I was originally approached by the series editor to write this volume in 1976. I was then engaged in research on Anglo-Japanese relations in the 1920s and 1930s which I set aside for the time being in order to take up this project. It proved to be a more extensive subject of study than I had originally imagined and has taken much longer to reach published form. In pursuing research on this theme, I was fortunate to visit Japan twice —in 1978 (with the help of a Hayter grant) and 1982; Korea in 1982; and Canada and the United States in 1981. This enabled me to consult a number of private papers which added to my understanding of the war.
Many excellent studies of the subject have been published (Malozemoff, White, Warner and Lensen to name but a few). Indeed a number of important new studies appeared as this book was going to press, notably Lieven, Lensen's Balance of Intrigue and Quested on Russia in Manchuria. I still thought that the origins of the RussoJapanese war which was my remit within the series was a worthwhile subject for investigation. On the one hand, the Russo-Japanese war seemed to have characteristics which made it relevant to any series studying the origins of war. On the other, it seemed to me that new materials had been published recently which threw light on these origins.
The new publications on the Japanese side are also particularly rich through the typically thorough coverage of Meiji historical materials by the publisher, Haro Shobō. In addition, several important translations have been published: three volumes of The Diplomacy of Japan, 1894-1922 by Kajima Morinosuke; Mutsu Munemitsu's Kenkenroku, edited by Gordon Berger; and Miyazaki Tōten's My 33 Years' Dream by Etō Shinkichi and Marius Jansen. Each of these has vital evidence for our study. We are also grateful for the appearance of selections from the correspondence of four important figures taken from the foreign community engaged on the China coast: the correspondence of Sir Robert Hart in The I.G. in Peking (edited by J. K. Fairbank et al.); George Lensen's selections from the letters of Baron d'Anethan and Sir Ernest Satow; and the correspondence of Dr George Ernest Morrison by Dr Loh Hui-min. Each of these sheds important light on the actual operations of Russia and Japan in China; and, while there may be a British or continental bias in them, they were well-informed and perceptive observers.
I was less satisfied by the picture of decision-making in St Petersburg which emerged from my reading. In order to take a fresh look at this problem I consulted the private papers of three British diplomats at the Russian capital: Sir Charles Scott, the ambassador from 1898 to 1904, (Sir) Charles Hardinge, the secretary (1898-1903) and then the ambassador, and (Sir) Cecil Spring-Rice, who was chargé d'affaires at the critical juncture of the outbreak of war. In view of the multidimensional nature of Russian decision-making, it was necessary to consult these three sources from time to time for contemporary political assessment and for background information. Taken together, they serve as a sort of Greek chorus, making comments on, without being part of, the drama. At the same time, I should stress that this is neither a study of British policy — or indeed of the Anglo-Japanese alliance in another disguise — nor a mere recapitulation of contemporary British attitudes. Perhaps fortunately for my purpose, Scott tended to be receptive to the Russian side of the case, while Hardinge and Spring-Rice were sceptical. The views of these three diplomats on the changing Russian scene will be found in British Documents on Foreign Affairs: Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print: Russia 1859-1914, edited by Dominic Lieven (General Editors: K. Bourne and D. C. Watt), 6 vols, University Publications of America, 1984, which, unfortunately, came to hand too late for inclusion in this volume.
I am under a great obligation to a wide variety of people. For help with material, thanks are due to Mrs E. A. Malozemoff of Oakland, California; Professor J. A. White of the University of Hawaii; Mr E. W. Edwards; Mr I. Gow; Mr R. Scoales; Dr Ann Trotter of the University of Otago; Professor-Doctor A. Schwade of the University of Bochum; Dr D. Mills, of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and the late Professor G. R. Storry of St Anthony's College, Oxford. I owe debts to my colleagues at the London School of Economics, especially Dr A. Polonsky and Professor M. S. Anderson. I must also thank the series editor, Professor H. Hearder, for many improvements. Among Japanese scholars, Dr Yuichi Inouye of the Foreign Ministry, Mr Setsuya Beppu, Dr Matsumura of the Japan Foundation, Professor Okumura and Emeritus Professor Uchiyama of Keio University, have all assisted me by supplying materials. In the final stages, I have received much help from Mrs Irene Perkin and Mrs Susan Shaw.
To librarians in half a hundred libraries who have helped me beyond the call of duty I express my gratitude and appreciation. In particular, I should thank the British Library of Political and Economic Science; the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London; the British Library, London, the Public Record Office, Kew; the Houghton Library, Harvard University; the Sterling Library, Yale University; the Diplomatic Records Office, Tokyo; the National Diet Library, Tokyo; and the Libraries of the Nissan Centre, St Antony's College, Oxford, of Churchill College, Cambridge, and of Cambridge University. In cases where citations have been made from papers held by these libraries, permission has been sought from their custodians and given by them. This is gratefully acknowledged. And more particularly, for permission to quote from papers in their custody, I am grateful to the Syndics of Cambridge University Library (Hardinge papers); to Churchill College, Cambridge (Spring-Rice papers); to the Department of Manuscripts, the British Library (Balfour and Scott papers). Public Record Office documents cited in this work are British Crown copyright and are reprinted by permission of Her Britannic Majesty's Stationery Office.
Many thanks are due to my wife who has tolerated my infatuation with this subject over such a long period.
IAN NISH