128 



NA TURE 



(June 8, 1905 



(Nature, April 27). He adds, as an explanation, that 

 " the average college don " forgets an elementary law of 

 friction. But the proper inference is that the definition of 

 the reviewer is different from that in common use. It is 

 difficult to believe in this general forgetfulness. 



The various letters sent to Nature sufficiently show what 

 meaning is usually attached to the words. 



June 3. E. J. RouTH. 



WHY JAPAN IS VICTORIOUS. 



'T^EN years ago, after the conclusion of the war 

 ■•■ between Japan and China, it was remarked that 

 the sound of the Japanese cannon at the mouth of 

 the Yalu River awoke the nations of the world to the 

 fact that a new Power had arisen in the Far East 

 which in future would require to be taken into 

 account when any political problems arose. It is, 

 of course, recognised by all who know modern 

 Japan that the most important factor in the 

 making of new Japan has been the applications of 

 science to the arts both of peace and war. Without 

 these, even the spirit of the samurai would have been 

 as powerless before the attacks of Western Powers 

 armed with all the latest warlike appliances, as were 

 the dervishes at the battle of Omdurman. Spectators 

 speak with admiration of the bravery of these men 

 and with pity that their lives were thrown away in 

 a vain resistance. Without the help of science and its 

 applications it is very certain that, before this time, 

 Japan would have been overrun by a European Power 

 after immense slaughter, for the last man would have 

 died, fighting with his primitive weapons, rather than 

 recognise a foreign domination. 



A careful study of the evolution of modern 

 Japan shows plans founded on enlightened principles 

 and carried out in every detail. In fact, one of 

 the secrets of the success of the Japanese in the 

 present war is that nothing is left to chance; every 

 detail is worked out and carefully provided for. 

 They soon recognised that their national ideals would 

 never be realised without a system of education, com- 

 plete in every department, which would supply the 

 men who were required to guide the nation under 

 the new conditions which had emerged. Elementary 

 education was organised all over the country, 

 secondary education in central districts, and technical 

 education wherever it seemed to be required. Above all, 

 there are two national universities which in equipment 

 and quality of work done will bear favourable com- 

 parison with similar institutions in any other country 

 in the world. 



The educational work of the country was directed 

 not simply to personal or sectional purposes, as is 

 unfortunately too often the case in the West; it was 

 also consciously directed to the attainment of great 

 national ends. Every department of the national life 

 was organised in a rational manner, and, therefore, 

 oil scientific principles. In many departments there is 

 still much to be done, but past achievements promise 

 well for the future. 



Special attention has been paid by the Government 

 to the applications of science. Without -the rail- 

 ways, the telegraphs and telephones, the dock- 

 yards, the shipbuilding yards, the mines, and the 

 engineering establishments, the existence of the armv 

 and navy would have been impossible ; at least, if they 

 did exist they would have been nearlv powerless. 

 The operations of the present war with 'Russia have 

 clearly demonstrated the importance of the introduc- 

 tion of the scientific spirit into all the national activi- 

 ties. The railways which have been built in Japan 

 have _ been fully utilised to convev men and 

 materials and the ships to transport them oversea. 

 NO. 1858, VOL. 72 



The telegraphs have been used to communicate in- 

 structions and to keep the authorities informed 

 regarding movements and requirements. The dock- 

 yards and shipbuilding yards have been ready to 

 undertake repairs, and the arsenals and machine 

 shops to turn out war material of all kinds, as well as 

 appliances which aid operations in the field. Light 

 railways have been laid down on the way to battle- 

 fields, and wireless telegraphy and telephones to convey 

 instructions to the soldiers ; in short, all the latest 

 applications of mechanical, electrical, and chemical 

 science have been freely and intelligently used. 



The Japanese have not only modified Western 

 appliances to suit their conditions, but they have 

 also made numerous distinct advances. The ships 

 of their navy are probably the best illustra- 

 tion of the Japanese method of procedure. In 

 naval matters they accepted all the guidance the 

 Western world could give them, but at the same time 

 they struck out a line of their own, and the fleet 

 which they have created is unique in the character of 

 its units. British designs have in many respects 

 been improved upon, with the result that they have 

 obtained in their latest ships many features which 

 have won the admiration of the world. The training 

 of Japanese naval officers is very complete in every 

 way, and in some respects offers an example to the 

 British authorities, and the men are devoted to their 

 profession Japan now sends her picked men to 

 Europe to complete their studies, so that in every 

 department of national life they are kept up with 

 the latest developments. The siege of Port Arthur, 

 the battle of Mukden and the other battles in Man- 

 churia, and the exploits of the Japanese Navy prove 

 most distinctly that they have profited by their 

 experience. 



The intense loyalty of the Japanese, which compels 

 them to make any sacrifice, combined with their great 

 intellectual ability, enables them to take full advan- 

 tage of the modern science and organisation necessary 

 for the attainment of the objects of their ambition. 

 Their great power of foresight prepares them for all 

 their enterprises, both of peace and war, with exact 

 and scientific precision. While they are permeated by 

 Eastern ideas they have been able to appropriate much 

 that is best in Western thought, and thus they unite 

 many of the best qualities of the East and the West. 



The lesson which our educationists and statesmen 

 have to learn from Japan is that the life of a modern 

 nation requires to be organised on scientific lines in 

 all its departments, and that it must not be directed 

 chiefly to personal ends, the attainment of which 

 may, to a large extent, intensify many of our 

 problems, but that it be consciously used for the pro- 

 motion of national welfare. 



But though the lesson is plain enough, apparently 

 it is not understood by those whose business it is to 

 promote national welfare by guidance or counsel. 

 With one consent our newspapers have attributed 

 Japanese success to all reasons except the right one ; 

 and, instead of opening the eyes of the nation to our 

 pressing needs and deficiencies, they have been blind 

 leaders of the blind. Our public nien and our Press 

 will not see that scientific education has brought 

 Japan to her present position in thirty years, and 

 that, if we choose to educate ourselves, we may 

 arrive at the Japanese standard of national efificiencv. 

 The progress which this countrv has made since tlie 

 Middle Ages is due to the discoveries of men of 

 science, whose work has been done in spite of dis- 

 couragement or national indifference. In the new 

 atmosphere of Japan a scientific spirit prevails, which 

 encourages development, with the result that the 

 nation has in a generation arrived at a position which 

 has taken us centuries to reach. It is not compli- 



