Post on 17-Jan-2017
Japan’s Red Sons and Daughters: Japanese Socialism as Opposition to
Meiji Imperialism
Henry Smith
Towson University
HIST 319.180 Japan, 1830 to 1930
Professor Ropers
November 16, 2016
Japan’s Red Sons and Daughters Henry Smith
Introduction
Meiji Japan is remembered today as a great modernizing and unifying force that created
an expansionist, nationalist, and militaristic Empire out of the dredges of feudalism. It propelled
Japan into the ranks of modern empires like Britain, and succeeded in military campaigns against
historically superior China and Russia. Industrial output increased, colonies were made in
Taiwan and Korea, and new forms of political processes were implemented to create a new Japan
united in reverence to the benevolent Emperor. This simple historical narrative is convenient in
explaining the rise and success of the Japanese Empire, but it obscures fringe elements that
existed in Japan during this time. Often ignored parties are farmers, workers, and women on
which the progress of the Meiji period rested.1 Their efforts were crucial to developing the
industry, military, and ideology that was necessary to the Meiji period’s success. Alternative
forces and efforts apart from the central state were important in the development of the country,
as they show that the process of creating the Empire of Japan was not as linear or uniform as it
might appear.
Important to this idea is the Socialist Movement, which emerged in earnest in Japan
following the Sino-Japanese War in 1894.2 Its goal was to provide a voice for the workers in an
industrializing Japan and to bring change to Japanese political policy.3 They also worked for the
wider implementation of political freedom, as the Meiji Constitution did not guarantee people
their full rights.4
1 Mikiso Hane, Peasants, Rebels, Women, and Outcastes: The Underside of Modern Japan (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1982), 28-49, 78-101, & 172-205.2 George M. Beckmann & Okubo Genji, The Japanese Communist Party 1922-1945 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1969), 1.3 Ibid., 1-2.4 George Oakley Totten, III, The Social Democratic Movement in Prewar Japan (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966), 5-6.
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There was a shift away from political cooperation led by Kōtoku Shūsui, as the socialist’s
effects did not see as much change as was intended. The most dramatic turn away was the High
Treason Incident in 1910. This foiled plot to assassinate the Meiji Emperor was a pivotal
moment for both Socialist and Imperial movements in Japan.5 It showcased the role of socialism
as an opposition to the dominant system of Imperial rule as well as the suppression of socialist
organizations in Japan. The High Treason Incident gave the Imperial government the opportunity
to portray socialists as threats to the country and emperor, suppressing all those affiliated with
the core group of conspirators. This shows socialism’s role in the development of the totalitarian
imperial state. The High Treason Incident is also significant for socialism acting as opposition to
the established Imperial system. This is important because it broadens the understanding of the
development of politics and society in the Meiji period, and by extension, Imperial Japan.
As the role of socialism must be understood to develop a clear picture of Meiji political
development, a clear picture of what makes up the socialist movement is required. Socialist
movements around the world brought new opportunities for people who had been previously
neglected or without a political voice. One important group that found a place in the Japanese
socialist movement in the Meiji period was women, in particular Kanno Sugako. The role of
women in politics had been previously non-existent in Japan up to this point. Women could
express their ideas and views through socialist groups, and many questions of women’s place in
society and socialism were raised.6 The changing ideas of gender in the socialist groups reflect
the political changes that the movement was working towards. As it is important to understand
socialism’s role in Meiji Japan, it is equally important to understand women’s role in socialism.
5 Vera Mackie & Yamaizumi Susumu, “Introduction,” in Japan and the High Treason Incident, ed. Masako Gavin & Ben Middleton (London: Routledge, 2013), 1-2.6 Vera Mackie, Creating Socialist Women in Japan: Gender, Labour and Activism, 1900-1937 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 20.
