Politics

Thursday, April 21 1921: Japan’s first women’s socialist organization “Sekirankai” was established.

1921 (Taisho 10) Thursday, April 21 Japan’s first women’s socialist organization “Sekirankai (Red Wave)” was established. “We are resolute in declaring war against all our oppression, our lack, our ignorance and our slavery.” he declared. The foundation was established with Kikuei Yamakawa (30) and Noe Ito (26) as advisors, and was led by Fusako Kuzumi (30), the wife of anarchists Myo Nakano and Kori, and Shizue Akizuki, who belonged to the May Society; a painter of the proletarian art movement Haruko Hashiura (22) and a younger sister Yasuo Hashiura, who belonged to the Proletarian Art Movement; and Magara Sakai (18), a daughter of socialist Toshihiko Sakai. It made a spectacular...
Birthday

Wednesday, April 20 1921: Michiko Inukai, grand daughter of Takeshi Inukai, was born.

1921 (Taisho 10) Wednesday, April 20: Critic Michiko INUKAI was born in Yotsuya, Shinjuku Ward. His grandfather was KMT leader Tsuyoshi INUKAI, who was assassinated 10 years later in the 515 Incident. His father, Takeru INUKAI, had a close relationship with the Shirakaba school as a writer at that time. Michiko INUKAI has lived with her grandfather since childhood and witnessed as many as 515 cases nearby. Tsuyoshi INUKAI especially adored his grandson, Michiko, and spent much of his later years with him. Michiko witnessed his grandfather Tsuyoshi INUKAI’s death at the age of 10 on the night of the 515 incident in her book ‘flowers and stars’. “I’m going...
Politics

Wednesday, April 20, 1921: Kichinosuke Saigo succeeded the title of Marquis.

1921 (Taisho 10) On Wednesday, April 20, Kichinosuke Saigo (11 year-old), the grandson of Takamori Saigo, succeeded the title of Marquis. His father Torataro SAIGO died of the Spanish Flu in 1919 (Taisho 8), and his older brother Takateru SAIGO, who succeeded the peerage, died suddenly the following year, which made his third son Kichinosuke succeed the peerage. After the war, he became a member of the House of Councilors from Kagoshima Prefecture, and became the Minister of Justice in the second Cabinet of Eisaku Sato in 1968 (Showa 43). However in 1971 (Showa 46), the so-called Saigo Incident was discovered, in which Kichinosuke SAIGO issued too many promissory notes...
Politics

Tuesday, April 19, 1921: Emperor Taisho’s condition announced.

Tuesday, April 19, 1921: The Ministry of the Imperial Household announced Emperor Taisho’s condition for the third time. The Emperor is still unable to speak. Vice-Minister of the Imperial Household Teizaburo Sekiya frankly announced that he had difficulty in speaking, especially in situations where he was under mental and physical strain, and that he needed assistance to climb and descend stairs. At the same time, it was announced that Emperor Taisho was going to Tamozawa Goyotei in Nikko for summer and rest from early June. According to a report by Kinnosuke Miura, professor of the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Tokyo, in March 1920 the previous year, since around...
Birthday

Tuesday, April 19, 1921: Baseball player SAKAMOTO Shigeru is born

Tuesday, April 19, 1921: Professional baseball player SAKAMOTO Shigeru is born in Oji, Kita Ward, Tokyo. Since elementary school, he has been playing amateur baseball for adults. With a swift run of 100 m 12 s flat, he was the Kanto elementary school student champion in the sprint. He hit 6 homers in 12 games between elementary schools in Tokyo and the newspaper said, “THE PRINCE’S GENIUS BOY”. After advancing to Nihon University Third Junior High School under the old system and current Nihon University Third High School, Sakamoto led the team as the fudo-no-yonban batter and participated in Koshien 4 times, reaching the last 8 in the 26 tournament....
Birthday

Monday, April 18, 1921: Pianist Mayako MUROI was born.

1921 (Taisho 10) Monday, April 18 “oldest active pianist” Mayako MUROI was born. She started playing the piano at the age of six, and studied under TAKAORI Miyaji (Miyaji Takaori), a leading prewar pianist who is also famous for teaching the piano to Her Majesty the Empress Michiko. 1941 (Showa 16) Graduated Tokyo Music School with top honors. Graduated in 1943 (Showa 18) under Professor Leonid Kreutzer. 1945 (Showa 20) Debuted as a soloist at Hibiya Public Hall in January at a concert of the Japan Symphony Orchestra, the predecessor of the current NHK Symphony Orchestra. After that, many performances were held, and it is said that he goes to...
Social

Sunday, April 17, 1921: Kamako YOSHIKAWA died at the age of 31

On Sunday, April 17, 1921, count’s daughter Kamako YOSHIKAWA, who lived in seclusion due to a scandal at Chiba Shinju, died of peritonitis at the age of 31. Kamako was the fourth daughter of Count Akimasa YOSHIKAWA. Hiroharu YOSHIKAWA, who married Kamako and became the husband of Yoshikawa’s daughter, was the second son of Arasuke SONE under the former family name of Hiroharu SONE. He was an onzoshi (Current Hitotsubashi University) who entered Mitsui from Tokyo Higher Commercial School. Kanji was not well behaved and often visited his mistress’ home, and his actual marriage with Kamako soon collapsed. Kanji invited Rikusuke KURAMOCHI, who had been a driver of Mitsui &...
Art

Saturday, April 16, 1921, Sessei OKAZAKI died.

On Saturday, April 16, 1921, Sessei OKAZAKI, a caster, died at the age of 67. His real name was Shojiro. He was born in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City in 1854. His father was Sadaho OKAZAKI, a kamashi (tea kettle caster). At the age of 21, he moved to Tokyo to study minting and became a disciple of Suzuki Masakichi, a caster. It was exhibited at the 1889 Paris World Exposition and received a high evaluation. The following year, 1890, he became a teacher of the Department of Casting at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts by Okakura Tenshin. He continued to produce works energetically, refined his casting techniques, and undertook...
Academic

Friday, April 15, 1921: New Woman’s high school “Jiyu Gakuen” founded

Friday, April 15, 1921: Christian woman thinker Motoko HANI and her husband, the former editor-in-chief of Hochi Shinbun, Yoshikazu HANI, founded Jiyu Gakuen in Takada-cho, Kitatoshima County, Tokyo Prefecture in order to practice their ideal education based on the spirit of Protestantism. The school was named after the New Testament ‘Gospel of John’ 8: 32 “Truth frees you”. The architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who agreed with the purpose of Jiyu Gakuen, undertook the design of many school buildings together with his disciple Arata ENDO. The central building, whose design was started in January 1921, is decorated with distinctive geometric patterns and still exists today as Jiyu Gakuen Myo-nichikan. At the...
Economy

Thursday, April 14, 1921: Mitsui will cut off 300 employees.

On Thursday, April 14, 1921, it was reported that Mitsui ordered 300 employees to stay at home because of the deepening post-war depression. This is 7.5% of the total 4,000 employees. The company subpoenaed 1/3 of U.S. branch employees and abolished special allowances, reducing salaries by 2 to 30%. The number of new graduates hired has been reduced from last year to just under 10. Mitsubishi also has 15 new graduates. It is becoming increasingly difficult for university graduates to find jobs. Yoshizuka Koichi, author of this blog, joined Mitsui as a new graduate in 1996, and at that time there were 160 people in her class. In 2020, it...