On Saturday, June 4, 1921 (Taisho 10), Sazanami IWAYA, a scholar of children’s literature, held a performance at the Teikoku Gekijo Theater to commemorate 30 years of his career as a writer. The program was “Hachi no ki” (The Tree of a Pot), and it was a great success with families. Iwaya was born in 1870 (Meiji 3). His real name was Sueo IWAYA. His father, Ichiroku IWAYA, is a famous bureaucrat, a member of the House of Peers and a famous calligrapher. It is said that Sazanami Iwaya was interested in children’s literature through her brother, Ryutaro Iwaya, who was studying in Germany, and the book titled “Otto’s fairy...

On Friday, June 3, 1921 (Taisho 10), a series of stabbing incidents occurred in Higashi-Okubo by the driver of Tokyo City Trams, Lee Pan-neung(이판능). With hammers and knives, Lee attacked the family of his colleagues Endo Gohyakujiro, the family of his boss Imahoko Kanichi, as well as passers-by and Lee’s own family, killing 7 and injuring 10. This incident was widely reported and shook Tokyo citizens. The “Record of the Great Earthquake in the Taisho Period 1923” compiled in 1925 is an official record of the Great Kanto Earthquake, in which the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department compiles records of the head office and other offices. According to this record, one...

1921 (Taisho 10) Wednesday, June 1 The opening ceremony of Jikka Girls’ High School in Niigata City was held. In the Taisho Era, girls’ education developed in the late Meiji Period, especially after the Russo-Japanese War, has grown further. Not only girls’ high schools but also the number of women’s high schools nationwide including Jikka, which offers practical subjects such as housework and sewing. Niigata Jiska Girls’ High School was newly established in the trend. In 1925 (Taisho 15), 4 years later, Jikka Girls’ School changed its name to Niigata City Girls’ High School in response to requests for higher education in Niigata City, such as English and mathematics as...

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.

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...

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...

On Saturday, May 21, 1921, (Taisho 10) a pack of 10 cigarettes consisting of 10 sen “Air Ship” was sold by the Monopoly Bureau. In 1910 (Meiji 43), it was named so as to reflect a growing interest in the sky as seen in the appearance of airplanes, and sold in a pack of 50. The superb package design of the airplane in the back of the mountain is popular. The price in 1938 (Showa 13) was 18 sen. After saying “I see. Thank you.” the husband sat in a corner and grabbed a handful of Air Ship brand cigarettes which he had taken into his earlobe, but he couldn’t...

1921 (Taisho 10) May 13 (Friday) – 15th (Sunday) The 15 th solar cycle peak. Solar activity increases and anomalies are observed all over the world. Aurora was observed in the zenith in addition to the communication failure in California by the large-scale magnetic storm. The signal and switching system of the New York Railroad completely stopped, and the switchboard of the control tower was destroyed and a fire occurred. Telephone and telegraph connections were also disrupted in Europe. In Japan, too, the horizontal gauge needle of Kakioka Magnetic Observatory swung downward and became unobservable, which was published in English by Shinichi Kunitomi (28), an engineer at Kakioka Magnetic Observatory...

1921 (Taisho 10) Thursday, May 12: The poet Kozo TAKEUCHI was born in Fukiagecho, Ujiyamada City, Mie Prefecture (Present Fukiage, Ise City). He went on to Uji-Yamada Junior High School under the old system from Meirin Elementary School, which is famous for being the alma mater of baseball player Eiji Sawamura. 1940 (Showa 15) I went to Tokyo with a dream of becoming a movie director, and entered the film department of the prestigious Nihon University Specialty Division, but due to the Pacific War, 2 years later I graduated early and was drafted into the army. I was assigned to the paratroops in Tsukuba and received strict training when I...

1921 (Taisho 10) Tuesday, May 10: Zhou Zuoren, a younger brother of Lu Xun and a writer, published an article titled “Japanese poetry” in the Chinese magazine ‘Monthly Novels’. The feature and history of Japanese haiku, senryu and waka were introduced, and 13 Japanese haiku poems and 11 Japanese waka poems were translated for the first time in China. Zhou pointed out the “poetic atmosphere” of Japan and the “artistic sensibility” of the Japanese people. Zhou described the characteristics of Japanese culture as follows:. The atmosphere of poetry that prevails throughout Japan is a characteristic of Japan. The causes are the following two. The first is the relationship between climate...