Labor and Imperial Democracy in Prewar Japan 9780520913301

Citation preview

Labor and Imperial Democracy in Prewar Japan

Twentieth-Century Japan: The Emergence of a World Power

Irwin Scheiner, Editor

1. Labor and Imperial Democracy in Prewar Japan by Andrew Gordon

Labor and Imperial Democracy in Prewar Japan

Andrew Gordon

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley Los Angeles • Oxford II

The illustrations in the book are reprinted, by permission, from the following sources: Ohara Institute for Social Research: figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,23,24,25,26,27,28.

Senji gaho rinji zokan: Tokyo soja gaho (No. 66, September 18, 1905): figures 2, 3, 4, 5. Tanno Setsu: Kakumei undo ni ikiru, ed. Tanaka Uta and Tamashiro Kikue (Tokyo: Keiso shobo, 1969): figures 12, 15. Okamoto Koji, Gama shogun: Minami Kiichi (Tokyo: Privately published, 1971): figure 11.

Zusetsu: Showa no Rekishi (2): Minponshugi no jidai (Tokyo: Shueisha, 1979): figure 1. Chapter 2 draws on and reproduces material from Andrew Gordon, "The Crowd and Politics in Imperial japan: Tokyo: 1905-1908," which first appeared in Past and Present: A Journal of Historical Studies, no. 121 (November 1988): 141-70 (world copyright: The Past and Present Society, 175 Banbury Road, Oxford, England).

This book is a print-on-demand volume. It is manufactured using toner in place of ink. Type and images may be less sharp than the same material seen in traditionally printed University of California Press editions. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. Oxford, England © 1991 by The Regents of the University of California

First Paperback Printing 1992 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gordon, Andrew, 1952Labor and imperial democracy in prewar japan / Andrew Gordon. p. em. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-520-08091-2 1. Working class-japan-Political activity-History-20th century. 2. Labor disputes-japan-History-20th century. 3. Labor movement-japan-History20th century. 4. Riots-japan-History-20th century. 5. Political participationjapan-History-20th century. 6. japan-Politics and government-20th century. I. Title. HD8728.G65 1990 322'.2'095209041-dc20 90-10872 elP Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.§

For Yoshie

This page intentionally left blank

Contents

Ijst of Illustrations

IX

l~ist

Xl

of l~ables, Graphs, and Maps

Abbreviations Preface Introduc:tion PART I. THE CROWD AND LABOR IN T]HE 1\10VEM[ENT FOR IMPERIAL DEMOCRACY,

Xlll

xv

1

11

19°5- 18 1. The Movement for Imperial Democracy 2. The Urban Crowd and Politics, 1905-18 3. Labor Disputes and the Working Class in Tokyo 4. Building a Labor Movement:: Nankatsu Workers and the Yiiaikai

13 26 63 80

VB

Contents

Vlll

PART 2. LABOR UNDER IMPERIAL DEMOCRATIC RULE

5. 6. 7. 8.

Imperial Democracy as a Structure of Rule Nuclei of the Workers' Movement The Labor Offensive in Nankatsu, 1924-29 Working-Class Political Culture under Imperial Democracy

123 125 144 176 204

PART 3. THE COLLAPSE OF IMPERIAL DEMOCRACY

235

9. The Depression and the Workers' Movement 10. The Social Movement Transformed, 1932-35 11. Imperial Fascism, 1935-40

237 270 302

Conclusion

331

Appendix A. Public Assemblies in Tokyo, 1883-

1938

343

Appendix B. Victims of the Kameido Incident, September 4, 1923

345

Bibliographic Essay

349

Index

353

Illustrations

Following page 109: 'THE POI-JITICAL CROWD, WORI(ING-CLASS DEMONSTRATIONS, RALLIES 1. Victory parade during the Russo-Japanese War, 1904 or 1905. 2. Speech from the Shintomiza Theater balcony during the Hibiya riot, 1905. .3. Cro\\Td storming the home minister's residence during the Hibiya riot, 1905. 4. Cro\\Td fleeing police during the Hibiya riot, 1905 . .5 • Crowd destroying streetcars during the I-fibiya riot, 1905. 6. Speaker at a 1926 May Day dernonstration. 7. Arrest of a participant at a 1926 May Day demonstration. 8. Recipients waiting at soup kitchen, 1931 or 1932, Fukagawa. THE EARLY UNION MOVEMEN~r, HIRASAWA KEISHICJHI, KAMEIDO INCIDEN'T

9. Suzuki Bunji addressing the Yuaikai's fifth anniversary convention in 1916. 10. Comlnemorative photo of delegates to the 1916 Yuaikai convention. Hirasawa Keishichi is in front row, center. The female delegate represents a Tokyo local of textile workers. 11. Minami Kiichi in front of his factory in 1921. 12. Watanabe Masanosuke and Tanoo Setsu in the mid 1920s. IX

x

Illustrations

13. Honjo ward in the aftermath of the 1923 earthquake. 14. Family members and friends of victims in the Kameido incident gathered outside Kameido police station in early September 1923. 15. Commen10rative photo at a memorial service for Kameido victims in February 1924.

Following page 292: DISPUTE CULTURE IN NANKATSU 16. Ledger of contributions to support the Ishikawajima shipyard strikers in 1921. 17. A "demonstration" in the form of a procession to supply food to the 6jima Steel Company strike group in 1930. 18. "Street sales battalion" during the October 1930 strike at Daiwa Rubber Company. 19. Speech-meeting to support the strikers at the 6jima Steel Company in 1930, with policeman sitting on stage. 20. Injured workers beaten during the Daiwa Rubber Company strike. 21. Postcard issued to commemorate the 1930 Taya Muslin strike. 22. Union members prepare food for strikers at Tayo Muslin in 1930. 23. Activists in the Women's Alliance (Fujin damei) supporting the Taya Muslin strikers in 1930. 24. Men and women in the strike group at the Tsuge Rubber Company in 1930. 25. Badges and pins of unions in the 1910s and 1920s. 26. Demonstration by the children of 6jima Steel Company strikers in 1930. ELECTIONS UNDER UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE 27. "Candidates Night" speech-meeting in an early universal suffrage election in Tokyo (1928 or 1930). 28. Tokyo candidates of the Social Masses Party celebrate Lower House election victory in 1937 (Asanuma Inejira is first from right).

Tables, Graphs, and Maps

l~ABLES

2.1 Riots in Tokyo, 1905-18 2.2 Occupations of People Arrested or Tried in Tokyo Riots, 1905-18 Labor Disputes in Tokyo, by Industry, 1870-1916 3.1 3.2 Lahor Disputes in Heavy Industry Nationwide, 18781916 3.3 Disputes at Major Shipyards and Arsenals 4.1 Factories in the Nankatsu Region and All Tokyo, 1907-12 4.2 Siz