteenth century. It was thesummer after she had entered a girls’ high school, and she was dressedin a one-piece suit that covered the whole body. Nevertheless, she feltembarrassed to be at the beach when others might see her, and wrote, “Ifelt embarrassed to be at the beach during the mid-day hours because Iwould be seen by others, so I always went early in the morning beforesunrise” (10:193). This situation seems quite different from the urbanpublic baths described above. What might have been going on? [align=justify]Movingfrom the Meiji period into the Taishō and early Shōwa periods (roughlythe 1920s), it seems that beaches had changed significantly. By the1920s, few beaches were segregated by sex. Newspapers and other popularmedia frequently reported “shocking” incidents of #women changing into bathing suits#at the beach in full view of crowds without any sense of embarrassment(men, too, did this, but the press seems to have regarded it asproblematic only for women). In 1929, a women’s magazine reported that70-80% of women at the beach were “vulgar and uneducated,” bathing nudeand carrying only a small towel for cover (19:195). This situationseems more like the urban public baths of the late Tokugawa and earlyMeiji periods. Why the change? Why the increase in nudity, despite an outcry against it from the media?[align=justify]The key to understanding this difference lies in the two beach scenes by Bigot. *The first* depicts a women dressed like Hiratsuka was, that is, in a full bathing suit. *The second*depicts a large crowd of men and women, all nude or nearly so. They arechatting, relaxed, and seem completely unembarrassed about theirnudity. The different scenes reflect different social classes. During the Tokugawa period, there was a major difference in attitudes about nudity, sex, and gender roles between samuraiand wealthy commoners and everyone else. This difference continued wellinto modern times. It was members of the upper classes who controlledthe Meiji government and sought to impose European-style modesty on thecommon people.[align=justify]With regard to bathing at the beach, in the late nineteenth century, only the wealthycould afford to go to the beach for recreation. Transportation was bycarriage, and just getting to the beach took a long time. In the earlyMeiji period, bathers typically stayed for several days or weeks atprivate beach houses. Only the rich could afford to purchase or rentsuch houses and take the time out from work or other affairs torecreate at the beach. Most ordinary Japanese were hard at work in thefields day in and day out. For them, a day at the beach wasunimaginable.[align=justify]By theturn of the century, however, the majority of Japan’s populationshifted to urban areas. As Japan rapidly industrialized, unskilled andsemi-skilled laborers poured into the cities to work in the factories.The hours were long and the work exhausting. Nevertheless, factoryworkers had an occasional day off, and their wages usually provided aslight surplus beyond the essentials. By the 1920s, trains andstreetcars provided access to beaches. It became possible, in otherwords, to go to the beach on one’s day off, leaving early in themorning and returning in the evening. Trips to the beach became popularamong factory workers and other “blue collar” Japanese from around thetime of the First World War (which was a time of great prosperity forJapan) onward. Many of these urban workers were recent arrivals fromthe countryside, where bathing habits and attitudes about nudity ingeneral followed older, less inhibited patterns of behavior andthought. As with many other matters, “Japanese culture" often differedsignificantly from one group of Japanese to another.