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The placement of socialism in Japan in the first decade of the 20th-century has been under
analyzed. Perhaps this can be explained by their eventual failure in bringing about a proletariat
revolution or major policy changes. The topic of socialism in Japan is also given more attention
to the rise of the Japanese Communist Party and their surprising success and subsequent
suppression. While this is an important topic in its own right, it is still important to examine the
beginnings of socialist thought and action in Japan. The socialist movements during the Meiji
period are important to understand a state in transition. Japan experienced many forms of
transformation and change, and socialism’s role in this time period is illuminating to understand
the tensions and difficulties that were occurring amongst the common people and political elite.
Socialism provided an opposition to the status quo of the Meiji Imperial government through
their increased political involvement, active hostility in the High Treason Incidence, and
subversion of social expectations with the greater role of women. This opposition was inevitably
futile however, as they were actively suppressed under the growing power of the central state.
Japanese Socialist Movement
The Meiji Constitution of 1889 established greater political involvement to a larger
number of people in Japan, but also insured that the Emperor maintained his dominance over all
his subjects who were to work for the benefit of his and the top official’s imperial aims.7 The aim
was clear: Japan was to catch up to the powers of the world in the name of and in reverence to
the Emperor. The realities of this advancement were different from the haughty language used in
the Constitution. Thousands of men and women moved to the factories, military bases, and cities
that were increasing in size and importance in Japan. With the rising role of industrial workers
and urban spaces, socialist thought increased in importance. Ideas of groups to support and form
7 Itō Hirobumi, “The Constitution of the Empire of Japan, 1889,” from National Diet Library http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/etc/c02.html
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unions had been growing in Japan since the opening of the country, which brought in Western
thought and philosophy.8 The Sino-Japanese War caused an increase in industry and laborers,
which created a need for a political force to combat the worsening working conditions and
economy inequality.9 Socialism in the early 20th-century was not initially violent or revolutionary
like the more well known Russian Revolution, but instead looked to reform the capitalistic
tendencies that were harming the workers of the country.10
The Public Peace Police Law was passed in 1900, making worker unions and strikes
illegal. This prompted the political organization of socialists.11 The Social Democratic Party
(Shakai Minshuto) was founded in May 1901 with support of the labor unions.12 The aim of this
Party was to give workers representation in the Diet and allow for the antecedents of socialist
transformation to develop. The leader of this party was Katayama Sen, a major labor organizer
and socialist thinker. Katayama was a Christian and educated in the West, as were many of his
fellow founding members.13 Katayama’s party was designed to point out the failures of the Meiji
government and push for legislation protecting workers’ rights, as well as other extreme
measures like removing the House of Peers and shrinking the army.14
This Social Democratic Party failed to make any progress. Katayama and the socialist
elite never made a real effort work with the peasantry or get the workers actively involved.15 The
government also did not tolerate the inclusion of a socialist political party. The same day that
8 Roger Swearingen & Paul Langer, Red Flag in Japan: International Communism in Action 1919-1951 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952), 3.9 Ibid., 4.10 Beckmann & Okubo, The Japanese Communist Party, 1.11 Ibid., 2.12 Ibid.; Totten, The Social Democratic Movement of Prewar Japan, 23.13 Hyman Kublin, Asian Revolutionary: The Life of Sen Katayama (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1964), 132-133.14 Ibid., 145-146.15 Ibid., 147.
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Katayama founded the Party the Home Ministry head Baron Suemastu ordered its disbandment.16
A new Japan Socialist Party was formed under a more liberal Prime Minister in 1906, but until
then socialism was allowed no place in Japanese politics.17 This was a major event in the
suppression of socialist thought in Japan. The budding socialists were forced to turn away from
the political sphere, choosing instead to focus of spreading socialist thought to intellectuals and
workers in speaking tours.18
This shift to a non-political level operation was an important step in the history of
socialism in Japan. It was the first major incidence of governmental suppression of socialism in
Japan, and it served as an important precedent throughout the Imperial years. This suppression
came in the form of confiscation of publications and fines or arrests of socialist writers.19 Kōtoku
Shūsui and Sakai Toshihiko, members of the Social Democratic Party and supporters of active
implementation of socialism in Japan, criticized the declaration of war against Russia in the
socialist newspaper The Commoner’s Paper (Heimin Shimbun).20 In response the government
prohibited the newspaper, arrested the editors, and shut down the paper. The typical means of
political expression were being restricted from socialists.
