Japanese Colonial Taiwan Research Articles

A Comparative Study of the Use of Japanese Majolica Tiles in Modern Japan and Japanese Colonial Taiwan

This paper discussed the connection between “Japanese majolica tiles” in modern Japan and Japanese colonial Taiwan, and the differences in the way tiles are used during these periods from both Japanese and Taiwanese perspectives. Japanese majolica tiles were manufactured in Japan primarily during the Taisho period (1912-1926) and early Showa period (1926-1945), with relief surfaces covered with multicolored lead glazes. The tiles produced in Japan at that time were mainly imitations and developments of a Victorian tile product called majolica, which was imported from England and exported to countries around the world. The results of the survey indicate differences in the use of tiles, with their usage in different architectural styles and cultures becoming apparent. In Japan, the connection between tiles and modern concepts can be noted. In addition, post-modern tile production and architectural preservation suggest that differences in the amount of extant Japanese majolica tiles in Japan and Taiwan have arisen.

A STUDY ON THE HARBOUR CONSTRUCTIONS IN TAKAO TAIWAN IN THE MODERN AGE―FOCUSING ON THE FIRST AND SECOND HARBOUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS OF TAKAO

This paper aims to clarify the process of the first and second harbour construction projects of Takao in Japanese Colonial Taiwan from 1908 to 1918. The Government of Japanese Colonial Taiwan tried a complete mechanization in dredging, however, the dredging boats were always confronting malfunctions, thus, tons of labour were used to cover the malfunctions. Concrete as a new material for harbour construction in the 1910s was all produced in Takao by using the gravel and ash in Taiwan. Takao harbour was the third example of using Concrete Caisson to build breakwaters in the history of Japanese harbour constructions.

Family Livelihood, Social Class and Mothers’ Self-cognition: The Transformation of “Mothering” in Japanese Colonial Taiwan (1895–1945)

Based on oral histories and diaries of women who lived in the Japanese colonial period, this article analyzes the role and transformation of “mothering” in Taiwan, examining how the Han Chinese patriarchal society in Taiwan responded to colonialization and modernization in the early twentieth century. It reveals that most Taiwanese women at that time married in their teens and began to take on the tasks of mothers before the age of twenty. Difference in social class served as a key element affecting mothering practices. Rural and lower-class mothers had no choice but to prioritize productive labor over physical childcare; women of the traditional upper class could afford nannies; the emerging group of “new women” hired lower-class women to help with household tasks and childcare while they developed their professional careers. In addition to the physical care of children, Taiwanese mothers put great emphasis on the education and future development of children, especially sons. However, as the custom of “daughters-in-law-to-be” was quite common, from an early age many girls faced only their “mothers-in-law-to-be” instead of their biological mothers. “Mothering” was thus absent in these women’s lives, complicating the meaning of “motherhood.”

Horai Rice in the Making of Japanese Colonial Taiwan

Author(s): Leow, Wei Yi | Abstract: In 1912, Eikichi Iso arrived to serve as a plant breeder in the Japanese colony of Taiwan. Iso and his researchers developed crossbred Horai rice that produced the round grains desired by Japanese consumers. This article explains how Horai rice made Taiwan into an economically viable possession of the Japanese Empire. Iso matched the terrain and conditions of Taiwan to the regions of the Japanese home islands closest in character, and the varieties from each region were selected for experimentation at field stations located in the matching Taiwanese region. The experiments yielded new varieties of rice that fostered trade relations between Taiwan and the home islands. This change brought about higher incomes but also increased costs for the farmers. The addition of a new cash crop unsettled Japanese attempts to manage the sugar industry, instigating greater state intervention in rice markets, even as war demand meant that Taiwanese rice became indispensable. The success of Horai gave Taiwan an identity as a rice colony, which its leaders sought to leverage as expertise to colonize newly conquered Hainan. The movement of people, ideas, and the genetic materials of rice plants created a “Japanized” Taiwan that in turn expanded beyond the shores of the island colony. Keywords: Taiwan, Japanese Empire, history of agriculture, history of science, rice, Horai, genetics

