Early Meiji Research Articles

Kritik Sosial Natsume Soseki dalam Novel Bocchan

This research aims to reveal Natsume Soseki's attitudes and views in the form of social criticism regarding the phenomenon of social deviation in Japanese society due to the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912) in his novel, Bocchan. Social problems often arise in modern societies, including what happened in Japan during modernization from 1868-1912, called the Meiji Restoration. These social problems include social and cultural dislocation due to the penetration of dominant Western culture and the marginal position of traditional elements, especially in the second decade of the early Meiji era, when Japan aggressively adopted Western culture on a large scale. This social phenomenon can be seen from the decline in Japanese society's appreciation for traditional social and cultural values while simultaneously placing Western culture in a superior position. The theory used in this research is Alan Swingewood's Literary Sociology theory. Through this theory, we will analyze the influence of Natsume Soseki's social background as the author of the novel Bocchan, as well as his ideological tendencies in responding to the symptoms of social deviation in Japanese society (1868-1912), which became the background for the creation of the novel Bocchan. After that, it will be analyzed to what extent the novel Bocchan can reflect social phenomena. The analysis was done by connecting the social aspects of the novel with the historical, social reality that was the background for its creation, namely Japanese society during the Meiji Era (1868-1912). Next, the author will see what social criticism is depicted in the novel. The results of the research show that the novel Bocchan describes Natsume Soseki's social criticism of the phenomenon of socio-cultural dislocation in Japanese society due to Westernization during the Meiji era, as well as the problems of a group of people who persist with old habits in the condition of the Japanese nation which is changing towards a developed and modern country.

The Flowing Chō : Cart Transportation and the Redefinition of Japan's Early Modern Urban Space

Abstract: This article proposes a reinterpretation of the meaning and function of the basic sociospatial unit of the early modern Japanese city, the chō . It argues that chō is best understood not as a fixed unit of space but as a conception that could expand, change, and even move. Takanawa-chō, a peripheral area south of Edo, was transformed into the gateway to the city by its association with the transportation industry. The dynamic movement of this particular "flowing chō " not only reflected but also drove the socioeconomic transformation of the city throughout the Tokugawa period and into the early Meiji era.

From “Defilement” to “Modernity”: How Japan's Encounter with the West Brought Beef to the Table

The long Tokugawa – Meiji transition (1850s – 1880s) is arguably one of the most profound socio-economic transitions that Japan underwent in its history. This paper uses beef consumption in Japan as a lens to further investigate the players involved in this transition. Historically more eschewed than other types of meat and tightly associated with the notion of the “other,” beef became an embodiment of progress and modernity during the Meiji Period. Through tracing the historical shift in the Japanese perception of beef, this paper argues that the evolution of beef consumption corresponds to the radically shifting attitudes of the Japanese towards the West. To address the current research gap in the reception and integration of beef into Japanese cuisine, this paper starts the investigation from the late Tokugawa period. The early story of a “beef culture” reflects that a large part of Japan's modernization efforts was initiated by pioneering merchants and curious individuals in the late Tokugawa treaty ports. The paper also examines the diverse reactions of common Japanese toward beef, an essential part of the larger “westernization” campaign during the early Meiji period. Through popular folk literature and artworks, journals from western visitors, and an array of sources on Japanese food market, this paper illustrates that as Japan encountered Western culture in the nineteenth century, her people simultaneously resisted and adapted to it, creating a unique blend of tradition and modernity that was embodied in dishes like gyūnabe (beef stew).

Amabiko: The Oceanic Ape and Its Rhizomatic Body

Abstract The amabiko アマビコ is a chimerical aquatic hybrid similar to an oceanic ape with oracular and thaumaturgic powers, which inspired ludic and religious micro-practices in the late Edo (1603–1868) and early Meiji periods (1868–1912). The present study investigates the genealogy of the amabiko and the pivotal role played by itinerant sellers known as news criers (yomiuri) in the diffusion of images and stories concerning the amabiko, its worshiping protocols, and talismanic effects. Beyond the philological analysis of written documents, I also examine hitherto understudied prints and local gazetteers’ illustrations to understand the salvific value and “ocular luck” (ganpuku) associated with the amabiko. Moreover, this article shows how the socio-religious milieu concerning the amabiko had a trans-social nature, spanning both elite and subaltern classes. The amabiko’s physicality also provides a unique opportunity to explore the uncanny and polysemic contact areas between human and nonhuman bodies.