This frustration of political freedom caused the socialist group to split away from
Katayama’s intellectual approach. Led by Kōtoku and Takai, a more radical movement
developed that fell into the lines of anarcho-syndicalism.21 Kōtoku’s group was inspired by their
inability to have a voice in the Diet, the police oppression against the worker’s right to strike,
and the all-powerful image of the Emperor.22 Kōtoku’s aims were for the abolition of the state
16 Ibid., 146.17 Totten, The Social Democratic Movement, 28. 18 Swearingen & Langer, Red Flag in Japan, 4-5.19 Beckmann & Okubo, The Japanese Communist Party, 3.20 Ibid.21 Ibid., 3-4.22 Totten, The Social Democratic Movement in Prewar Japan, 30.
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and capitalism, and for the workers to create a free society, goals that could not be reached
through the Diet.23
Kōtoku’s radical thoughts were in some part created by the governmental suppression, as
he became disillusioned with the political system. The Japan Socialist Party could not bring the
change he believed was necessary to the country, and set out to create his own opposition to the
entire system. This sequence shows the extreme extent that opposition to the Meiji government
had taken, from socialist calls for reform, to anarchist calls to remove the entire system. This
runs contrary to the ideas that the political modernization of the Imperial system was linear and
undisturbed. Major opposition was taken towards the way the government was progressing, and
as the next section will show, reactions to the Meiji government will get even more extreme.
Kōtoku Shūsui and The High Treason Incident
Most Socialists in Japan before 1910 were either content with their marginalized position
in the Lower house of the Diet or were part of socialist study groups. Some translated Marxist
writings or published socialist and radical newspapers, but these were often suppressed by the
government and forced to close. One example is when the Osaka Heimin Newspaper denounced
the imperial stance of deposing the Korean Emperor Kojong after the 1907 Hague Secret
Emissary Affair.24 The newspaper was shut down by the next year following governmental
pressure.25 Around the same time, the daily Heimin Shimbun, another socialist newspaper,
voluntarily closed in early 1907 due to four court actions against their writings.26 They were
23 Beckmann & Okubo, The Japanese Communist Party, 4.24 The Korean Emperor covertly sent emissaries to the Second Hague peace Conference to protest against increased Japanese involvement against Korean sovereignty. Japan saw this as reason to depose the Emperor and was an important step on the way to annexation in 1910. Robert Thomas Tierney, Monster of the Twentieth Century: Kōtoku Shūsui and Japan’s First Anti-Imperialist Movement (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), 116.25 Ibid.26 F. G. Notehelfer, Kōtoku Shūsui: Portrait of a Japanese Radical (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971), 146.
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openly critical of the government, including the Emperor, in their opposition to the Russo-
Japanese War.27 The Meiji government suppressed socialist or radical thought that they deemed
as contrary to the best interests of the country or against the Emperor. This demonstrates the
view of the government on both socialist thinkers and, more generally, on opposition. Through
this look at the censorship and absolute removal of socialist media, the government’s view of the
threat of socialist groups can be seen. They represented a part of the population (and
government) that was not going to follow the ideology detailed in the Meiji Constitution. At this
point in the chronology, the threat was ideological, but it will turn into a physical threat.
Aside from the battle occurring between socialist papers and government censors, the
newspapers show another battle within the socialist thinkers. Tired of the ineffective partisan
ways of people like Katayama, Kōtoku established a faction within the socialists that called for
direct action against the forces that were counter to the interests of the workers of Japan.
Socialist opposition had dragged to a near halt, and Kōtoku took on the mantle of resistance to a
government he believed was impeding social development.28 He also advocated against political
structures of any kind, including socialist governments.29 He was the founder, editor, and
contributor to many of the socialist newspapers that stood in such stark opposition to the state
papers and nationalist feelings in the country, and is seen as a major figure in the anti-Imperialist
movement. From this split away from the traditional socialists who were not seen as radical
enough came the new form of opposition to the Meiji government and Emperor.
