ABSTRACT

Entrenching parliament is a far more difficult task than merely creating a constitution. On February 12, 1889, the day after the constitution's promulgation, Prime Minister Kuroda Kiyotaka told the Prefectural Governors Conference that "the government must always hold to its established policy of standing apart from the political parties as a transcendental on the path of righteousness." The governments of the domain cliques adopted this policy of transcendentalism for a number of reasons. Contrary to these expectations, the antigovernment minto had overwhelming power in the new Diet when it opened. As transcendentalism was reaching a stalemate, the opposition was also facing a dilemma over "relief for the people." The greatest issue pending for the government in the wake of the war was postwar expansion, the plan to use reparations from China to fund a massive expansion of the country's military and industries.