Diachronic Changes in Kyorinsuji"s Spellings Published in the Early Meiji Era: Focusing on the Replacement of "hɐ" with "heo-"

Diachronic Changes in Kyorinsuji"s Spellings Published in the Early Meiji Era: Focusing on the Replacement of "hɐ" with "heo-"

A Political Consideration on the Japan-Italy TreatyRevision Relations During the Inoue Kaoru Foreign Affairs Era (1879-1887) Centering on Japanese and Italian Primary Sources

In the early Meiji Era, the revision of the so-called “Unequal Treaties” was an issue of vital importance to the Japanese government. In particular, since the early 1880s Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru (1836-1915), unlike his predecessor Terashima Munenori (1832-1893), who had given priority to the acquisition of tariff autonomy, sought to include in the negotiations with foreign powers also the abolition of extraterritoriality. In this context, the Kingdom of Italy found itself playing a significant role in Inoue’s foreign policy in the 1870s after the Italian diplomats in Tokyo had shown a strong interest in treaty revision aiming to obtain the right for the Italian traders to circulate freely in Japan’s inland areas in exchange for the renunciation of their extraterritorial rights. Since the Japan-Italy Treaty Revision Relations during the management of the Japanese Foreign Ministry by Inoue (1879-1887) have not received sufficient consideration by either Italian or Japanese historiographies, this research aims to examine it in detail, focusing the analysis on the strategic importance that the Kingdom of Italy had for the Japan government in the 1880s. Some still unclarified issues will be illuminated mainly by making use of Japanese primary sources and integrating them with the Italian ones.

Between the ideal and reality: two conceptions of idealism in early Meiji Japan

This article examines the reception of idealism in Japanese philosophy during the earlier half of the Meiji period, focusing on the work of two pioneering philosophers of that time: Inoue Tetsujirō and Ōnishi Hajime. Due to their disputes over the Imperial Rescript on Education, the two philosophers are commonly understood as standing in a dichotomic relation in terms of their political ideologies: Inoue as a nationalist and Ōnishi as a liberal. Contrastingly, their respective philosophies are both often loosely identified as belonging to the genealogy of the theory of phenomena qua reality. This article examines whether it is tenable to attempt an identification of the nature of their philosophies notwithstanding their political allelism. By examining the notions of ‘the ideal’ and ‘reality’ in their metaphysics, it is concluded that the two thinkers have opposing conceptions of idealism: for Inoue, idealism is the reduction of the ideal into reality; for Ōnishi, idealism is the pursuit of the ideal. In this sense, this article shows that their conceptions of idealism can be understood more coherently if the analysis takes into account their political perspectives.

Machine‐reeling technology diffusion in early Meiji Japan's silk industry

AbstractUsing 1880 s panel data from Yamanashi and Gifu prefectures in Japan, we estimated the diffusion factors and total factor productivity (TFP) in machine‐reeling technology in Japan's silk‐reeling sector. While the cost of distance through the traditional highway from the Shimosuwa‐shuk post town in the Nagano Prefecture has a negative correlation with technology diffusion, the correlation of silk production per population is positive. Machine‐reeling technology is raw‐material‐intensive and does not show increasing returns to scale. While the TFP in Yamanashi is higher than in Gifu, machine‐reeling output expansion is larger in the latter.

Rangaku and Translation in the Early Meiji in Japan: Creation of Translated Words

Rangaku and Translation in the Early Meiji in Japan: Creation of Translated Words

Characteristics of “Daikoku‐bashira” and atrium of townhouses in Takayama—Correlation between the dimensions and position of the maximum section column and atrium

AbstractThe maximum section column of townhouses in Takayama can be classified into type A [earthen floor type] and type B [living space type]. The dimensions of maximum section columns tended to increase as the plane scale increased and the frontage widened. The atrium area tended to expand in the early Meiji period. We observed that the form of a maximum section column standing in one straight line at a rectangle atrium became the form of a maximum section column standing crossing‐axis in the plane of the structure of ridge direction and the span at irregularly shaped atrium, together complicating the plane and atrium shapes.

