f life which were foreign to Japan. Japanese leaders had to determine how to expand Japan's global involvement, but that meant becoming involved with Western forces which were simultaneously seen as a threat to Japan. It was as if Japan was holding out its hands---one open with the desire to become a part of the world of nations, and the other closed in a fist in order to protect traditional Japanese ways: "In the accomplishment of this ambitious goal the Meiji leadership displayed two striking characteristics: a readiness to try new methods and push ahead with them boldly, coupled with a tenacious adherence to traditional ideals and virtues" (133).
Much progress and modernization was achieved in a relatively short period of time, but "nevertheless the new nation could still have been more a product of its own past than of its recent contact with the West" (133). What this means is that the leadership of Japan was doing a balancing act which it could not long maintain. The contradictions inherent in the slogan "Enrich the nation and strengthen its arms" (134) would inevitably cause such tension that Japan would be forced to give either one or the other of the goals prominence. It was perhaps inevitable that the government, as a reflection of liberalized social, economic and foreign policy, would lean toward more constitutional and representative government. In fact, as early as 1868, the Emperor Meiji offered the Charter Oath which declared among other things that "Deliberative assemblies shall be widely established and all matters decided by public discussion" (137).
Nationalism was at first a stable force throughout these changes. It is described as "a sentiment already well-nourished in Tokugawa times and requiring little stimulus from the West, but which quick
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