Deference to a Government Official
As a case in point, while it is natural that we show deference to a government official, this is not because of the dignity of that person’s status. He is accorded that respect only because he performs that important role through his talent and virtues, and because he deals with weighty laws for the sake of the people. It is the laws which have dignity, not the man. Everyone knows about the notorious processions of the shogun’s tea vessels along the Tōkaidō during the period of the Tokugawa shogunate; not only the tea vessels, even the shogun’s hunting hawks had greater dignity than men. Travelers along the highway had to get off the road at the coming of the shogun’s horses. Everything to which the shogun’s use was attached, down to the stones and tiles, was invested with awe and dignity. While the people hated these things in their hearts since time immemorial, they naturally perpetuated these practices. Both high and low observed these terrible customs. In short, this was not because of the dignity of the laws or the intrinsic value of those things. It was because the government used craven methods to swell their prestige, and thereby to make men cower, and to prevent their freedom. They were false and vainglorious practices. Today such wretched institutions and customs have all been abolished throughout Japan. Therefore people should be relieved and if ever they harbor any feeling of injustice against the government, they will not have to swallow their resentment and hate the government in silence. They can seek out the office or authorities concerned, quietly lodge their complaints, and discuss them openly. If their case is in accord with natural principle and human feeling, they should not hesitate to fight for it even at the risk of their lives. These are now the “responsibility” of the citizens of the nation.
