Salons for the cultured
The Treaty of Versailles, signed at the Peace Conference, held Germany, the defeated nation, mainly responsible for the war. Germany lost some of its colonies and territories and had to pay reparations 25 times higher than its financial income.
At the suggestion of American President Woodrow Wilson, it was also decided to establish the League of Nations as an organisation for permanent world peace and international cooperation.
In the League, Japan, as the victorious nation, officially took possession of the South Sea Islands, which had been under German control, as a mandate from the League.
With regard to the establishment of the League of Nations, Japan proposed that the abolition of racial discrimination be included in the Covenant of the League. The aim was to eliminate the discrimination suffered by Japanese immigrants in America.
This proposal was approved by a majority of 11 to 5. However, Wilson of the United States, who presided over the meeting, took the liberty of declaring that "important matters must be unanimous," and buried the proposal. This was one of the reasons for the deepening of the rift between Japan and the US.
As for the League of Nations itself, the United States, which had proposed it, decided not to join due to the opposition of the Congress, and its role became limited.
According to Takashi Ose's article "Stefano Yamamoto Shinjiro, a patriot who lived the Catholic faith" (in "Gospel Mission"), Yamamoto accompanied Isamu Takeshita on his outings and receptions during the conference, and also attended the High Military Conference and the Conference on Peace Conditions.
In particular, when Wilson proposed the League of Nations, Yamamoto, together with Yosuke Matsuoka (later Foreign Minister), who was sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, typed up Japan's views within a day and a night, and received high praise from Takeshita.
He accompanied the plenipotentiaries, Kinmochi Saionji and Nobuaki Makino, to the summit meeting of the five major powers from 1 May, and acted as French interpreter.
He has also lectured on Japan and the state of the Catholic faith in Japan to Catholic literary and media figures at the Christian Public Relations Association, chaired by his old friend René Bazin, a member of the French Academy and Professor of law at the University of Angers.
Ose says this was "part of what we would call today's lobbying to make Japan known to foreign dignitaries".
Ose added: "Yamamoto had the language skills and contacts to play this role, but not everyone who is sent abroad can do so. Yamamoto was able to do this because of his personality, his language skills and his Christianity."
Especially for Westerners who find it difficult to remember Japanese names.
"If it was 'Etienne' of the Japanese Navy (the French name of his baptismal name Stephano), he would have been able to remember it at once, and if he could remember the name and had no problem with the language (foreign language), it would be easier to stop him again."
Yamamoto was chosen as an instructor of French at the Imperial Academy after his return to Japan.
The officials speculates that Yamamoto was chosen to teach French at the Imperial Academy after returning to Japan because "people concerned saw how he interacted with foreign dignitaries on an equal footing."
Certainly, Shinjiro Yamamoto's success at the Peace Conference made his name widely known in Japanese diplomatic circles. After the conference, he was entrusted with another important task.
In late July of that year, as he was preparing to return to Japan after attending the conference, he was stopped by the Minister of the Navy in Tokyo, Yuzaburo Kato. This time he was instructed to negotiate alone with the Vatican on the issue of missionaries in the South Sea Islands.
Yamamoto left Paris with the plenipotentiaries and went to Rome alone.
