Fukushima Incident
Encyclopedia
The Fukushima Incident was a political tumult which took place in Fukushima Prefecture
in 1882.
The incident started with the appointment of Mishima Michitsune
as governor. His rule was contested by two groups, one in Aizu
and the other in the east of the prefecture, which remained separate until the end of 1882, when they drawn together by their shared persecution.
(Jiyūtō) developed a significant organisation in Fukushima
. Two branches, one in Aizu and another in the east of the prefecture were established in December 1881, two months after the Party itself was established. They were the largest party in the Fukushima Assembly, holding 24 out of the 62 seats, and also the most effectively organised. In addition, they had members in various positions of responsibility in both areas of influence: village heads (kochō), subdistrict heads (kuchō) and elected members of assemblies at village and subdistrict level. There were also a number of party members with positions of responsibility within the administration.
According to Sato Jiro, Mishima had received three secret orders upon appointment:
One of the first things Mishima did was to purge the administration of ninety members of Jiyūtō – this includes school teachers who were government employees.
district, was sacked and replaced by Satō Jirō.
When the Rengōkai met on 16 March, Nakajima Yuhachi was elected chairman. Two resolutions were accepted:
Two conditions were added to this:
The Rengōkai did not deal with the course of the road, the level of supplementary funds from the government, or how the tax was to be gathered.
In June it was discovered that the contribution from central government had been reduced from 260,000 yen to 98,000 yen. However, the government also agreed an interest free loan to the Teiseito of 196,000 Yen, which had recruited unemployed ex-Samurai and established its headquarters, the Nisshinkan.Furthermore, Mishima, suspended the Rengōkai, taking charge of the road building himself. Furthermore the corvée labour and taxes were deemed to start in March. Igarashi and other Jiyūtō activists were able to get a majority of the Rengōkai to sign a petition for a special session of the Rengōkai to oppose these developments. This was accompanied by Jiyūtō activists proposing civil disobedience against the levies, principally in Yama
, Kawanuma
and Ōnuma
districts.
On 18 August the Jiyūtō members of the Rengōkai met in secret and resolved that Jiyūtō should organise more widespread and structured protests to the road building programme, utilising lawsuits and boycotts. That night the government reacted to the agitation by organising attacks on Jiyūtō activists while they were asleep. This is known as the Shimizuya jiken.
Fukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
in 1882.
The incident started with the appointment of Mishima Michitsune
Mishima Michitsune
Viscount Mishima Michitsune was a vassal of the Satsuma Domain during the Late Tokugawa shogunate, Home Ministry bureaucrat and viscount. He is also commonly known as Yahei or Yahée ....
as governor. His rule was contested by two groups, one in Aizu
Aizu
is an area comprising the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. The principal city of the area is Aizuwakamatsu.During the Edo period, Aizu was a feudal domain known as and part of Mutsu Province.-History:...
and the other in the east of the prefecture, which remained separate until the end of 1882, when they drawn together by their shared persecution.
Fukushima Jiyūtō
The Liberal PartyLiberal Party of Japan (1881)
The is the name of several liberal political parties in the history of Japan, two of which existed in the Empire of Japan prior to 1945.-Liberal Party of 1881:...
(Jiyūtō) developed a significant organisation in Fukushima
Fukushima, Fukushima
is the capital city of Fukushima Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region of Japan. As of May 2011 the city has an estimated population of 290,064 and an area of 746.43 km².It lies about 250 km north of Tokyo and 80 km south of Sendai.-History:...
. Two branches, one in Aizu and another in the east of the prefecture were established in December 1881, two months after the Party itself was established. They were the largest party in the Fukushima Assembly, holding 24 out of the 62 seats, and also the most effectively organised. In addition, they had members in various positions of responsibility in both areas of influence: village heads (kochō), subdistrict heads (kuchō) and elected members of assemblies at village and subdistrict level. There were also a number of party members with positions of responsibility within the administration.