The Concept of ‘Oriental Despotism’ in Modern Japanese Intellectual Discourse

This article explores the historical semantic changes of the concept ‘Oriental despotism’ in modern Japan. In premodern Japanese political discourses, the term sensei (despotic rule) was already widely known among Confucian scholars via the ancient Chinese classic Zuo Zhuan. However, it was the introduction and wide circulation of Montesquieu’s De l‘esprit des lois (The Spirit of Law, 1748) in the early Meiji period that instilled in the modern Japanese language the concept Toyoteki senseishugi (Oriental despotism), a complex orientalist explanation of Asia’s authoritarian system of rules. Though first a concept that informed the Meiji authority of the civilizational hierarchy of different forms of government and warned of the need for constitutional democracy, Oriental despotism became, in the course of Japan’s growing encounters with its Asian neighbours after the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), the theoretical premise of a ‘stagnant Asia’ and served as an ideological justification for Japan’s expansion in Asia. This article analyses the different perspectives, arguments, and rhetorical manoeuvres of the Japanese political and social scientists who most actively contributed to the discourse on Oriental despotism from the early Meiji period to the postwar era. It identifies four independent yet related discourses on Oriental despotism in modern Japan and argues that the influx to Japan in the 1930s and 1940s of theories on society’s modern transformation had ultimately determined how this concept would be interpreted, applied, and understood in postwar Japan.

Rethinking the Interdependence of Buddhism and the State in Late Edo and Meiji Japan

This article asks how the Buddhist paradigm of the interdependence between the Buddha’s law and the ruler’s law was modified over the centuries and reinterpreted by nineteenth-century authors in the face of rapid political, social, and epistemic changes. An analysis of relevant texts reveals continuities as well as discontinuities. While the paradigm’s basic function of guaranteeing autonomy and protection to Buddhist institutions remained largely unchanged, remarkable transformations in the argumentation are evident. Despite, or because of, the precarious position of Buddhism in the early Meiji period, Buddhist authors from this era choose an apologetic strategy. With some slight differences, they emphasize almost exclusively the intramundane benefits of Buddhism and thus defend themselves against the accusation that Buddhism is solely relevant to otherworldly matters. The most radical innovation, however, is the assertion that all secular norms and rules of governance are ultimately Buddhist in origin.

Translation/Adaptation in the late Edo and English literature in the early Meiji: From the perspectives of Translation Studies

It is said that the literary texts cannot be fully appreciated unless it is read in the original text in its native language. Professor Miki Sato agrees that reading the original version is vital and also believes that considering translations of the work can be an important tool to understand the impact of literature. Sato is based at Sapporo University, Japan, and her work involves a contextual approach in which she focuses on the translation of foreign works into Japanese. Currently, she is exploring the reception of foreign literature from the Edo period (1603-1868) to the Meiji (1868-1912) periods. Sato is working to connect knowledge of foreign literature from the early-modern era with that of the modern period and showcase the role of translation studies (TS) in bridging the divide between research on literary translations of these two time periods. Her own field of TS can traverse boundaries created by vertically-divided academic fields. The key to translation is considering what can be gained. Sato believes it is important to clarify the sometimes ambiguous terminology regarding translation, which will ultimately lead to greater understanding of literary works. By focusing on the translations and the context around them, Sato is seeking to put together a map of similarities, differences and the impact of translations beyond the disciplinary boundaries.

Performing The Politics of Translation in Modern Japan: Staging The Resistance by Aragorn Quinn

