2021年5月

Politics

Tuesday, May 31 1921: Hanzo YAMANASHI will be appointed to Army Minister

1921 (Taisho 10) Tuesday, May 31 Prime Minister Takashi HARA visited Aritomo Yamagata. Yamagata came to Tokyo from his home in Odawara on the 28th and stayed at the Chinzan-so villa in Tokyo. In February, Army Minister Giichi TANAKA received angina pectoris and submitted his resignation, but Prime Minister Takashi HARA did not accept his resignation. Hara consulted with Yamagata about the appointment of Tanaka’s successor. Hanzo YAMANASHI, who was recommended by Tanaka, was tentatively appointed as his successor. Yamanashi carried out the first disarmament in the Army’s history the following year. This famous disarmament is called Yamanashi Disarmament. Takashi Hara visited Aritomo Yamagata and said as follows. As for...
Economy

Tuesday, May 31 1921: Senkichiro Hayakawa became president of South Manchuria Railways Company

1921 (Taisho 10) On Tuesday, May 31, Senkichiro Hayakawa became president of South Manchuria Railways Company, the so-called Mantetsu. Former president Ryutaro Nomura and vice president Seiichi Nakanishi resigned to take responsibility for the Mantetsu bribery scandal that shook the political world, and Prime Minister Takashi Hara took the initiative in selecting a successor, who was entrusted to Hayakawa, vice president of Mitsui Gomei Kaisha. Hayakawa was a financial magnate at the time and the first civilian to serve as president of Mantetsu. Joji Matsumoto, the company’s executive vice president, also joined the company. Matsumoto is known for making the Matsumoto draft for the constitution of Japan after World War...
Social

Monday, May 30 1921: The Far Eastern Olympic Games kicked off in Shanghai.

1921 (Taisho 10) Monday, May 30 The Far Eastern Olympic Games kicked off in Shanghai. Although it was positioned as the current Asian Games, the participating countries were only Japan, Republic of China and Philippines. International Olympic Committee member Jigoro Kano attended the opening ceremony held at Shanghai Hongkou Park (present Lu Xun Park) in a light rain. It was held until June 4, but overall Japan’s performance was poor. China won the volleyball and basketball tournaments. The Philippines won the baseball, tennis, and swimming tournaments. Japan didn’t win any team competitions. The sixth event will be held in Osaka the following year.
Art

Sunday, May 29 1921: Shingeki-za was launched by Shotaro Karyu

1921 (Taisho 10) On Sunday, May 29 “Shingeki-za” was launched, which was newly established by young new actors like Shotaro Karyu. The first performance was held at Nihon-Meijiza. The program consisted of four works, “Enma’s Eye,” “Border Flower,” “Arabian Tent” and “Shoryo,” but due to lack of preparation, the first performance didn’t have a very good reputation. Later, Karyu led the post-war Daido Danketsu of the new school as the leader of the troupe. In 1955, he 30 received the Award of the Japan Art Academy. He later became a Bunkakorosha (Person of Cultural Merits) and a Living National Treasure. However, in 1965 (Showa 40), he suddenly died of myocardial...
Social

Saturday, May 28 1921: an expulsion order issued to Vasily Eroshenko

1921 (Taisho 10) On Saturday, May 28, the Ministry of the Interior issued an expulsion order to the blind Russian author of children’s stories, Vasily Eroshenko, who was staying in Japan. Eroshenko arrived in Japan via Shanghai two years ago after an expulsion order was issued in India on charges of communist propaganda. He had just been arrested on May Day, May 1, because his activities, such as attending a convention of the Socialist League, were considered dangerous in Japan. Eroshenko was sheltered at Shinjuku Nakamuraya. During her stay in Japan, Eroshenko interacted with cultural figures such as Akita Ujaku, Eguchi Kan, and Ichiko Kanchika, and was well known among...
Economy

