Makiko’s Diary: A Merchant Wife in 1910 Kyoto 9781503622449

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MAKIKO'S DIARY A Merchant Wife in

I9IO

Kyoto

Nakano Makiko, ca.

1910. (Nakano Takash1)

MAKIKO'S DIARY A Merchant Wife in

I9IO

Kyoto

NAKANO MAKIKO Translated, with Introduction and Notes, by

KAZUKO SMITH

Stanford University Press, Stanford, California

The text of the diary was origmally published in Japanese under the title Meqi yonJusannen Kyoto: Aru shoka no wakazuma no nikki, © 1981, Shinyosha.

Stanford University Press, Stanford, California English translation, introductory chapters, notes, and epilogue © 199 5 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University Printed in the United States of America CIP data appear at the end of the book

FOREWORD: On the Occasion of the Publication of the English Edition of Makiko's Diary

Nakano Takashi

When I published my mother's old diary, Meiji yonjusannen Kyoto: Aru shoka no wakazuma no nikki (Kyoto in 1910: The diary of the young wife of a merchant house), along with my editorial comments and annotations in April 1981, I was primarily targeting the younger generation of Japanese. My hope was to give them an opportunity to free themselves from their preconceptions about the life and culture of the Japanese people during the Meiji and Taisho periods and to further their understanding of those times. Now that the English edition is about to be published for a Western readership, it will mean that her diary will also promote increased understanding of Japan in the wider world. My mother knew that in my doctoral dissertation, which was published in 1964, I had quoted from her diary as well as from the diaries of my great-grandfather. She understood that I thought it important to use personal documents in my research and had been a supporter of my studies from early on, so that when I asked her about the idea of publishing her diary she was not surprised. She was not totally convinced, however, and asked, "Why would a diary of a twenty-year-old woman be of interest to anybody else?" In her characteristically mischievous way, she also said, "Wouldn't our relatives of my generation be surprised and shocked if they found out about this!"-and gave me her permission. She was looking forward to its publication but, sad to say, died at the age of 88, three years short of its appearance. Had she known that her diary was also going to be published in the United States, she would truly have been surprised. When Kazuko Smith approached me with the idea of translating

v1

Foreword

the diary, I was more than happy to give her my consent. She was born in Japan and taught in the Japanese language program at Cornell University for more than twenty years. She and her husband, Professor Robert J. Smith, an internationally known cultural anthropologist who studies Japan, are old friends of mine. Who could be better qualified to do the translation? I had an opportunity to read a draft of her Introduction, and, struck by her deep understanding of the subject as a Japanese woman herself, I realized how fortunate it was for my mother and myself that she had undertaken the translation. The detailed questions she has raised with me, not only in the course of doing the translation of the diary, but also in writing the extensive Introduction, the description of my mother's social world, and the Epilogue, have required some rethinking of many issues on my part and made me realize that further explanation of some points would have been very helpful to my Japanese readers. I wish to take this occasion to express my deepest gratitude to Kazuko Smith, from the standpoint of a researcher of modern Japanese social history and life histories-and as Makiko's son.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to those who have been so generous with their time in helping me bring Makiko's diary to an English-speaking audience. I am particularly grateful to Professor Nakano Takashi, who offered me encouragement and provided the kind of information and depth of insight that could have come only from Makiko's son. Many people have been kind enough to read the manuscript in its many different states. Carol Kammen, a local historian who has made extensive use of diaries in her research, gave the very first version of the manuscript a characteristically expert and thoughtful reading. William B. Hauser's suggestions and criticisms were informed by his long involvement in the study of the history of the Kyoto-Osaka area. Margery Wolf, one of my oldest American friends, took time out from her own busy schedule to give generously of her expertise as a feminist and anthropologist of East Asia. Anne Walthall encouraged me to complete the task I had started and offered detailed critical comments from the vantage point of a historian of Japan and a specialist in women's studies. Marian Wittink gave me invaluable insight into Japanese women and how they relate to others socially. Arnold Olds helped guide me in the preparation of the maps, charts, and illustrations. The calligraphy at the beginning of each month in the diary is by Kyoko Selden, who literally and figuratively lent me her hand at a critical moment. Muriel Bell and Ellen F. Smith of Stanford University Press have offered expert advice in editing and designing the book. For their generous assistance in my search for appropriate photographs, I am indebted to Professor Shirahata Yozaburo of Nihon Bunka Kenkyii Center; Okukubo

vm

Acknowledgments

Atsumu ofTankosha in Kyoto; the Kyoto Prefectural Archives; Henry D. Smith II of Columbia University; Martie W. Young and Jackie Clark, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University; Margarita Winkel and Chris Uhlenbeck of Leiden; and Aaron Martin Cohen and Suga Hiroto of Tokyo. Finally, I must acknowledge the contribution of Robert J. Smith, my sternest and most persistent critic throughout this endeavor in every dimension of the undertakmg. K.S.