Nudity and the Boundaries of Art

[align=justify]Exceptin the context of portraying someone taking a bath, Japanese art lackeda tradition of celebrating the nude human figure until well into theMeiji period. Some members of Japan’s first diplomatic embassy to theU.S. in 1860 took open-air baths after arriving in San Francisco, whichled to angry complaints by women residing nearby. Local authoritiesthen required that curtains be placed around the tubs. Many of thesesame embassy members regarded the many statues and paintings of nudefigures on display in U.S. public buildings—not to mention the bareshoulders of American women in formal evening gowns—as barbaric andshocking (remember, Westerners, or at least the ostensiblysophisticated ones, would tend to describe such statuary as “nude,” not“naked”).[align=justify]Throughoutthe nineteenth century, European-style art gradually became accepted inJapan as worthy of attention. Inevitably, Japanese artists painting inEuropean styles #tried their hand at nudes#.It was not until 1894, however, that a Japanese artist first producedand publicly displayed a European-style nude as a serious work of art.The artist was Kuroda Seiki, and the painting was Morning Toilette. The *oil painting features a totally nude woman*standing in front of a mirror arranging her hair. When Kuroda displayedhis work in Tokyo, it caused a minor uproar. When he displayed in theartistically more conservative Kyōto, it caused a major uproar,becoming an object of discussion and controversy.[align=justify]Bigot caricatured this controversy in a *cartoon shown here*.In it, the members of the audience stare in amazement, mouths agape.This cartoon is not only a critique of Japanese art sensi­bilities. Thefemale member of the audience just to the right of center adds anadditional layer of complexity to Bigot’s message. In order to leanforeword and get a better view, this woman has hiked up her robes,exposing a substantial portion of the legs above the knee. Doing so wascommon in Japan at the time, with no suggestion of impropriety, thetypical reason being to *keep clothing out of rainwater or mud*as one walked. To European sensibilities, however, for a woman to pullup her clothes like this in public was a shocking breach of properconduct. Now, notice the European woman in the audience who is just asshocked by the Japanese woman pulling up her clothes as the Japaneseviewers are of the painting. There is an important point here: customs concerning clothing and nudity are arbitrary and specific to a certain time and place.There are no universal standards of morality or decency with regard tosuch matters, though most people assume that their own time and cultureis the “natural” and obvious standard for all human beings.[align=justify]By breaking the ice, Kuroda paved the way for European-style nudes to be accepted in Japan as legitimate works of art (*example*).By 1910, nude paintings were fully acceptable as “art” provided thatfrontal nudes showed no pubic hair. By the 1930s, even pubic hair, aslong as it was not overly detailed, was getting past the police censorswho monitored artistic and literary outpu[sup] [/sup]t.[sup][sup]9[/sup][/sup][align=justify]Japanesebusinesses quickly learned that nude figures can attract attention inadvertising. As European-style nudes became acceptable as art,advertisers began to use oil paintings depicting female nudes in oneform or another to help sell beer, cigarettes, and other products.Because compared with "highbrow" art, advertising images reached awider and, presumably, less discriminating audience, government censorswere more strict in what they permitted. The more nudity of an exoticor alluring nature, the more attention the ad would attract frompotential customers. But it would also attract the attention of policecensors. Penalties for violating “decency” regulations were stiff, butthe precise boundaries of what the police would allow were vague andoften arbitrary. Police would not usually approve items in advance.They would only impose fines and confiscate relevant property after the fact, which made mistakes quite costly. [align=justify]Let us consider an actual case. The *collection of images here*features four advertising posters and one piece of museum art. Allfeature nudity to one degree or another. One caused public outcry andprompted a police investigation for possible violation of obscenityregulations. Which one? Is it not obvious? Answer: the Akadama PortWine ad of 1923 (top right) was the indecent image! The Sapporo Beer ad(bottom left) features a woman draped in a thin, sheer cloth thatreveals the contours of her figure and two bare breasts. The ad forTengū Cigarettes (top left) features a woman nude from the hips upbefore a mirror. Reclining Nude features full frontal nudityand even includes pubic hair, which is often an key element in attemptsto define the boundaries of decency and indecency in public imagery.Why, therefore, was the Akadama ad so controversial?[align=justify]Thead features a retouched photograph of opera singer Matsushima Emikoholding a glass of port wine. She appears to be nude, or at least herupper torso does, but only the shoulders and top of the breasts areactually visible. In a 1975 interview, Matsushima recalled thecontroversy surrounding the ad as follows: “As soon as we finished,[the ad] was scrutinized for possible censorship. It passed throughmany hands and finally received [in house] approval. Though there isnothing comparable today, at the time, the fact that it was a nudecaused a big commotion. As a result, I even had to stop having visitsfrom my relatives, and the police came to inquire. It was difficult”(7:207).[align=justify]The difficulty arose not so much because of the nudity per se but because the ad poster was based on a photograph. Nudity, even to a high degree of explicitness, was acceptable for "art"(and, by extension, art used in advertising), but few in Japan and thetime considered photography a real art form. After all, one only needpress a button to take a photograph, unlike all the skill and laborrequired to produce an oil painting—at least that was the commonassumption of the day. So the Akadama ad caused problems because itused a new technique that placed it outside the arbitrary categorycalled “art.” It was only during the 1950s that most Japanese came toregard photography as an art form on a par with painting. To whatextent does the boundary between “art” and something else(“pornography,” “propaganda,” “recreation”) remain controversial andcontested today?