Saturday, May 28, 1921: a sericulture expert Masukichi ICHINOSE died

On Saturday, May 28, 1921 (Taisho 10), a sericulture expert Masukichi ICHINOSEdied at the age of 55. In 1898 (Meiji 31), Ichinose, a sericulture expert in Ichikawamisato Town, Yamanashi Prefecture, discovered a mulberry sapling that was resistant to harmful insects and had a high yield, making it ideal for sericulture. From mulberry seedlings of the variety name “Nezumi gaeshi” purchased from mulberry seedling traders in Oshimura, Ichise discovered three seedlings of good quality different from the usual Nezumi gaeshi, bred in its own mulberry field and distributed to the neighborhood. In 1916, it won first prize at the (Taisho 5) competition and expanded nationwide as “Ichinose-Kuwa”. These seedlings contributed to...
Birthday

Friday, May 27, 1921: Nobuo Murakami, French chef, was born

On Friday, May 27, 1921 (Taisho 10), Nobuo Murakami, fondly known as the “Musch Murakami” French chef, was born in Matsueda-machi, Kanda Ward, Tokyo. This place is present Kanda Iwamoto-cho, Chiyoda Ward. Nobuo Murakami’s father, Nobutaro Murakami, and his mother, Iyo, ran a restaurant called Banzaitei. In 1933 (Showa 8), he graduated from Third Nippori Elementary School and worked at a Brazilian coffee shop in Asakusa. In 1939 (Showa 14), he was hired as an apprentice at the Imperial Hotel, and the following year became a regular employee. During the Pacific War, he went to the Chinese front as an army soldier, and after the war, he was detained in...
Art

Thursday, May 26, 1921: a Western-style painter, Kinkichiro Honda died

On Thursday, May 26, 1921, a Western-style painter, Kinkichiro Honda died at his home in Iriyamazu, Omori, Ota-ku (Taisho 10). He was 70 years old. Honda was born in 1851 (Kaei 3) and is a former feudal retainer of Hiroshima Domain. He entered the Western studies school (Shudo Junior and Senior High Schools), a domain school in Hiroshima, and studied Western military science. He learned English from Fumio Nomura, who was a professor of Western studies at the time. Later, as a journalist, Nomura launched a satirical magazine called “Marumaru Chinbun” and was also active as a Freedom and People’s Rights Activist. Honda went to Tokyo after the Hiroshima clan...
Social

Wednesday, May 25 1921: Shobei IIZUKA opens a vegetable store called “Musashiya”

1921 (Taisho 10) Wednesday, May 25 Today is rather a local event in Shinjuku-ku. Shobei IIZUKA opens a vegetable store called “Musashiya” in Ichigaya Tanimachi. Later, it developed into a supermarket “Shinjuku Marusho”, which expanded into the Tokyo metropolitan area with a focus on Shinjuku. Many residents of Shinjuku have shopped at Marusho, a supermarket located in Yotsuya-sanchome. There is now a magnificent monument called “Daikon Tower” in Marusho’s birthplace. It is along Yasukuni street near Akebonobashi and near Sumiyoshicho intersection. On the surface, Daikon means a big soul, but in fact, the hidden name comes from Joke, which means vegetable radish. There are also statues of founder Shobei Iizuka...
Economy

Tuesday, May 24 1921: Hanshin began to expropriate land for a new line

1921 (Taisho 10) Tuesday, May 24 Hanshin Electric Railway began to expropriate land for the Hoden Line (The current Hanshin Nanba Line). Under the name of Tokikazu Ikematsu, governor of Osaka Prefecture, an advertisement for land expropriation was announced in the official gazette. The targeted land is the “Oaza Dekijima, Kawakita-mura, Nishinari-gun, Osaka” near the mouth of the local river, Kanzaki River, and is currently in the vicinity of Dekijima Station on the Hanshin Namba Line. At that time, a large-scale railway expansion was also carried out in Osaka by the active policy of the Seiyukai. The Hoden Line opened 3 years later in 1924 (Taisho 13). The Hanshin Koshien...