日治時期台灣「平埔族」之統治理論中的意義

日治時期台灣「平埔族」之統治理論中的意義

The 'Japanese Old Custom Research Project' and its main characters

이 글은 일제가 조선을 식민지로 지배하기 위해 실시한 기초조사사업 가운데 ‘구관제도조사사업’에 참여한 인물들의 인적 계보를 고찰하여 그것의 내적 맥락을 밝히고자 한 것이다. 일제는 1906년 통감부를 설치한 이래 부동산법조사회 (1906.7∼1907.11), 법전조사국(1908.1∼1910.9)을, 1910년 조선을 병탄한 이후에는 조선총독부 취조국(1910.10∼1912.4), 참사관실(1912.3∼1914), 중추원(1915∼1937)을 통해 조선의 부동산, 관습, 역사, 문화 등을 조사하여 조선을 파악하고자 하였다. 첫째 1896년에 일제의 식민지 대만에서 관습조사에 참여했던 관료들이 1906년 이후 조선과 만주의 ‘구관제도조사사업’에 참여하기도 하였다. 일본제국주의의 대만을 비롯한 조선, 만주 등 동아시아 식민지배 정책의 인적 맥락으로 서로 연 결되어 있음을 확인하였다. 둘째 부동산법조사회를 주도하였던 梅謙次郞, 中山成太郞 등의 인물은 이 후 법전조사국에서 중요한 역할을 수행하였으며, 조선총독부 취조국에 참여한 小田幹治郞 등의 인물은 참사관실에서 중요 역할을 담당하기 도 하였다. 셋째 일제의 ‘구관제도조사사업’은 경험이 축적되면서 조직과 인원, 그리고 업무가 확대되면서 조사사업이 심화되었다. 일제는 이 사업의 결과물을 정리하여 식민사관이라는 식민통치의 이데올로기를 생산하였다.This article aims to examine the human genealogy of the people who participated in the ‘Old Custom Research Project among the basic research projects conducted by the Japanese colonial government to control the Joseon colonization, and to clarify its internal context. Since the establishment of the Resident-General in 1906, the Japanese government has been involved in the Research Society of Real Estate Law(1906.7-1907.11), Law Research Bureau(1908.1-1910.9), Joseon Government General Interrogation Bureau(1910.10-1912.4), Joseon Government General Secretary House(1912.3-1914), and Joseon Government General Central House(1915 ~ 1937) to understand the realities, customs, history, and culture of Joseon. Based on the research project, in 1938, the Joseon History Compilation Committee edited 37 volumes of Joseon History and established a colonial view of colonialism to permanently control Joseon. First, in 1896, the bureaucrats who participated in the customary survey in the Japanese colonial Taiwan participated in the ‘Old Custom Research Project’ of Joseon and Manchuria since 1906. It is confirmed that the Japanese imperialism is linked to the human context of East Asian colonization policy including Taiwan, Joseon and Manchuria. Secondly, Ume Genjiro and Nakayama Narutaro, who led the Research Society of Real Estate Law, played an important role in the Law Research Bureau. And Oda Mikijiro, who participated in the Joseon Government General Interrogation Bureau, played an important role in the Joseon Government General Secretary House. Third, as the experience accumulated in the ‘Old Custom Research Project’, the research project was deepened as the organization, personnel, and work expanded. The Japanese government produced the colonial view of colonialism by organizing the results of this project.

三澤真美恵著, 『「帝国」と「祖国」のはざま-植民地期台湾映画人の交渉と越境-』, 岩波書店, 二〇一〇・八刊, A5, 三八三頁, 八二〇〇円

三澤真美恵著, 『「帝国」と「祖国」のはざま-植民地期台湾映画人の交渉と越境-』, 岩波書店, 二〇一〇・八刊, A5, 三八三頁, 八二〇〇円

Interlinked Contracts: An Empirical Study

This study investigates contractual relations between farmers and sugar mills in Japanese colonial Taiwan. Our investigation is based on a model of interlinked contracts that is adapted from Gangopadhyay and Sengupta (1998). The validity of our model's predictions is verified by analysing a dataset consisting of contracts between Taiwan's cane farmers and sugar mills. Our data suggest that the contractual relationship is consistent with a scenario in which the interest rates charged by sugar mills on cash loans to farmers are set in order to prevent the diversion of funds to other uses.

STUDY ON BUILDINGS OF THE TAIWAN PAVILION IN THE FIFTH NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION IN 1903

The purpose of this paper is to clarify buildings which were moved from cities in Japanese colonial Taiwan as parts of the Taiwan pavilion for the Fifth National Industrial Exhibition in 1903 in Osaka, Japan. This paper notes two of these buildings. Tokukei-do, originally a family's mausoleum in Tainan, was required for the site of shrine of Prince Kitashirakawa. The stage for dancing called Bugaku-do originally existed in the courtyard of the government office of the Qing Dynasty in Taipei, which was converted into Taiwan Governor's Office. These buildings which were moved from Taiwan appeared as a result of changes in appearance in cities in the early days of Japan's rule in Taiwan.