Press translations [Japan]. Social Series 0137, 1945-12-30.
Date30 December, 1945
translation numbersocial-0571
call numberDS801 .S84
Persistent Identifier
SOCIAL SERIES: 137
ITEM 1 Vagrants- Yomiuri Hochi 27, 28 December 1945. Translator: Akabane, Y.
Summary:
I am a former professor at KYUSHU University and am now a social and economic critic.
I [illegible]anced to
descend into the underground subway at UENO Station and found a fellow wearing a filthy,
national suit, lying with his head in
a ditch. I called to him several times and received no reply, so thinking he was dead
I nudjed him. He wearily brought up his
head, muddy water dripping from his broken cap. He was alive! In reply to my questions,
he stated, "I am 22 years old and was
once a chauffeur, but am now unemployed. I returned home to the country but I could
not stay there as my parents are poor, so
I came to TOKYO again and am now engaged in transporting food of the Occupation Forces
for 25 yen a day. Having no ration, I
am living on food tickets bought at black market prices, paying at least 2 yen 50
sen per ticket, Two tickets are required for
one meal plus 7 yen 40 sen for rice, amounting to about 24 yen for 3 meals. This leaves
not even one sen each day. I can not
return to my country home and I have no relatives or friends in TOKYO, so I spend
the nights here".
I went to the waiting room above, which is leterally packed with vagrants and passengers
with large rucksacks. I tried to ask
them questions at random. Some of them were rather pleased to relate their stories
of the misery of living and appealed for
relief through the press. Vagrants gathering about the UENO Section since the end
of the war have been increasing daily, and
number at present over 800.
Generally speaking, vagrants are a part of the "relative over-population", a product
of a capitalist society, so they will
exist as long as the capitalistic economy continues. In JAPAN where the state of apparent
unbalance between agriculture and
industry during the development of capitalism was particularly outstanding, the question
of relative overpopulation has been a
special social complication since the MEIJI Era. The proletariat is the chief component
of this over-population. If the
proletariat is not favored with opportunities for employment and is forced to be idle
in cities and at the doors of industrial
enterprises, they gradually form into groups of vagrants. Such groups new seen at
UENO Station are the poor population
arriving in the metropolis from far villages in the KANTO and TOHOKU Districts. All
the vagrants I spoke to are no exception
to this rule of vagrant production, which is made more conspicuous by the additional
misery of war devastation, unemployment,
demobilization and pending industrial rehabilitation.
In this connection, we cannot overlook the fact that this is an aspect of militaristic
and semi-feudalistic Japanese
capitalism which perpetrated this war of aggression. The war ended in utter defeat
as the natural consequence arising, out of
this contradiction, causing many war-victims, and unemployed, in addition to industrial
destruction. The origin of
over-population and
SOCIAL SERIES: 137 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
rapid increases in vagrancy is found in the recent war. In this sense vagrants at
UENO can be classified as follows:
- 1.Vagrants, beggars, habitual criminals, street-walkers, and others who habitually gather at UENO. Most of them are unskilled laborers or at least have lost their desire to work. Accordingly they are not qualified as laborers. I will put them aside for the present.
- 2.War victims, unemployed, the demobilized, and those temporarily out of jobs. Vagrants belonging to this category, constitute an overwhelmingly high proportion the 800 vagrants. They were factory workers until yesterday, having sufficient working initiative and ability. They gather there for sleep and rest as they have no work and lodging. They are fully able to work if jobs lodging, and adquate training, is given them. Nevertheless, if they are left uncared for, they will grow desperate and become true vagrants by and by. They said to me: "Give us food, work and lodging, We will do anything for you. We will destroy all TOKYO in one night." There I saw already a danger signal at their impromptu talk in the face of acute starvation.
- 3.Groups of street-side stall keepers. Both the owners and followers have become vagrants because of air raids, but now they have restored their organization. This group is almost similar to the second category but differs in that its followers in the new organization are engaged in black marketing by paying a kind of brokers fee to their bosses. It must be pointed out that the third category alone has organization. Bosses have a strong influence over their followers, who are forced to assist the bosses in black marketing, and female followers are made waitresses in ODEM-YA (TN: Type restaurant where-as vagrants of the second category were faithful workers before, and even now are hoping to work, waiting for tile reestablishment of industries.
At present, vagrants belonging, to the third category have an organization called
SAKURA KAI (Cherry Society), and take upon
themselves the work of daily arranging the station premises. Although vagrants of
the second category are sincere, and
naturally dislike the control by the third Category bosses and their followers, they
are obliged to obey as they have no
organization of their own. The SAKURA-KAI is an off shoot of the JAPAN Democratic
League (NIPPON MINSHU DOMEI), a political
body, and is influenced by rightest reactionary political bodies.
Then I went to HONGANJI Temple, where there is in the basement a reception room for
UENO Vagrants. Mr. NAKAI former
stockbroker, first brought about 400 vagrants here from UENO with his own money, organizing
"SAWPOKAI" at the request of the
city welfare department. Contrary to his expectations, his attempt only served to
ruin the second category vagrants and
paralyzed their power of self-regeneration, and failed to restor them to fields of
labor. Three meals are supplied there to
more than 350 vagrants daily, but the quantity it not enough, being less than 1,000
Calories a day. They serve rice, wheat,
potatoes, rape, salt etc. Aside from the lice and the squalor, those who have aspirations
for working can not satisfy
themselves with such poor food, so they leave sooner or later.
