Taisho period Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Taisho period - Essay Example(Minichiello S. (1998) Japans Competing Modernities Issues In Culture and Democracy, 1900-1930, p.3) It is alike marked by serious pollution problems, way break throughing from Meiji industrial policy. Except for these tendencies, the health of a revolutionary emperor was weak and this fact led to the shift in political power from oligarchic clique to the parliament and democratic parties. It is customary to call this shift and the related events the Taisho democracy. (Minichiello S. (1998))Large, Stephen S. (1983) states that at the beginning of the century a evolution mass consciousness represented a main tendency in companionable life. Due to increasing taxation, tidy sum wished to play more significant graphic symbol in social life, thus increasing a number of voting people. One of the close to remarkable demonstrations of popular unrest was Hibiya Riot that occurred because oligarchs didnt inform people about the events of war.In the period between 1905 and 1918 economy of Japan changed from country to industrial, while Japan was looking for export market for the new commodities. One of the most remarkable facts of social life during Taisho period was the growth of the population. The agricultural pattern remained the same, but industrial cities grew. This growth may be either a result of the migration from countryside to the cities or a natural growth of the urban population.( Minichiello S. (1998) Japans Competing Modernities Issues In Culture and Democracy, 1900-1930, p.7) The researches distinguish between agricultural and non-agricultural economy in prewar Japan. They point out the following reasons for this differentiation the agriculture reached the top of its output, for greater income it should have changed to larger-scale agriculture but this process could conflict with the social structure the economic consequences of imperialism, when colonies produced food, depressing agricultural prices in Japan the powe r of landlords remained the same so the tenancy problem wasnt resolved. (Minichiello S. (1998) Japans Competing Modernities Issues In Culture and Democracy, 1900-1930, p.7)Large, Stephen S. (1983) writes that after the 1st World War the exports failed, and inflation grew. These dowery aroused economic opposition to governing classes a number of mass demonstrations grew, as well as the popular demand for participating in social life. In December 1912 collapse in the Cabinet of Saionji Kimmochi seemed to become a factor promoting the ideas of democracy, bringing broad political rights through universal suffrage and original parliamentarism. Yoshino Sakuzo was one of the representative thinkers (1878-1933), who invented the notion of minponshugi (people-centrism). Yoshinos idea of minponshugi enjoyed great publicity from 1916, and still is regarded as the ultimate liberal idea of prewar Japan. Yoshinos notion of minponshugi called for the redistribution of power and wealthiness in J apanese society by institutionalizing the political system of popular representation and, by employing various social programs to protect the weak and poor. A new society - Shinjinkai appeared in December 1918. It based upon the dual platform - liberation of mankind and rationalistic reform of present day Japan. This organization was influenced firstly by English social democracy, and then it experienced the