27 Tierney, Monster of the Twentieth Century, 104-114.28 Kinoshita Chigaya, “An Ethos of Resistance,” from Japan and the High Treason Incident, ed. Masako Gavin & Ben Middleton (London: Routledge, 2013), 77-78.29 Notehelfer, Kōtoku Shusei, 142.
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Kōtoku wrote a scathing denunciation of imperialism in 1901, which was the precursor to
many of the ideas he developed throughout the 1900s.30 He detailed the “perils of imperialism”,
and declared that the cult of the emperor and the false nationalism developed from military
victories would not bring success to the people under imperialist states around the world.31
Kōtoku pulled examples from history and the world to show the failures of imperialism and the
dangers its spread was bringing. One important point raised is that the expansion of empires does
not “truly represent the expansion of the people.”32 Instead, he believed the age of imperialism
benefited the politicians who were profiting off of territorial conquest and capitalist trade. His
criticisms were not restricted to Japan’s Empire, but towards several countries around the world,
notably the British Empire.33 For Kōtoku this was a global issue, but he did focus his attack on
the newly Imperialist Meiji Japan, noting that the national budget tripled, forcing an increase in
foreign trade and domestic taxes, and that proposals for social reform had been neglected and
mocked.34 Kōtoku called for large-scale reform to keep away “the policy of imperialism [that]
sacrifices the well being of the majority to satisfy the appetites of a small minority.”35 Kōtoku’s
main argument that was consistent throughout his career was that the political elite was not
taking the common peoples’ best interests into account, and change must come to force
governments to change course. Ten years after the writing of Imperialism Kōtoku was executed
for plotting to assassinate the Emperor. In hindsight, this shouldn’t be surprising, as Kōtoku had
been forceful in his assertion that politics were in the way of the workers and that the imperial
system was hurting the country’s people.
30 Kōtoku Shūsui, Imperialism: Monster of the Twentieth Century, from Tierney, Monster of the Twentieth Century, 135-206. 31 Kōtoku, Imperialism, 139 & 157.32 Ibid., 188.33 Ibid., 199-202.34 Ibid., 204.35 Ibid., 204-206.
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This assassination plot, now known as the High Treason Incident, to kill the Meiji
Emperor exposed not only how extreme opposition groups had become in Japan, but also the
lengths the government went in restricting civil liberties to maintain their control over the
country. The method of assassination was to be an explosive, and twenty-six people were
arrested for treason, of which eleven were executed.36 The trials were far from fair, as no
witnesses were called, and incriminating evidence was less important than finding these
dangerous members of society guilty.37 The main conspirators were Kōtoku, Kanno Sugako,
Miyashita Takichi, Niimura Tadao, and Furukawa Rikisaku, at least according to Kanno, who
along with Kōtoku was considered the mastermind behind the plot.38 Kōtoku’s role in the
assassination has been the subject of some debate. Some claim he played an active role in the
decision that the Emperor had to be killed.39 Others note Ishikawa Takuboku’s interpretation that
the High Treason Incident was really a narrative created by the government that incorporated
several different events to incriminate as many radicals as possible, including Kōtoku, who was
not central to the explosive plan.40 Kōtoku may have been aware of the plot, but distanced
himself, and was not involved in the creation, movement, or delivery of the explosive.41
Whatever his true involvement, he was accused, found guilty and hanged. This event marked the
end of socialist thought in Japan until the 1917 Russian Revolution and Japanese Communist
Party under the more democratic Taishō period, but socialism was still hampered by the
suppressive forces of the state well beyond the scope of this paper.42
36 Mackie & Yamaizumi, “Introduction,” 1.37 Ibid., 2-3.38 Mikiso Hane, “Reflections on the Way to the Gallows- Kanno Sugako,” Reflections on the Way to the Gallows: Rebel Women in Prewar Japan (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), 67.39 Notehelfer, Kōtoku Shūsui, 175.40 Tierney, Monster of the Twentieth Century, 127.41 Hane, “Reflections on the Way to the Gallows,” 55.42 Mackie & Yamaizumi, “Introduction,” 4-5.
