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...

1921 (Taisho 10) Sunday, May 8: Merriman Colbert Harris, a missionary, died in the Harris house of Aoyama Gakuin University at the age of 75. Harris was born in Ohio in 1846. He served in the Union army during the Civil War. After the war, he graduated from Allegheny College and married Flora Lydia Best. In 1873, he came to Japan as a missionary of the American Methodist Episcopal Church (1873) with his wife. In 1874, he went to Hakodate, where he taught Christianity and also served as consul to the United States (1874). He lived in Japan for more than 50 years and had a great influence on Sapporo...

1921 (Taisho 10) Thursday, April 28 Poet and children’s lyricist Kitahara Hakushu gets married for the third time. I divorced my ex-wife Ayako Eguchi last May. His third wife, Kikuko (Maiden Name: Sato), was a brilliant woman who had graduated from Oita Girls’ High School and became the last wife of Hakushu who had been said to be “big baby”. When Hakushu and Kikuko first met, Hakushu was 35 and Kikuko was 31. For 21 and a half years, Kikuko brought peace to the family and devoted herself to supporting her husband who lost his eyesight in 1937 (Showa 12). Kikuko’s newlywed life was hard, and she spent days entertaining...