Policing Private Life: Campaigns for Underwear and Against Sheer Clothing

[align=justify]Today,virtually all Japanese wear underwear (bras, panties, briefs, boxershorts, etc.). The practice would strike most contemporary Japanese asso “natural” and obvious that few would imagine that, for women,wearing underwear became the norm throughout the country only after theSecond World War. Some Japanese women wore underwear as earlyas the Meiji period, but only when wearing European-style clothes. Eventhen, not all wearers of European-style clothes wore underwear beneaththem (many men, of course, wore only underwear, at least in thesummertime). Japanese-style clothing consisted of one or more robeswrapped around the body and secured with a belt, with no underwearbeneath.[align=justify]In 1923, in the late Taishō period, the issue of women and underwearreceived extensive public attention as a public safety hazard (notethat in most modern societies “public safety” often replaces “morality”as the common justification for official or quasi-official attemptsto regulate citizens’ private lives). In that year, a terribleearthquake devastated vast areas of Tokyo. The destruction of propertyand loss of life has never since been equaled in any natural disasterin Japan. (#See photographs of the earthquake's aftermath#.)Theearthquake touched off rumors, the most destructive of which being thatKorean immigrants had used the quake as an opportunity to loot. Thisrumor resulted in the slaughter of thousands of Korean immigrants atthe hands of angry mobs. Another rumor was that many women died in thequake because modesty prevented their escaping fast enough. The mainproblem was that since most women did not wear underwear, they wouldnot run at full speed because their robes would come open, thusexposing the private parts of the body for all to see. There is noevidence to support this rumor, and there is #extensive photographic# and #eye witness evidence#to question it. For example, in the days after the quake, it was commonto see men and women of all ages bathing amidst the rubble in plainview.[align=justify]Although it wasimpractical for the government to mandate that women wear underwear(who would police such a regulation?), public service organizationssuch as the Lifestyle Improvement Alliance *expended substantial resources to encourage the practice*.In 1932, the public took a renewed interest in matters of women’sunderwear when a large fire broke out at Shirokiya Department Store inTokyo. The likely cause was celluloid toys, which are highly flammable.Shirokiya employed many young women as sales clerks. According to rumor(spread by newspaper reports), because most of these women were notwearing underwear, they refused to climb down the fire ladders that hadbeen extended to the upper story windows. In other words, they chose todie in the fire rather than possibly expose themselves to public view.Remarkably, this tale continues to be repeated to this day as truthdespite no reliable evidence to support it. Wikipedia, for example,says (ca. early 2006):[blockquote][align=justify]The1932 fire at the Nihombashi store is believed to have been the catalystfor the decline in kimonos as everyday wear. During the fire, 14customers and employees, all women, refused to jump out of windows ontolife nets, for fear that their kimonos would fly open and expose themto the crowds below. Shortly after the fire, the sale of trousers andunderwear skyrocketed throughout Japan. (Main Entry: "Shirokiya;" Sub-heading "Trivia.")[/blockquote][align=justify]Colorfulurban legends never seem to fade away. Strictly speaking, of course,this entry is correct because of the weasel words "is believed." Thefinal sentence is also accurate and indicates one result of the urbanlegend.[align=justify]Is theexplanation given in the urban legend version of the fire credible? Eyewitness accounts by fire fighters and others at the scene give noindication that embarrassment or modesty had anything to do with thelarge number of deaths. As one fire fighter recalled in a 1956interview:[blockquote][align=justify]Theyoung women made escape ropes from cloth and slipped while exitingsecond and third story windows or let go without being aware as theflesh ripped from the palms of their hands, falling to the electricstreetcar tracks below. In some cases, the escape ropes broke. Theseare the reasons they died. All the stories about the lack of underwear. . . would certainly have helped boost sales for a fabric company [theShirokiya Department Store?] (11:185).