![Azenbo Soeda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Azenbo_Soeda.jpg)
The (abbreviated as ) or Popular Rights Movement was a Japanese political and social movement for
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
in the 1880s. It pursued the formation of an elected
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
, revision of the
Unequal Treaties
Unequal treaty is the name given by the Chinese to a series of treaties signed during the 19th and early 20th centuries, between China (mostly referring to the Qing dynasty) and various Western powers (specifically the British Empire, France, the ...
with the United States and European countries, the institution of
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
, and the reduction of centralized taxation.
"Quickening of the people's right movement", Matsuoka, Kiichi (Japanese)
/ref>
The Movement prompted the Meiji government
The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan.
Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...
to establish a constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
in 1889 and a diet in 1890; on the other hand, it failed to loosen the control of the central government and its demand for true democracy remained unfulfilled, with ultimate power continuing to reside in the Meiji (Chōshū–Satsuma) oligarchy because, among other limitations, under the Meiji Constitution, the first election law
Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management b ...
enfranchised only men who paid a substantial amount in property taxes, as a result of the Land Tax Reform in 1873.
Related people
* Chiba Takusaburō, author of the " Itsukaichi constitution" (五日市憲法), a draft constitution for the Empire of Japan
*Etō Shinpei
was a Japanese statesman during the early Meiji period, remembered chiefly for his role in the unsuccessful Saga Rebellion.
Early life and Meiji bureaucrat
Etō was born into a crestless and poor samurai family in Yae (modern-day Saga), ...
*Fukuda Hideko
Fukuda Hideko (福田 英子, October 5, 1865 – May 2, 1927) was a Japanese author, educator and feminist of the Meiji period in Japan. Born Kageyama Hideko, she was educated at a young age and pursued socialist and feminist goals for most o ...
*Gotō Shōjirō
Count was a Japanese samurai and politician during the Bakumatsu and early Meiji period of Japanese history.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Gotō Shōjirō" in He was a leader of which would evolve into a political party.
Early life
...
* Ido Reizan
*Inoue Kaoru
Marquess Inoue Kaoru (井上 馨, January 16, 1836 – September 1, 1915) was a Japanese politician and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period of the Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesmen (''Genrō'') in Jap ...
*Itagaki Taisuke
Count was a Japanese politician. He was a leader of the "Freedom and People's Rights Movement" and founded Japan's first political party, the Liberal Party.
Biography
Early life
Itagaki Taisuke was born into a middle-ranking ''samurai'' ...
, founder of the first Jiyūtō, and former leader of the Jinshotai
* Yamamoto Yae
*Nakae Chōmin
was the pen-name of a journalist, political theorist and statesman in Meiji-period Japan. His real name was . His major contribution was the popularization of the egalitarian doctrines of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Japan ...
*Ōkuma Shigenobu
Marquess was a Japanese statesman and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy. He served as Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan in 1898 and from 1914 to 1916. Ōkuma was also an early advocate of Western science and culture in Japan, and ...
*Shimizu Shikin
Shimizu Shikin ( ja, 清水紫琴; 1868–1933), pen name of Shimizu Toyoko, was a Japanese novelist and women's rights activist of the Meiji period in Japan. A lecturer on equality and social issues, she was forced to turn to writing when the law ...
*Soejima Taneomi
Count was a diplomat and statesman during early Meiji period Japan.
Life and career
Soejima was born into a ''samurai'' family in Saga, in Hizen Province (present-day Saga Prefecture). His father was a teacher in the domain's school and a scho ...
*Yamaji Motoharu
Viscount , was a lieutenant general in the early Imperial Japanese Army during the First Sino-Japanese War.
Biography Early career
Yamaji was born in Tosa Domain (present day Kōchi Prefecture) in what is now part of the city of Kōchi, where ...
, former Jinshotai commander
*Tokutomi Sohō
was the pen name of a journalist and historian active from late Meiji period through mid-Shōwa period Japan. Named Tokutomi Iichirō at birth, he was the older brother of noted author, Tokutomi Roka.
Biography
Sohō was born in Minamata, Higo ...
*Ueki Emori
was a Japanese revolutionary democrat active in the Freedom and People's Rights Movement and one of the founders of the , which was a political party and joined the League for the Establishment of a National Assembly.
Ueki was the son of a mi ...
* Soeda Azenbō, prolific enka
is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, p ...
lyricist and street performer
*Saionji Kinmochi
Prince was a Japanese politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1906 to 1908 and from 1911 to 1912. He was elevated from marquis to prince in 1920. As the last surviving member of Japan's ''genrō,'' he was the most in ...
, one of the last Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
democrats, who later tried to prevent the Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. It was a defensive military ...
See also
* Liberalism in Japan
Japanese liberalism formed in the nineteenth century as a reaction against traditional society. In the twentieth century 'liberal' gradually became a synonym for conservative, and today the main conservative party in the country is named Liber ...
* Japanese dissidence during the Shōwa period
Political dissidence in the Empire of Japan covers individual Japanese dissidents against the policies of the Empire of Japan.
Dissidence in the Meiji and Taishō eras High Treason Incident
Shūsui Kōtoku, a Japanese anarchist, was critical ...
* Taisho Democracy
* General Election Law The was a law passed in Taishō period Japan, extending suffrage to all males aged 25 and over. It was proposed by the Kenseitō political party and it was passed by the Diet of Japan on 5 May 1925.
The law increased the electorate from 3,341,00 ...
- the law which granted all males aged 25 and over suffrage, enacted in 1925.
References
*
{{Authority control
Political organizations based in Japan
Politics of the Empire of Japan
1880s in Japan
Democracy movements
Liberalism in Japan
Electoral reform in Japan