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More relevant to this discussion is why was the assassination plot created at all, and why
did the government react the way it did? Certain circumstances were required to create an
atmosphere that brought the conspirators to attempt murder. Political assassination in the Meiji
period was not uncommon in Japan, even of high-ranking members like Home Minster Ōkubo
Toshimichi in 1878 or former Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi in 1909.43 But to try to kill the
Emperor was a far greater and more heinous crime. It was akin to deicide, and the Emperor was a
symbol of Japan itself. It is this importance that the assassination was attempted. Kōtoku, Kanno,
and the other conspirators believed that great change was necessary for the future of Japan. This
troubles that plagued industrializing Japan came from above. Killing Meiji would represent the
greatest act of rebellion and opposition. It would convey that the institution that Japan based
itself around (ideologically, if not practically) was not the best path of action, especially for the
workers. The Emperor was a superstitious entity to the conspirators, one that only served to give
legitimacy to the injustices in the country.44
On the other side was the reaction by the government to the assassination attempt. The
trial was lacking by modern standards, without witnesses and hard evidence to fully convict
those sentenced to death. But with Japan’s powerful central state, it is less surprising that they
forced the sentence on the radicals that were threatening to dismantle the very fabric of political
control. Government suppression of socialists and radicals has shown to be a consistent element
of Meiji Japan, and the trial associated with the High Treason Incident provided an opportunity
to remove this opposition group for good. The 1911 executions serve as a major endpoint for
43 Sidney DeVere Brown, “Political Assassination in Early Meiji Japan: The Plot Against Ōkubo Toshimichi,” from Meiji Japan’s Centennial: Aspects of Political Thought and Action, ed. David Wurfel (Lawrence: The University Press of Kansas, 1971), 19-20; Umemori Naoyuki, “The Historical Contexts of the Incident: Governmentality and Colonialism,” from Japan and the High Treason Incident, ed. Masako Gavin & Ben Middleton (London: Routledge, 2013), 54. 44 Umemore, “The Historical Contexts of the Incident,” 59.
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Japanese socialism, as the ideology did not return to any real influence for another two decades.
After the execution, the dead or imprisoned conspirators did not become martyrs or icons like the
killers of Ōkubo or Itō.45 The Tōkyō Asahi shinbun reported on the court case and execution, and
were against Kōtoku and the radicals, saying they had “ignored the government…sought after
so-called ‘absolute freedom’ through the destruction of the government,” and that they
“frightened all Japanese subjects and we should all be overawed.”46 The opposition of Kōtoku
Shūsui, Kanno Sugako, and the socialist and anarchist groups of the early 20th-century in the end
did not bring great change to the political system of Japan. Perhaps this is why they receive so
little historical attention as compared to other topics in Meiji and Japanese socialist studies, but
they are still a notable force in early Imperial Japanese history. They were one of the few
avenues of opposition to the growing Imperial state, and their suppression shows the
authoritarian development in Meiji Japan.
Kanno Sugako and Socialist Women
Kanno Sugako was the only woman arrested in the High Treason Incident, and is an
important and interesting look into how the socialist movement functioned and the changing role
of women in Meiji Japan. She said in her first interrogation that she wanted to destroy more than
just the emperor, insinuating that the entire Japanese political system was seen as a deterrent to
the Japanese and a target for the radicals.47 She also said that in order to remove “the
expropriators” the coming revolution would require the assassination of important people,
stopping of public transportation, and the burning down of buildings.48 For Kanno, who like
45 Ōkubo’s killers, led by Shimada Ichirō, became heroes in Ishikawa prefecture. Brown, “Political Assassination in Early Meiji Japan,” 31; Itō’s killer, An Jung-geun, was seen as a Korean patriot for the independence movement. Tierney, Monster of the Twentieth Century, 125. 46 Umemori, “The Historical Contexts of the Incidents,” 61.47 Hane, “Reflections on the Way to the Gallows,” 56.48 Umemore, “The Historical Contexts of the Incident,” 59.