[/blockquote][align=justify]Furthermore,in other fires at banks and department stores from about the same time,modesty was no barrier to female employees using ladders and othermeans of escape—as several male eye witnesses took care to observe frombelow. One could think of several organizations (the fire department,the department store, local government.) that would have preferred thepublic think a lack of underwear—not structural problems with thebuilding, lack of preparation, or poor performance by the firecrews—was the main cause of the deaths in the Shirokiya fire.[align=justify]Therewere more formal elements to the growing campaign to promote underwearfor public health reasons. Dr. Habuto Eiji, an obstetrician and editorof the journal Seiyoku to Jinsei (Sexual desire and humankind),decided to do some rigorous, quantitative research to see how manywomen were wearing underwear. He went to the Ginza district of Tokyowhere he had discovered a place where the position of buildings createdwhat amounted to a wind tunnel through which many people a day passed.The wind blew so strong that few women were able to keep their skirts,robes, etc. from blowing open or upward. Little did they know that Dr.Habuto, dedicated public servant, was watching to see if they werewearing underwear. According to the results of his study, the majorityof women wearing European-style clothing wore underwear and themajority wearing Japanese-style clothing did not. Because those wearingJapanese-style clothing outnumbered those wearing European-styleclothing two to one, the majority of women were not wearing underwear.We should note that the Ginza was the most upscale and sophisticatedpart of Tokyo and was therefore likely to have the highest percentageof women attired in European-style clothes. If Dr. Habuto’s findingswere accurate, therefore, we may conclude that ca. 1930, very few womenin Japan wore underwear despite all the attention devoted to the topicin popular discourse of the time.[align=justify]Itseems that the main motivation for many of those working to encourageJapanese women to wear underwear was a desire to “modernize” lifestylesto better fit their own conceptions of Japan’s new modern society. Ofcourse, there is no reason that underwear is necessarily or inherently“modern,” but that was the perception among activists at the time inthe various lifestyle improvement movements. Koga Harue was an artist who often painted #images of modernity#. Among his most famous works is the 1930 painting, *Makeup Outside the Window*.It celebrates modernity in the form of a young woman, painteddisproportionately large, whose main feature is that she is clearlywearing underwear.[align=justify]Totake an entirely different kind of example, let us go to the island ofOkinawa, which Japan annexed in 1879 (and which we will study later).Although technically Okinawa became a full-fledged prefecture of Japan,its actual circumstances were often more akin to those of a colony.Governors of Okinawa were always mainlanders and always appointed bythe central government in Tokyo. Their policies typically stressedrudimentary cultural and linguistic training for Okinawans to make theminto proper modern Japanese citizens. With this context in mind,consider the following excerpt from a speech made in 1913 by Okinawa'sGovernor Takahashi:[blockquote][align=justify]Becausefrom now on, things must change in accordance with the world'sprogress, we must reform what should be reformed and stop adheringstubbornly to outmoded ways. In this place [Okinawa], women do notfasten belts around their robes . . . No matter where one might goaround here, there are women without fastened belts and women who donot wear underwear. . . . Even in Korea [then a colony of Japan], womenwear underwear. . . . Try going to the mainland in your present stateof dress. Not only will people laugh at you, they will hold you incontempt. However impressive and learned you might be, others willregard you as idiots.[sup]10[/sup][/blockquote][align=justify]Ofcourse, as we have seen above, most mainland Japanese women do not seemto have been wearing underwear at this time either. And the biggerquestion might be, in any case, what does underwear have to do withanything important in the realm of politics or social conditions?Incidentally, although not as concerned with issues of underwear as inJapan, it was also the case that in China at about this same time, wefind much discussion about #female hygiene and its relationship to modernity#. [align=justify]Despitesuch official, male concern with women's underwear, we should keepthings in perspective: most ordinary Japanese of the 1920s and 30s werenot much interested in making major changes to the way they dressed.The notion that women of the 1920s and 30s were so modest as to preferdeath to exposing themselves is part of a presentist and modernistbias, argues Inoue Shōichi. He further states that since the SecondWorld War, there has been a sharp increase in prudery andself-consciousness about breasts, in the case