Kitokurou Ichiki’s "Staatsrechtslehre" Thought And Practice

Kitokurou Ichiki(1867-1944),a Japanese politician and jurist before World War II,is considered by Saburo Ienaga to be a second-generation representative of the idea of the "Emperor Organ Theory" in Japan,and he is also the constitutional master of the famous Japanese jurist Tatsukichi Minobe.As the "Kokutai Theory" before World War II is a matter of great concern to the scholars at home and abroad,the idea of "Emperor Organ Theory" has also become a hot issue.However,domestic scholars mainly focus on the idea of "Emperor Organ Theory" of Tatsukichi Minobe,and pay little attention to the early idea of "Emperor Organ Theory" whose representative is Kitokurou Ichiki.This paper aims to order his thought and practice of "Staatsrechtslenre" with his idea of "Emperor Organ Theory" as the core.The part of introduction mainly focuses on the domestic and overseas research on Kitokurou Ichiki,and his idea of "Emperor Organ Theory" as well as "autonomy",and then the research topic is presented.The first chapter talks about the life of Kitokurou Ichiki as a young man,his family background and early experiences,in which it emphasizes the influence of "Houtoku Thought" on his thought and practice.Besides,it argues that his work of Budgetary Theory of Japanese Law had indicated his idea of "Staatsrechtslenre" and that its publication shows the preliminary formation of "Staatsrechtslenre" based on Kitokurou Ichiki ’s idea of "Emperor Organ Theory".The second chapter discusses the construction of Kitokurou Ichiki ’s idea of Staatsrechtslenre.Through the analysis of his Staatsrechtslenre and Administrative Law which are handouts for university courses and some other literature,this paper argues that Kitokurou Ichiki,who is both a bureaucrat and a scholar,formed his idea of "Staatsrechtslenre" while teaching at the Imperial University(Tokyo),and that the idea is characterized by statism,governmentalism,separation of powers,and the spirit of concessions.Chapter 3 focuses on Kitokurou Ichiki ’s practice during the tenure of Cabinet Tarou Katsura and Shigenobu Okuma.Through an analysis of Kitokurou Ichiki ’s political practices,the bureaucracy of his Hanbatsu Government is once showed clearlyChapter 4 mainly introduces Kitokurou Ichiki ’s practice during his tenure as Privy Counsellor,Vice-President of the Privy Council,Minister of the Palace and President of the Privy Council.During this period,he collaborated with Kimmochi Saionji to uphold the Meiji Constitutional Regime facing many incidents,including The Emperor Organ Theory Incident、February 26 Incident,which slowed down the process of Japanese militarismChapter 5 discusses the status of the idea of "Staatsrechtslenre" and the status of Kitokurou Ichiki.Comparing the constitutional thought of Kitokurou Ichiki with that of Hirobumi Ito and Tatsukichi Minobe,this part demonstrates that Kitokurou Ichiki ’s idea of "Staatsrechtslenre" could serve as a connecting link between the preceding and the following ideas.At the same time,the analysis of the similarities and differences between the ideas of Kitokurou Ichiki and those of the founders of the Constitution,such as Hirobumi Ito,demonstrates the historical status of the early idea of "Emperor Organ Theory".Finally,a vertical and horizontal analysis of Kitokurou Ichiki ’s political practice reveals that he was not a militarist or a democracy supporter,but a conservative who supported the Meiji Constitutional Regime.