At present the actual power of control has fallen into the hands of Mr. HOSHINO of
SAKURA-KAI, who intends to keep vagrants
busy. But his methods are negative and inadequate to make them return to work in the
field of industrial reconstruction and
production.
The question of vagrants can not remain a matter of charity, its subject not being
vagrants but the unemployed due to war. The
question of war sufferers and the unemployed typified by the vagrants in UENO is becoming
a serious social question of all the
proletarian masses under the conditions of wide-
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SOCIAL SERIES: 137 (Continued)
ITEM (Continued)
spread unemployment, starvation, wholesale delay in industrial reconstruction and
the overflow of population through cities
and villages. The proletariat and the UENO vagrants are not very different. The former
must push its way, in co-operation with
war-sufferers and the unemployed, to connect directly with labor unions and strengthen
the front of the laboring class. Groups
of Vagrants who have any working ability, ambitions and are awaiting employment, should
not be delivered to the corrupt black
market merchants, but must be trained for a certain period and sent to employment
agencies.
For this purpose, they should be given food, work, and lodging on a large scale by
confiscating war-profiteers properties or
collecting high property taxes apart from small sale charity efforts by private individuals.
The unemployment commissions,
with the co-operation of city and farmers commissions, should practice priority distribution
of food to the working masses
including war-sufferers and the unemployed, through people's joint control of food
and joint control of labor for industrial
enterprises.
ITEM 2 Tn[illegible]atre and [illegible]Mainishi Shimbun-28 December 1945. Translator; Ogawa, Tonoye.
Summary:
Mr. MURAYA[illegible]
[illegible]yoshi, one of our leading leftist artists who has been in KOREA helping he cultural
movement in
the peninsula returned home on 21 December. The young artist has suspended his open
activity since the Japanese Government has
adopted an antagonistic policy toward the new theatrical movement.
In an interview, Mr. MURAYAMA spoke of the cultural activity in KOREA before, during,
and after the war. The artist also
expressed his views on the future of the new [illegible]trical movement. He said, "We anticipate the
establishment of an arts Ministry if the independence of KOREA is realized. Having
been stimulated by this anticipation, they
hastened to form artistic groups, AS a result, the Central Conference for Construction
of KOREAN Culture (CHOSEN BUKKA
KENSETSO CHUO KYOGI KAI) was inaugurated. All artists known to be pro-Japanese including
CHO, Taku-Gen and SAI, Sho-Ki, were
denied membership in the Conference. The cultural circles have organized the Proletarian
Arts Union.
"Taking the new theatrical movement alone, many new theaters, headed by the ''Revolutionary
theater" (KAKUMEI GEKIJO) have
been established, and their number has reached between 20 and 30. At these so the
theaters such plays as Gorki's "Mother" and
GOGOE's "The Inspector General" were frequently presented. Among the novelists, LI,
Ki-[illegible]i, LI,
Tai-Shun and KIN, Shi-Ryo are active while among the musicians, KIN, Sei-Tai, a composer
and KIN, Sun-Dan are active.
"In musical circles, an extreme leftist tendency has become more apparent. KOREA
has been divided politically into two
factions at present. All political parties which were organized at random now adhere
to a united front, aiming to promote the
independence of the new republic. Accordingly, all the cultural movements are uniting
in harmony with the political
parties.
"The theatrical movement in JAPAN has been stagnant because many of our theater people
were mobilized as soldiers or industry
workers. Some became movie actors. We must begin a restoration now. Persons formerly
prominent in the theater are already 50
or 60 years Old. Therefore we must train younger people. Re-education of the audience
is also essential. I was planning to
consolidate the farmer SHIN STUKIJI and SHIN KYO, but that is difficult due to the
absence of Mrs. SENDA, Koreya; OZAWA,
Ditaro, UNO, Jakichi; NOBU, Kinzo, and others. Consequently for the resent I want
to join the TOGEI group established by Mrs.
SUSSUKIDA, Kenji and TAKIZAWA, Osamu and others.
"In reference to the general new theatrical movement, I want to organize a
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SOCIAL SERIES: 137 (Continued)
ITEM 2 (Continued)
theatrical personnel association of JAPAN to include the progressive artists in existing
troupe such INOOE, Masao's Troupe,
Zouchin-Za, ENN-OSUKE's Troupe, and others. For this purpose I am now working with
Mr. HIJIKATA, Yoshi. I am also planning to
farm the Theatrical Consideration Association (GEKIDAN SHINGI KAI) to lower the absurd
admission tax which is up to 20 per
sent of the admission fee. Mr. HIJIKATA, as advisor, and Mr. NAKUMAR, Eiji, as councillor,
have already joined the Japan
Travelling Theater League. I, myself, am a member of the Consideration Association.
I hope to operate the League mere briskly
in the future as an organ to raise the cultural level of laborers and farmers.
"One of the difficulties we meet with in the new theatrical movement is the lack
of theaters. In this connection Mr. HIJIKATA
is planning to reconstruct the former TSUKIJI manor Theater at its former site. It
is expected that our new theatrical
movement will show remarkable daily progress."
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