Reviewed by: Performing The Politics of Translation in Modern Japan: Staging The Resistance by Aragorn Quinn David Jortner PERFORMING THE POLITICS OF TRANSLATION IN MODERN JAPAN: STAGING THE RESISTANCE. By Aragorn Quinn. London and New York: Routledge, 2020. 169 pp. Hardcover, $128.00; paperback, $39.16. "Political theatre" is a term loaded with a variety of meanings. In the history of Japanese theatre, especially in the Meiji and Taishō eras, political theatre is often used in conversations about the Jiyū Gekijō (Free Theatre, 1909–1919) and the Tsukiji Shōgekijō (Tsukiji Little Theatre, 1924–1928) as well as the work of playwrights and artists such [End Page 421] as Hijikata Tatsumi and Kubo Sakae. Inherent in this discussion is the connection between political, modern, and "Western;" for many of these artists modernity was inimically linked to political activism and new forms of theatre. As Aragorn Quinn aptly demonstrates in his work Performing the Politics of Translation in Modern Japan, during the early Meiji Restoration era performance and memory was deeply connected with explorations of term such as liberty (jiyū) and revolution (kakumei). The text demonstrates how the engagement of these words and the world of performance extends from the Restoration through the Proletarian Theatre movement and into the postwar world. With this book Quinn has done a deep dive into the intersections between performance, politics, and language. In doing so, he has created an important resource for scholars of Japanese and political theatre. Quinn's book is divided into 5 chapters, but it is better seen as an exploration of three different periods in Japanese theatre: The Freedom and People's Rights Movement, the Proletarian Movement, and the Occupation/postwar period. What connects all of these periods in Quinn's argument is the connection between their performances and the differing ideas (and translations) of political/cultural terms such as "liberty" and "revolution." The first chapter looks at how "liberty" was translated in the early Meiji period and how that manifested itself through productions of William Shakespeare's plays and the performances of Kawakami Otojirō. One of the highlights in this chapter is the translation, publication, and production histories of works such as Tsubouchi Shōyō's The Amazing Story of Caesar: The Legacy of the Sharpness of Liberty's Sword (Jiyū no tachi nagori no kireaji: Shiizaru kidan), his translation of Julius Caesar, as well as Kawashima Keizō's The Rise and Fall of Rome (Rōma seisuikan), his translation of the same play. This chapter also includes how these translations were connected with the Association for Theatre Reform (Engeki kairyō kai). In addition, Quinn illustrates how this terminology was used by Kawakami Otojirō and by other political theatre (shōshi shibai) performances. The second chapter explores plays of the Meiji Restoration. One of the more interesting elements of this chapter is a reclamation of Sasaki Takamaru's place in theatre history. Sasaki was involved with the Forerunner Theater (Seunkuza) as well as the Avant-Garde Theater (Zen'eiza). Much of the chapter is devoted to an analysis of his play The Secret Account of Tsukuba (Tsukuba hiroku). One of the delights of Quinn's text is his inclusion of segments of the play in both Japanese and in his translation; one wishes for a complete translation of the play. Quinn's analysis of Sasaki gives an interesting reading as to why the Proletarian Theatre movement failed to foment revolution and can prove as an interesting model for other leftist writers of this period. [End Page 422] Chapter Three looks at plays which take the attempted assassination of Itagaki Taisuke in 1882 as their primary subject matter. For Quinn, "these plays sit at important transitions in performance conventions in modern Japanese theater and are uniquely situated to highlight the inter-relationship of … seemingly disparate performance modes" (p. 81), such as kyūgeki (old theatre), sōshi, and shingeki (new theatre). In this chapter Quinn raises many interesting possible readings of leftist theatre while looking at the texts of one night pickle plays (ichiyazuke) by Kawakami, Sudō Sadanori, and Sasaki. This chapter argues for several interesting ideas about expanding Japanese theatre scholarship—he argues for a "long nineteenth century" approach to...

Taste of Civilization: The Acceptance of Beef Appeared in Aguranabe in the Early Meiji Era

This study is to examine through Kanagaki Robun’s Aguranabe how beef, which was considered a symbol of civilization, was accepted and what changes were made in society as a result in the early Meiji period. At the time of the publication of Aguranabe, Japanese society was implementing Westernization policies with the aim of “civilization enlightenment” and “national prosperity and defense” along with rapid changes in the political system. The primary elements discussed in Aguranabe are as follows. First, Aguranabe details the process of resolving the “Kegare,” which was considered to be a hindrance to the acceptance of beef. In the beginning of the Japanese Westernization campaigns, the government and educated individuals introduced beef in terms of a “new civilization,” which can be said to have been somewhat successful. The characters in Aguranabe testify that beef is a symbol of civilization as well as a healthy food product to consume. The second element in Aguranabe describes the irony in how the government and the highly educated at the time insisted on accepting a Western diet for those in power, however, the general public was also participating in this movement through consuming a beef “hot pot.” This point seems to have been overlooked thus far. It is also noteworthy that the beef hot pot that the general populace consumed was in a form that was more acceptable to them, rather than adopting the unfamiliar foreign cooking method and utensils. The third element that Aguranabe delineates is the perception of the “individual” that appeared in the space of a beef hot pot restaurant. The consumer experienced a sense of liberation by eating beef, overcoming status differences and becoming on par with those present. In particular, the Japanese populace predicted the birth of the individual that the Meiji society was constructing by their insistence of utilizing Western technology and expanding knowledge through newspapers.

