was the pen-name of a journalist, political theorist and statesman in
Meiji-period Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. His real name was . His major contribution was the popularization of the
egalitarian
Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all h ...
doctrines of the
French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
in Japan. As a result, Nakae is thought to have been a major force in the development of
liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
in early Japanese politics.
Biography
Nakae was born in
Kōchi,
Tosa Domain
The was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its ...
(present day
Kōchi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tok ...
). His father was an ''
ashigaru'', or lower ranking foot soldier in the service of the
Yamauchi clan of Tosa. Having displayed an early aptitude for
Western learning, after studies at the domain academy, Nakae was selected to study
French and
Dutch at
Nagasaki
, officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...
and
Edo. Later, he worked as a translator for the French minister to Japan,
Léon Roches.
After the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
, he was selected as a member of the
Iwakura Mission
The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (, ''Iwakura Shisetsudan'') was a Japanese diplomatic voyage to Europe and the United States conducted between 1871 and 1873 by leading statesmen and scholars of the Meiji period. It was not the only such m ...
and travelled abroad (under the patronage of the
Justice Ministry
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
) to study philosophy, history, and
French literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...
in France, where he lived from 1871 until 1874. While in France, Nakae translated some of
Rousseau's works into Japanese (most importantly, Rousseau’s
"Social Contrat") and
Eugène Véron's ''L'esthétique''. He joined
Saionji Kinmochi
Kazoku, Prince was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1906 to 1908, and from 1911 to 1912. As the last surviving member of the ''genrō'', the group of senior statesmen who had directed pol ...
at
Emile Acollas' Law School for foreign students in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
Upon his return to Japan, Nakae served as a lower-ranked secretary of the
Genrōin
The was a Government of Meiji Japan#Establishment of a national assembly, national assembly in early Meiji period, Meiji Japan, established after the Osaka Conference of 1875. It is also referred to as the Senate of Japan, being the word used ...
. However, he soon became disenchanted by corruption and factionalism in Japanese government, and resigned to devote himself to other literary and educational activities.
In 1874, he established his own French language school. In 1881, he helped to start the daily newspaper, , through which he propagated Western
democratic ideas. The newspaper was soon suppressed by the authorities for propagation of
republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...
and
lese majesty. The newspaper reemerged as the milder the following year with Nakae as its chief editor. The newspaper continued to attack factionalism and corruption in government, and to agitate for revision of the
unequal treaties
The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between Asian countries—most notably Qing China, Tokugawa Japan and Joseon Korea—and Western countries—most notably the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Unit ...
and the rapid implementation of an elected
national assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
. In 1887, Nakae was sentenced to exile from Tokyo under the for publishing critical articles about the
Meiji oligarchy. He spent the next few years in
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, where he started the . Nakae was pardoned after the promulgation 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 ...
in 1889, and he and his family moved back to Tokyo in October of that year.
[Chōmin, Nakae. ''A Discourse By Three Drunkards On Government''. Translated by Nobuko Tsukui. Boston: Weatherhill, 1984.]
During the
1890 General Election, Nakae successfully ran for a seat in the
lower house
A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...
of the
Diet of Japan
, transcription_name = ''Kokkai''
, legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet
, coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg
, house_type = Bicameral
, houses =
, foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
from the Osaka 4th District. He allied with
Itagaki’s ''
Jiyūto'' political party, and its successor, the ''Rikken Jiyūtō'', establishing a newspaper, ''Rikken Jiyūtō Shinbun'', as the party’s official mouthpiece. However, Nakae soon became disenchanted with the domination of the ''Jiyūtō'' by members of the former Tosa clan, and its blind opposition to policies of the
Chōshū-dominated government. He left government for health reasons and for
alcoholism
Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
, and retired to
Hokkaidō
is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel.
The ...
, where he again established a newspaper. He ran for office again in the
1892 General Election, and after re-election was a strong supporter of railroad development.
Nakae continued to write, despite poverty and illness, until his death of
esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...
in 1901. His grave is at
Aoyama Cemetery, Tokyo.
Works
* A Discourse by Three Drunkards on Government
Notes
See also
*
Fukuzawa Yukichi
*
Natsume Sōseki
*
Susumu Nishibe
*
Tsuneari Fukuda
*
Yamamoto Tsunetomo
References
* Eddy Dufourmont, “Rousseau in Modern Japan (1868-1889): Nakae Chōmin and the source of East Asian democracy” dans Neal Harris, Denis C. Bosseau, Ployjai Pintobtang, and Owen Brown ed., ''Rousseau’s Philosophy: Interdisciplinary Essays'', Palgrave Macmillan Cham, 2023, pp.239-260. .
* Eddy Dufourmont, ''Rousseau et la première philosophie de la liberté en Asie (1874-1890): Nakae Chômin'', Le Bord de l'eau, 2021.
*Hane, Mikiso. ''Modern Japan: A Historical Survey''. Westview Press (2001).
*Hotta Eri. ''Pan-Asianism and Japan’s War of 1931-1945. Pan-Asianism and Japan's War 1931-1945''. Palgrave Macmillan (2007).
*
Jansen, Marius B. (2000). ''The Making of Modern Japan.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
OCLC 44090600*
Najita, Tetsuo. ''Japan: The Intellectual Foundations of Modern Japanese Politics''. University of Chicago Press (1998).
Further reading
*
External links
National Diet Library Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chomin, Nakae
People of the Meiji era
19th-century Japanese philosophers
Japanese political journalists
1901 deaths
1847 births
People from Kōchi, Kōchi
Deaths from esophageal cancer in Japan
19th-century Japanese people
Members of the House of Representatives (Empire of Japan)
Liberal Party (Japan, 1881) politicians
Burials at Aoyama Cemetery
Japanese atheists