was the

pen-name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Yamamoto Manjirō, a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

social critic Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in particular with respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general. Social criticism of the Enlightenment The orig ...

, and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

in the Taishō and

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

s Japan. He was one of the most important and widely read supporters of

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

and

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

in inter-war Japan.

Biography

Nyozekan was born in the Fukagawa district of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, as the son of Yamada Tokujirō. He was adopted into his paternal grandmother's family, and took their name of Hasegawa. From 1885 to 1897, Nyozekan was a student at Dōjinsha, a school founded by Masanao Nakamura. He later attended the Tokyo Hōgakuin legal school (now part of

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...

). He graduated in 1898 with a degree in criminal law. He was hired by

Kuga Katsunan was a Japanese journalist. He launched the newspaper ''Tokyo Dempō'' and further developed it into the newspaper ''Nippon'', advocating nationalism, and developed speech activities to promote nationalism that criticized Europeanization, in coo ...

as a journalist in 1903, for the newspaper ''Nihon''. In 1907, he was scouted by

Miyake Setsurei was a famous philosopher and author from Japan. He graduated from the University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Im ...

and changed to the ''Nihon oyobi Nihonjin'' ("Japan and the Japanese") magazine. A few years later, he returned to newspaper journalism by changing jobs to the ''Osaka

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition a ...

.'' His writings reveal his leftist political leanings, and in 1918, he resigned in protest after the newspaper was censured by the government. In 1919, Nyozekan and fellow liberal journalist Oyama Ikuo founded the political magazine ''Warera'' ("We"), in which they sought to promote political reform and

social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

, while combating Japan's ever growing

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

and

ultranationalism Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an Extremism, extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, Supremacism, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coerc ...

. In 1932, he published one of his most important works, Nihon ''fuashizumu hihan'' ("Critique of Japanese Fascism"), an analysis of the growing phenomena of "

Japanese fascism Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

”. Increasing government repression and application of the Peace Preservation Laws in the mid-1930s, resulted in Nyozekan's arrest and a brief period in prison. This prompted Nyozekan to change to more subdued style, arguing that the Japanese people and national culture were inherently liberal, rational and democratic, and comparable to British

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econo ...

. Although he was forced to keep a low profile, he did not compromise his opposition to militarism and

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regu ...

. Surprisingly to some, although Hasegawa wrote essays protesting that journalism must remain neutral and above politics, he also wrote in favor of the

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere The , also known as the GEACPS, was a concept that was developed in the Empire of Japan and propagated to Asian populations which were occupied by it from 1931 to 1945, and which officially aimed at creating a self-sufficient bloc of Asian peo ...

, in which he saw the potential for the favorable development of Asia economically and culturally under Asian, rather than European influence. In 1946, Hasegawa became a member of the House of Peers for its last session before the abolition of the

Meiji Constitution The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in for ...

. In 1947, he was elected to the Japan Art Academy, and in 1948 he was awarded the

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipient ...

by the Japanese government. His grave is at the temple of Seirin-ji in Bunkyō, Tokyo.

References

*Hanneman, Mary L. ''Hasegawa Nyozekan and Liberalism in Modern Japan''. (Global Oriental, 2007). {{DEFAULTSORT:Hasegawa, Nyozekan 1875 births 1969 deaths Japanese essayists People from Tokyo Japanese journalists The Asahi Shimbun people Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Social critics

Biography

See also

References