The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan
416
The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan
416eBook
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Overview
Personal reflections by one of the makers of modern Japan
Ozaki Yukio, who was returned to his seat in the Japanese Diet twenty-five times, served in that body from its inception in 1890 to 1953. He was several times a cabinet member and, for ten years, mayor of Tokyo. A strong advocate of representative government, he both witnessed and propelled Japan’s transformation from a late feudal society to a modern state. His autobiography, available in English for the first time, gives an insider’s account of key episodes and leaders over seven decades of Japanese history.
Ozaki’s political life spanned the Meiji rise to power and Japan’s defeat in World War II, and Ozaki played a significant role in each phase of that epic. As a young reporter, he gained preeminence with incisive calls for supremacy in East Asia. A European trip that showed him the devastation of World War I converted him to advocacy of arms reduction and international cooperation. He watched with dismay as Japan encountered isolation and military disaster. Known for the courage of his convictions, he became a marked man, carrying a death poem in his pocket. His sturdy independence survived the American occupation, as he deplored his associates’ readiness to heed occupation dictates.
Ozaki’s story reverberates with the immediacy of his personal knowledge of every major Japanese political figure for three-quarters of a century. It is the account of a man who made history as well as writing it. His story is the story of modern Japan. Through it, readers will gain first-hand knowledge of Japanese constitutional history, a history with rich relevance for contemporary Japanese politics.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780691258904 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Princeton University Press |
| Publication date: | 11/14/2023 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 416 |
| File size: | 10 MB |
About the Author
Table of Contents
| List of Illustrations | vii | |
| Translator's Note | ix | |
| About the Translation | xi | |
| Foreword | xiii | |
| Chapter 1 | The Birth of Constitutional Government in Japan | 3 |
| Chapter 2 | In Preparation for a National Parliament | 43 |
| Chapter 3 | Around the Time of the Security Ordinance | 86 |
| Chapter 4 | The Early Days of the Parliament | 118 |
| Chapter 5 | From the Matsukata-Okuma Government to the Okuma-Itagaki Government | 155 |
| Chapter 6 | The Birth of the Seiyukai | 188 |
| Chapter 7 | The Era of the Russo-Japanese War | 224 |
| Chapter 8 | The Movement to Protect Constitutional Government | 264 |
| Chapter 9 | The Okuma Cabinet Era | 282 |
| Chapter 10 | The State of Domestic and Foreign Policy after the War | 311 |
| Chapter 11 | The Suffrage Movement and Arms Control | 330 |
| Chapter 12 | From Taisho to Showa | 349 |
| Chapter 13 | Japan in the Storm | 375 |
| Chapter 14 | The Pacific War and Its Aftermath | 407 |
| Index | 439 |
What People are Saying About This
Ozaki Yukio's autobiography is at once a political memoir and a political history. Interwoven with an account of his own political activities is a detailed narrative of political battles,debates,and intrigue inside and outside the Diet. Particularly engaging are Ozaki's vignettes of prewar political leaders. These add to the story a vividness often missing from more analytical works. . . The translation is accurate,close to the original,and readable. This is an important memoir that should be part of any good English language library collection on the history of modern Japan--and it will certainly be used by students.
Ozaki Yukio's autobiography examines the triumphs and tragedies of modern Japanese political history. Often at the heart of the fray,and exceptionally well informed about his peers,his account of the inner life of the Japanese political world for nearly seventy years is full of important insights,information,and careful analysis. When one reads this book,one realizes that Japan's heroes in the modern age were not always those most honored,or those most facile at making the political system serve their ends,but figures such as Ozaki who steered a steady course toward a more open and democratic society. . . . The work is also useful in showing the reader that the sources of contemporary Japanese political problems are clearly based in the Japanese political and social structure that dates to earlier times.
"Ozaki Yukio's autobiography examines the triumphs and tragedies of modern Japanese political history. Often at the heart of the fray, and exceptionally well informed about his peers, his account of the inner life of the Japanese political world for nearly seventy years is full of important insights, information, and careful analysis. When one reads this book, one realizes that Japan's heroes in the modern age were not always those most honored, or those most facile at making the political system serve their ends, but figures such as Ozaki who steered a steady course toward a more open and democratic society. . . . The work is also useful in showing the reader that the sources of contemporary Japanese political problems are clearly based in the Japanese political and social structure that dates to earlier times."—Fred Notehelfer, University of California, Los Angeles, author of Japan through American Eyes"Ozaki Yukio's autobiography is at once a political memoir and a political history. Interwoven with an account of his own political activities is a detailed narrative of political battles, debates, and intrigue inside and outside the Diet. Particularly engaging are Ozaki's vignettes of prewar political leaders. These add to the story a vividness often missing from more analytical works. . . The translation is accurate, close to the original, and readable. This is an important memoir that should be part of any good English language library collection on the history of modern Japan—and it will certainly be used by students."—Peter Duus, Stanford University, editor of The Japanese Wartime Empire, 1931-1945