Against the backdrop of victories in war, Japan entered a full-scale industrial revolution, while modern literature and Western music also flourished. Let us examine Meiji society in its later years, when light and shadow intersected.
Basic Knowledge
During the first half of the Meiji period, light industry (silk reeling and spinning) developed. In 1882, the Osaka Spinning Company (Shibusawa Eiichi) succeeded, and after the First Sino-Japanese War, exports of cotton yarn exceeded imports. Around the time of the Russo-Japanese War, heavy industry developed, and the government-operated Yawata Steel Works (Fukuoka Prefecture) began operations in 1901. The railway network also expanded, and major lines were nationalized under the 1906 Railway Nationalization Act. Meanwhile, pollution also occurred. In the Ashio Copper Mine Pollution Incident, Tanaka Shozo attempted to appeal directly to the Emperor on behalf of the affected farmers (1901). The labor movement also began, and controls were strengthened under the Public Peace Police Law in 1900.
Natsume Soseki 『I Am a Cat』 『Botchan』 『Kokoro』
Mori Ogai 『The Dancing Girl』 『Takasegawa Boat』
Higuchi Ichiyo 『Growing Up』 (the figure on the 5,000-yen note)
Noguchi Hideyo Bacteriology and yellow fever research (1,000-yen note)
Kitasato Shibasaburo Tetanus serum therapy and discovery of the plague bacillus
Taki Rentaro 『The Moon over the Ruined Castle』 『Flowers』
Kuroda Seiki 『Lakeside』 『Reading』 (Western-style painting)
In Depth (Background and Effects)
The industrial revolution brought workers together in cities, and female factory workers were forced to endure low wages and long hours. Yokoyama Gennosuke’s 『Japan’s Lower Strata of Society』 describes these conditions. In literature, the unification of the spoken and written languages (Futabatei Shimei’s 『Ukigumo』) spread, while Romanticism (Shimazaki Toson’s 『Wakanashu』), Naturalism, and anti-Naturalism (Soseki and Ogai) developed. In scholarship, the research of Kitasato Shibasaburo on tetanus, Shiga Kiyoshi on the dysentery bacillus, and Noguchi Hideyo on bacteria reached world-class standards. In 1911, Hiratsuka Raicho founded the Seitōsha and advocated women’s liberation with the words, “In the beginning, women were the sun.”
- Light industry = silk reeling and spinning; heavy industry = Yawata Steel Works (1901)
- Ashio Copper Mine Pollution Incident = Tanaka Shozo (House of Representatives member, direct appeal to the Emperor)
- Unification of the spoken and written languages = Futabatei Shimei 『Ukigumo』
- Natsume Soseki, Mori Ogai, and Higuchi Ichiyo (2024 old banknotes)
- Kitasato Shibasaburo (2024 new 1,000-yen note) = tetanus
- Hiratsuka Raicho = Seitōsha (1911), women’s liberation movement
Points of Caution (Easily Confused)
① Do not confuse Osaka Spinning (1882, Shibusawa Eiichi, cotton yarn) with the Tomioka Silk Mill (1872, government-operated, raw silk). ② The Yawata Steel Works was in Fukuoka Prefecture (present-day Kitakyushu), was built with indemnity payments from Qing China, and began operations in 1901. ③ Tanaka Shozo (Ashio Copper Mine) and Kotoku Shusui (High Treason Incident, 1910) were different people. ④ Organize the schools of thought as follows: Futabatei Shimei = unification of the spoken and written languages; Shimazaki Toson = Romanticism → Naturalism; Natsume Soseki = Yoyūha; Mori Ogai = Kōtōha.
Practice
- Where was the government-operated steelworks that began operations in 1901 located?
- Who was the member of the House of Representatives who addressed the Ashio Copper Mine Pollution Incident?
- Who was the writer who wrote 『Ukigumo』 in the unified spoken and written style?