of women, and theexternal sexual organs, in the case of both men and women. Thisdevelopment, he says, is the direct result of underwear becoming astandard item of clothing in postwar Japan. Postwar Japanese, in otherwords, have learned to become ashamed of the parts of the body theycover up with underwear (11:188-89). [align=justify]In 1925, the police issued a policy against the wearing of *sheer garments by women* (Onna no usumono torishimari).Notice that previous police orders connected with nudity were aimed atcontrolling the behavior of ordinary people. The policy prohibitingsheer garments, however, was aimed at the well-to-do, for they were theonly ones who could afford to wear the expensive and fashionable sheerstyles popular in the 1920s. The rationale for the prohibition is thatsheer clothing would entice young men into “inappropriate acts” (*though not everyone agreed*). In other words, the *police were aware of the erotic dimension*of fashionable clothing and in this case tried to suppress it. It seemsthat (male) fear of female sexuality had arrived in full force in Japanjust as it was beginning to abate somewhat in Europe.[align=justify]In conclusion to our study of nudity in modern Japan, there are several points to ponder:

[li][align=justify]Notice the importance of proper appearances both within Japanese society and in the conduct of Japan’s modern foreign relations.[/li][li][align=justify]Notice the strong cultural influence of “the West” in modern Japan. This is notto say that most Japanese in Meiji times or today accept(ed) “Western”culture unproblematically, but they did have to deal with it.[/li][li][align=justify]Ina related point, notice the close connections between cultural issues,domestic politics, and global military and economic power. Culture isnever apolitical.[/li][li][align=justify]Noticethat with respect to attitudes toward the body, postwar andcontemporary Japanese have a much higher tendency to feel ashamed orself-conscious of their bodies than did their predecessors.[/li][li][align=justify]Finally,notice that there is little or nothing about cultural attitudesconcerning nudity that is “natural,” obvious, or universallyapplicable. Culture is usually quite arbitrary.[/li]

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[align=justify]For a look at the changes in gender roles during the period of approximately 1850-1950, #click here.#

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Notes

[align=justify]1Takashi Fujitani, “Inventing, Forgetting, Remembering: Toward aHistorical Ethnography of the Nation-State,” in Harumi Befu, ed., Cultural Nationalism in East Asia: Representation and Identity (Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 1993), p. 99.[align=justify]2 Timon Screech, Sex and the Floating World: Erotic Images in Japan, 1700-1820 (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999), p. 118.[align=justify]3 Valerie Steele, Fashion and Eroticism: Ideals of Feminine Beauty from the Victorian Era to the Jazz Age (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), p. 42.[align=justify]4 Sex and the Floating World, p. 118.[align=justify]5 Quoted in Masao Miyoshi, As We Saw Them: The First Japanese Embassy to the United States (1860) (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979), p. 77.[align=justify]6In Post-war Japan, until the mid-1980s, visiting hot spring resorts waspopular mainly among the elderly. By the start of the 1990s, however,such visits had become popular among young people as well. With thisdevelopment, it became the norm for bathers to wear swim suits.[align=justify]7 Fashion and Eroticism.[align=justify]8 David Freedberg, The Power of Images: Studies in the History and Theory of Response (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989).[align=justify]9Modern Japan had an extensive censorship system, most agents of whichwere members of a special wing of the police department. Police hadbroad powers to censor art, literature, speeches, public meetings, andso forth. Although their main concern was political content, “moral”content was also a criterion for censorship. In today’s Japan, pubichair is the main marker of the boundary between what is “obscene” (andthus prohibited by law) and what is not. Nearly anything is legal forsale or public display so long as it does not display any pubic hair.As you might guess, this strictly-enforced prohibition has generated aparticularly strong interest in pubic hair among many Japanese men.Very recently, display of pubic hair has been permitted, but only for“artistic” (definition?) works. What will be next? Is morality about togo to the dogs?![align=justify]10 Quoted in Naha-shiyakusho, comp., ed., Naha-shi shi, Shiryō-hen, Vol. 2.3 (Kumamoto, Japan: Shirono Insatsu, 1970), p. 348.