According to Sato Jiro, Mishima had received three secret orders upon appointment:
- To destroy the Jiyūtō
- To develop his own party, the newly created Rikken TeiseitōRikken TeiseitoThe was a short-lived conservative political party in the Meiji period Empire of Japan. It was also known as simply the ‘Teiseitō’.The Teiseitō was founded in March 1882, by the editor of the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun, Fukuichi Gen'ichirō, and a number of bureaucrats and conservative journalists...
- To build certain roads
One of the first things Mishima did was to purge the administration of ninety members of Jiyūtō – this includes school teachers who were government employees.
Action in Aizu
Mishima started setting up the Aizu Rukugun Rengōkai (Six Aizu Districts' Joint Committee) to rubber stamp some controversial policies concerning the road he was building - and for which the local community would have to foot much of the bill. Mishima wanted this Rengōkai was to consist of thirty members, five from each district. However, the rules committee set up to supervise the election, decided to make the number of representatives from each district reflect the size of the population, and that they should be directly elected by all male taxpayers twenty years old or older. Although Mishima originally wanted to have indirect elections he accepted this, and by early March 46 members had been elected. This election was questioned by the Aizu Jiyūtō, and Igarashi Chikarasuke, the administrative head of YamaYama District, Fukushima
is a district located in Fukushima, Japan.As of 2008, the district has an estimated population of 31,175 and a density of 31.6 persons per km². The total area is 986.763 km².-Towns and villages:*Bandai*Inawashiro*Kitashiobara*Nishiaizu-Merger:...
district, was sacked and replaced by Satō Jirō.
When the Rengōkai met on 16 March, Nakajima Yuhachi was elected chairman. Two resolutions were accepted:
- All Aizu residents between the ages of 15 and 60 (excluding the disabled and the widowed) should provide one day of corvéeCorvéeCorvée is unfree labour, often unpaid, that is required of people of lower social standing and imposed on them by the state or a superior . The corvée was the earliest and most widespread form of taxation, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization...
labour each month for a period of two years - Those disinclined to work could pay a substitute labour tax of fifteen sen a day for males, and 10 sen a day for females.
Two conditions were added to this:
- The Central government should grant supplementary funds
- The corvée labourers should only work on flat land, with all work in the mountains and bridges being done by professionals.
The Rengōkai did not deal with the course of the road, the level of supplementary funds from the government, or how the tax was to be gathered.
In June it was discovered that the contribution from central government had been reduced from 260,000 yen to 98,000 yen. However, the government also agreed an interest free loan to the Teiseito of 196,000 Yen, which had recruited unemployed ex-Samurai and established its headquarters, the Nisshinkan.Furthermore, Mishima, suspended the Rengōkai, taking charge of the road building himself. Furthermore the corvée labour and taxes were deemed to start in March. Igarashi and other Jiyūtō activists were able to get a majority of the Rengōkai to sign a petition for a special session of the Rengōkai to oppose these developments. This was accompanied by Jiyūtō activists proposing civil disobedience against the levies, principally in Yama
Yama District, Fukushima
is a district located in Fukushima, Japan.As of 2008, the district has an estimated population of 31,175 and a density of 31.6 persons per km². The total area is 986.763 km².-Towns and villages:*Bandai*Inawashiro*Kitashiobara*Nishiaizu-Merger:...
, Kawanuma
Kawanuma District, Fukushima
is a district located in Fukushima, Japan.As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 36,117 and a density of 111.59 persons per km². The total area is 323.65 km².-Towns and villages:*Aizubange*Yanaizu*Yugawa-Mergers:...
and Ōnuma
Onuma District, Fukushima
is a district located in Fukushima, Japan.As of 2008, the district has an estimated population of 29,787 and a density of 34.2 persons per km². The total area is 870.51 km².-Towns and villages:*Aizumisato*Kaneyama*Mishima*Shōwa-Mergers:...
districts.
On 18 August the Jiyūtō members of the Rengōkai met in secret and resolved that Jiyūtō should organise more widespread and structured protests to the road building programme, utilising lawsuits and boycotts. That night the government reacted to the agitation by organising attacks on Jiyūtō activists while they were asleep. This is known as the Shimizuya jiken.