CONTENTS

A Note on Names and Terms xi A Guide to the Most Frequently Mentioned Names xiv

Introduction

I

Makiko's Social World 39 Makiko's Diary 57 Epilogue

229

Bibliography 239 Name Index

241

General Index

24 5

Note on Illustration Sources 25 5

MAPS AND FIGURES

Map r. Kyoto ca. Map

2.

1900

xvi

Selected Sites in Japan

Map 3· Northeast Asia,

1910

xvm XIX

The Nakano and Nakao Families in

1910

The Nakano Pharmacy about facing p. 26

Based on a Sketch

1910,

xm

Floor Plan of the Nakano House and Store facing p. 27

Photographs of Makiko's family and friends and of Kyoto appear throughout the book.

A NOTE ON NAMES AND TERMS

Names are given in the Japanese order, surname first. A word is in order concerning Makiko's somewhat capricious use of the words affixed to either the surname or the given name. These words are -san, -sama, -chan, -sensei, -don, -han, and -yan, and, being gender-blind, they pose something of a problem for the translator. None of these terms makes distinction as to marital status, including the Kyoto localisms -han and -yan. The term -chan, a diminutive of -san, is used almost exclusively for children of both sexes. Where it is important to know whether the individual is a boy or girl, I have given the information in a footnote. The term sensei, roughly equivalent to "teacher," is used for distinguished individuals and professionals. The term -don is used only for servants, male and female. For the convenience of the reader of English, I have altered some of the names as they appear in the diary. For example, Makiko never referred to her brother by his name, "Manzo," but always as ani (elder brother). Similarly, she called her half-sister Senbon no neesan (elder sister who lives in Senbon), but for the sake of simplicity, I have used "Elder Sister Koshima." Kinship usage in Japan forbids use of the first name alone for persons who occupy a status superior to the speaker, even if they are chronologically younger. The reason that Makiko refers to her brother-in-law Hidesaburo by his name even though he is two years older is that, as the wife of his elder brother, she outranks him in the household hierarchy. Makiko sometimes uses the terms "uncle" (oji-san) and "aunt" (oba-san) in referring to older relatives, old family friends, and neigh-

xu

Note on Names and Terms

bors who are of her parents' generation. As in American English, these terms are used for non-kin to indicate a particular feeling of closeness and a degree of intimacy. Makiko's style does have one interesting characteristic that probably reflects the usage of the time. She uses -sama, today considered more formal than -san, for some of her friends and other intimates, such as Matsui Jisuke, who marries her husband's sister. He is invariably referred to as Matsui-sarna. In giving recipes, Makiko uses the Japanese units of measure: I sho equals 1.8 liters (or 1.9 quarts); there are Io go in I sho and IO sho in I to. In I9IO the yen was equal to about $0.50. There are IOO sen in I yen and IO rin in I sen. There are no reliable statistics for family income or average annual wage in I9IO, but I have found figures for the average annual income of certain categories of worker at about this time. In I907 a male certified primary school teacher's annual income was ¥ 260; a female earned ¥ I8o. In I9IO, a male farm laborer's annual wages were ¥47, and a female's ¥28.50, while male domestic servants earned ¥54.72, and females¥ 3 5.52 (Toyo Keizai Shinposha). In I909 the annual wage of a female silk-reeler employed by a spinning company in Nagano prefecture was about ¥6o (Tsurumi, p. 72). The only reference to an annual wage in Makiko's diary concerns her father's housekeeper, who was seeking an increase from ¥48 to ¥so.

The Families of Nakano Chuhachi, Tanii, and the "Eastside" in 1910

It :/; 0

i

(/)

;ili~o 6Uba