Western “Money Doctors” in Early Meiji Japan: Foreign Employees in the Ministry of Finance

Western “Money Doctors” in Early Meiji Japan: Foreign Employees in the Ministry of Finance

Debate and the Performance of Citizenship in Early Meiji Japan

Debate and the Performance of Citizenship in Early Meiji Japan

The Japanese Translations of the Hebrew Bible: History, Inventory and Analysis (Doron B. Cohen, Leiden: Brill, 2013)

The Japanese Translation of the Hebrew Bible: History, Inventory and Analysis (Leiden: Brill, 2013) is the first of its kind, that is, the first English scholarly book focusing on the history of translating the Hebrew Bible into the Japanese language. It compares and analyzes 12 full translations (A-1…A-12), 16 partial translations (B-1…B-16), 13 fragmentary translations (C-1…C-13), and 6 further editions of the Bible (D-1…D-6). The book consists of two main parts: part one (History and Inventory) and part two (Analysis and Translated Verses). Part one has three chapters. Chapter 1 is introduction which deals with The Bible in Japan (1.1), Christianity in Japan (1.2), Translation (1.3), and Scope and Method (1.4).<BR> Chapter 2 talks about a historical review of Bible translation according to several periods: the Kirishitan Period (2.1), the Bible in China (2.2), the 19th Century and Early Meiji (2.3), from Late Meiji until World War II (2.4), and the Post-World War II Period (2.5). And Chapter 3 introduces various kinds of Japanese Bible in four categories: full translations (3.1), partial translations in book form (3.2), fragmentary translations, early digests and partial translation in magazines (3.3), and some further editions of the Bible, using previous translations (3.4).<BR> Part two has four chapters. Chapter 4 focuses its study on Deuteronomy 32:8-9, and compares and analyzes 12 different full Japanese translations. In each translation, the author gives a Japanese translation of two verses and their transliteration. However, he does not give the English translation of the given Japanese translation of the verses. Unless the reader is fluent in Japanese, he/she could not understand what the Japanese translation means. With only the Japanese verses and their transliteration, the readers are unable to see what the author explicates.<BR> Chapter 5 deals with Psalm 23 in various translations as well as the analysis of words and expressions like YHWH ro‘i, mizmor ledavid, and many others. Furthermore, the author touches on the issue of faithfulness in the process of translating Psalm 23. In 5.5, he also talks about the three early versions of Psalm 100 and the identity of the translators. Chapter 6 chooses several examples of translation and compares them. Some passages from Genesis, Proverbs, and Job are picked and analyzed. In 6.4, Hebraism in the Japanese translations are discussed in two categories: Hebraism retained and Hebraism avoided. Chapter 7, the last chapter mentions several issues including faithfulness and new translation or revision. It ends with the author’s personal perspective appreciating the enormous efforts of the missionary translators and the Japanese assistants.<BR> Although there are some weaknesses in this book, the beneficial aspects are much more than enough. I hope someday this kind of study is published on the Korean translations of the Hebrew Bible.

A Study on Mast Installation Procedure of Japanese Wooden Vessel of Edo Era, Bezaisen

Bezaisen, a Japanese typical wooden vessel of Edo era, is characterized by its single large sail supported by one set of huge mast. On the installation procedure of the mast, some references are available such as the record prepared by Armand Paris who was a lieutenant of French navy visiting Japan in early Meiji era. But those did not cover the procedure in detail to get overall picture. In this paper, the procedure is studied based on some calculations considering shapes, sizes, weights and center of gravities of the sail and mast on the reconstructed Bezaisen “Naniwa-maru" as well as its construction records.

A Road to Commercial Education as a Social Institution in the Early Meiji Era:

A Road to Commercial Education as a Social Institution in the Early Meiji Era: