Relationship with Distance: Korea, East Asia and the Anglo-Japanese Relationship, 1876-1894

311 Pages·2016·3.17 MB·English

The London School of Economics and Political
Science

Relationship with Distance: Korea, East Asia and
the Anglo-Japanese Relationship, 1876-1894

Yu Suzuki

A thesis submitted to the Department of International
History of the London School of Economics for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy, London, September 2015
1
Declaration

I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the
London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work.

The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided
that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior
written consent.

I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of
any third party.

I declare that my thesis consists of 94839 words.
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Abstract

Despite the fact that there is considerable literature in the English-language on East Asian
history in the nineteenth century, there are very few works that focus on the international
politics of the region in the thirty-five years or so between the end of the Arrow War and
the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War in July 1894. As a result, the history of East
Asia in this period is often understood as a period of brief moratorium for the Qing
dynasty of China before it finally fell prey to Western and Japanese imperialism at the
turn of the century.

In reality, the Qing was neither as passive nor as powerless as is often believed. On the
contrary, the Chinese were successful in re-emerging as the most influential regional
power in East Asia by the 1880s by making a conscious effort to reassert their influence
in East Asia not only through domestic self-strengthening, but also by drawing on the
traditional network between the Qing Empire and its neighbouring vassal kingdoms.
This point has already been raised by some historians who have focused on Chinese
policy towards Korea – a country which became the focus of imperial competition not
only between Qing China and Japan but also Britain and Russia from the 1880s.
However, little attention has been paid to how other states reacted to China’s revival.
Much light can be shed on this process by looking at how two of the most significant
players, Japan and Britain, related to the reassertion of Qing power and to each other over
the future of Korea in the period from 1876 to 1894. This dissertation will demonstrate
that it was difficult for the Anglo-Japanese relationship to become closer when the
international environment in the region required them to prioritise their respective ties
with the Qing Empire.
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Table of Contents

Dedication and Acknowledgement pp. 5
General Notes and Abbreviations pp. 7
Introduction pp. 12
Chapter 1 – Korea and the Anglo-Japanese Relations until the Imo Mutiny pp. 38
Chapter 2 – Years between the Crises, September 1882-April 1884 pp. 85
Chapter 3 – East Asian Crises, Phase One: May 1884-October 1885 pp. 114
Chapter 4 – East Asian Crises, Phase Two: November 1885-February 1887 pp. 152
Chapter 5 – Post-Crises Order in East Asia, March 1887-July 1892 pp. 178
Chapter 6 – Road to the First Sino-Japanese War, August 1892-July 1894 pp. 220
Conclusion pp. 265
Bibliography pp. 277
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Dedicated to my family
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Acknowledgement

It is no one but myself who, as an author, is responsible for the criticisms that this
dissertation deserves. At the same time, I would like to thank every one of my friends
and colleagues, as every conversations and debates that I had with them have influenced
me in so many respects. Without them this dissertation would have looked very
different from the one that I have presented. This includes the people I met before
starting the doctoral programme at the International History Department of the London
School of Economics in 2011.
There are several individuals who had been particularly influential towards my work.
My first appreciation goes to my approachable, caring and extremely intelligent doctoral
supervisor, Dr. Antony Best. He had given me numerous advises and encouragements
throughout the four years that I belonged to the department as a doctoral candidate, and
without him it was simply impossible to write any dissertation. He is a supervisor that
I will forever look up to as my mentor.
As I do not have any degree from Japanese universities, I did not have any knowledge
about the Japanese academia until I met some of the Japanese historians in London,
especially those who I met during their stays as visiting scholars to the London School of
Economics. Professor Naraoka Sōchi of the University of Kyoto, Professor Ishida Ken
of Chiba University, Dr. Kumamoto Fumio of Komazawa University and Dr. Mori Yasuo
of Doshisha University are all extremely intelligent scholars who gave me better
understandings about the present state of Japanese historiography on my research topic.
They also introduced me to many other Japanese historians – in both London and Japan
– who also gave me valuable insights.
I would also like to thank Dr. Horiuchi Nobuyuki of Kokushikan University for all of
the kind support when I was in Japan for archival research, and Mahon Murphy, a friend
of mine who I first met when he was a doctoral candidate at the International History
Department, for kindly offering to proofread the entire draft. Lastly, I would like to
dedicate this dissertation to my family, who supported me for the past four years.
It was impossible to complete this dissertation without the primary sources scattered
across various archives in Britain and Japan. I would also like to use this occasion to
thank all of the archivists for allowing me to access the materials they possess.

Yu Suzuki
London, 23 September 2015

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General Notes and Abbreviations

This dissertation will use the McCune-Reischauer format for Romanisation of the Korean
language for most of the Korean words and pinyin for the Chinese. The Hepburn format
will be used for Japanese, and prolonged vowels will be differentiated (eg. O and Ō, u
and ū). There will be some exceptions, as there are several pronouns that are more
commonly known in other Romanisation formats, such as Seoul (instead of Sŏul), Hong
Kong (instead of Xianggang), Tokyo (instead of Tōkyō), and Ryukyu (instead of Ryūkyū).

In the text, East Asian names will be presented in the order of surname first, given name
next. However, when this dissertation is citing secondary sources written in East Asian
language in the footnotes, the names of the authors will be presented in the order of given
name first, surname last, to be consistent with the format of Chicago Manual Style.

Abbreviations for Footnotes

When this dissertation mentions “Itō,” “Inoue,” “Li” and “Hamilton” in the footnotes, it
refers to Itō Hirobumi, Inoue Kaoru, Li Hongzhang and Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton. If
it is mentioning other individuals with the same surnames, it will be specified (eg. Itō
Miyoji, Inoue Kowashi, Li Shuchang and Lord George Hamilton). All sources with
“FO,” “ADM” or “PRO” are tfrom the National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom. Refer
to the bibliography for translations of the titles of Japanese secondary sources.

BDFA British Documents on Foreign Affairs, Part I From the Mid-Nineteenth
Century to the First World War, Series E Asia.

BKS Bōei Kenkyūjo Shiryōshitsu (Military Archives, National Institute of
Defence Studies).

BL British Library

Bodleian Bodleian Library.

CAC Churchill Archives Centre.

CLNMM Caird Library, National Maritime Museum.
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CAP China Association Papers

CDP Papers of Sir Charles Dilke.

CP Papers of the 1st Viscount Cross.

CUL Cambridge University Library.

DEWH Diary of Sir Edward Walter Hamilton, Vol. II.

DP LRO Papers of 15th Earl of Derby, kept at the Liverpool Records Office.

EFP Papers of Sir Edmund Fremantle.

ETMS Enomoto Takeaki Mikōkai Shokanshū (Collection of Unopened
Manuscripts Related to Enomoto Takeaki).

FYD Fukuzawa Yukichi Den (Biography of Fukuzawa Yukichi).

FYZ Fukuzawa Yukichi Zenshū (Collection of Fukuzawa Yukichi).

GS Gaikō Shiryōkan (Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Japan).

HCH House of Commons Hansard.

HPP Papers of Sir Harry Parkes.

HSM Hanabusa Shishakuke Monjo (Papers of Viscount Hanabusa).

HTKM Hara Takashi Kankei Monjo (Papers Related to Hara Takashi).

IHKM Itō Hirobumi Kankei Monjo (Papers Related to Itō Hirobumi).

IKDS Inoue Kowashi Den, Shiryōhen (Biographical Sources of Inoue
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Kowashi).

IKM Inoue Kaoru Monjo (Papers of Inoue Kaoru).

ITKM Iwakura Tomomi Kankei Monjo (Papers Related to Iwakura Tomomi).

JACAR Japan Center for Asian Historical Records, National Archives of Japan.

JMP Papers of Jardine Matheson and Co.

JSP Papers of John Swire and Sons Limited.

KP Papers of the 1st Earl of Kimberley.

KS Kunaichō Shoryōbu (Archives of the Japanese Imperial Household
Agency).

KSKKT Kensei Shiryōshitsu (Modern Japanese Political History Materials
Room), at Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan (National Diet Library).

LP Papers of the 5th Marquis of Lansdowne.

MBP Papers of Maurice de Bunsen.

MaMKM Matsukata Masayoshi Kankei Monjo (Papers Related to Matsukata
Masayoshi).

MuMKM Mutsu Munemitsu Kankei Monjo (Papers Related to Mutsu
Munemitsu).

NGM Nihon Gaikō Monjo (Official Correspondences of Japanese Diplomacy).

NGS Nikkan Gaikō Shiryō (Documents on the Japanese-Korean Diplomacy).

NOP Papers of Nicholas O’Conor

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NP HRO Papers of the 1st Earl of Northbrook, kept at the Hampshire Records
Office.

NSP Papers of Sir Nowell Salmon.

ŌSKM (MSV) Ōkuma Shigenobu Kankei Monjo (Misuzu Shobō Version) (Papers
Related to Ōkuma Shigenobu [Misuzu Shobō Version]).

ŌSKM (NSKV) Ōkuma Shigenobu Kankei Monjo (Nihon Shiseki Kyōkai Version)
(Papers Related to Ōkuma Shigenobu [Nihon Shiseki Kyōkai Version]).

PP Papers of Ralph Paget.

RCP Papers of Lord Randolph Churchill.

RP NLS Papers of the 5th Earl of Rosebery, kept at the National Library of
Scotland.

RVHP Papers of Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton.

SEDS Shibusawa Eiichi Denki Shiryō (Biographical Sources on Shibusawa
Eiichi).

SM Sanjōke Monjo (Sanjō Family Papers).

SMAZ Shinshū Mori Arinori Zenshū (Complete Collection of Mori Arinori,
New Edition).

SOAS School of Oriental and African Studies Library Archives.

SP Papers of the 5th Earl of Spencer.

SP HHA Papers of the 3rd Marquis of Salisbury, kept at the Hatfield House
Archives.

TMKS Terashima Munenori Kankei Shiryōshū (Sources Related to Terashima
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