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many women faced new difficulties in a changing Japan, extreme action was required to bring
the kinds of change she saw as needed. The 1908 Red Flag Incident no doubt inspired her, as
socialist-anarchist demonstrators brandished red and black flags in protest before the protest
leaders were imprisoned.49 Kanno was imprisoned for simply inquiring about her arrested
friends. The incident turned Kanno away from peaceful political action to Kōtoku’s method of
direct action.50
Kanno is sometimes considered to be the real leader and organizer of the assassination
attempt on the Emperor, with Kōtoku acting more as a figurehead for socialist direct action. Her
role in the High Treason Incident is notable not only for her gender but also for her extremism.
The industrialized Japan required more workers than before, and looked to peasant women to fill
the need. This introduced women into the world of labor movements. Kanno was a journalist and
lover to Kōtoku, and was inspired by his and other socialist writers to attend the Red Flag
Incident, which led to her involvement in the High Treason Incident. Like many others in Japan
at this time, she did not live a happy life. Sick with tuberculosis, divorced, and pessimistic about
the state’s suppression of ideas, Kanno looked to change the path of Japan for the betterment of
workers and women.51
Following Marxist-Socialist ideals, the liberation of the proletariat included women as the
global socialist revolution brought the people of the world towards communist utopia. Socialism
and labor movements were the major acts of protest in industrializing Japan, and many were
organized and staffed with women. The protests of textile factories, for example, were major
events in the development of industry, and peaked in 1907, with 238 strikes and disputes
49 Hane, “Reflections on the Way to the Gallows,” 53.50 Mackie, Creating Socialist Women in Japan, 67.51 Hélène Bowen Raddeker, “A Woman of Ill Fame: Reconfiguring the historical reputation and legacy of Kanno Suga,” from Japan and the High Treason Incident, ed. Masako Gavin & Ben Middleton (London: Routledge, 2013), 95-96.
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occurring.52 These demonstrations were centered around women demanding better working
conditions and to be recognized in their rightful role as “proud laborers who carry Japan’s
industries on our shoulders.”53 These movements had a great effect on the socialist thought that
Kanno subscribed to, and it also inspired socialist women’s groups of the 1920s like Sekirankai
(Red Wave Society) and Yōkakai (Eighth Day Society).54 Under Meiji Japan women were
expected to fulfill traditional roles like mother and wife, and these stereotypes carried over into
the factories. Socialism gave women a way to break the expectations put on them by the state
and create their own futures. While not all were successful, like Kanno, their efforts in the 1900s
were integral to the betterment of women’s rights in Japan.
Conclusion
In the broader scope of Japanese Imperial history, the early efforts of the socialists and
anarchists were mostly unsuccessful. They were removed from the Diet, pushed to the fringes of
the political voice, arrested, and executed. Their calls for reform, protests, and demonstrations
were crushed under harsh police laws and an impartial judiciary. One impact of the absence of a
successful socialist opposition group may be the lack of a voice for the workers in Japanese
politics. Japanese aims for aggressive expansion depended on the ability to successfully
industrialize, and with socialist groups demolished, the exploitation of workers could continue. It
took the rise of socialism and communism in greater Asia for socialist thought to gain traction
again in Japan. Perhaps Katayama, Kōtoku, and Kanno’s gravest mistake was starting their
socialist revolution too early.
A greater impact of early Japanese socialism can instead be seen in socialism serving as
the voice of opposition in the rise of Meiji politics. Meiji government was dominated by old 52 Hane, Peasants, Rebels, Women, and Outcastes, 195.53 Ibid., 196.54 Mackie, Creating Socialist Women in Japan, 97.
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elites in the Upper House of the Diet that suppressed the will of the Lower House, to put it overly
critically. The socialist and the direct action anarchists provided the aspect necessary to
democracy of an opposition group. While they were eventually defeated, the actions and ideas of
the socialists inspired thousands of Japanese to consider a path different from the narrative being
promoted by the central Meiji government. This conflict forces us to reconsider the totality of
Meiji rule in Japan. In addition, we must reconsider the make-up of the socialists themselves.
They were not a monolithic entity of same-minded members, but individual men and women
with their own ideas that helped shape the story of socialism in Japan.
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