Tokutomi Sohō

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Tokutomi Sohō

Tokutomi Sohō ( Japanese 徳 富 蘇 峰 , maiden name Tokutomi Iichiro (徳 富 猪 一郎); born March 14, 1863 in Minamata ; † November 2, 1957 ibid) was a Japanese historian , critic and journalist .

Live and act

Tokutomi Sohō was a student of Niijima Jō . In 1887 he founded the publishing group "Min'yūsha" (民 友 社), "Society of Friends of the People". The weekly magazine “Kokumin no tomo” (国民 の 友) - “Friends of the People” - and the daily newspaper “Kokumin shimbun” (国民 新聞) published from 1890 on gave his view of society: rejection of some aspects of traditional Japanese society , Support of a parliamentary system with western characteristics, pacifism and internationalism. From 1892 to 1898 “Katei zasshi” (家庭 雑 誌) - “Journal for the home” and the English edition of Kokumin no tomo, “The Far East” from 1896 to 1898 were published.

After the Sino-Japanese War in 1894/95, Tokutomi's views were more conservative, where he maintained close contact with Katsura Taro . However, the popularity of his publishing products decreased: In 1898 he had to hire "Friends of the People". - The Kokumin Shimbun newspaper now campaigned for Japanese expansion and supported the views of General Yamagata Aritomo and those of his followers. But the newspaper also lost its influence and ceased to appear in 1929.

In 1911, Tokutomi was appointed a member of the Kizokuin by the Tennō . In 1943 he was awarded the Order of Culture . After the end of the Pacific War he was charged with supporting the government and placed under arrest from December 1945 to August 1947 for health reasons. In 1946 he returned the Order of Culture.  

Tokutomi Sohō is considered one of the most important thinkers of the Meiji period . Between 1918 and 1952 he wrote the hundred-volume “Kinsei Nihon Kokumin-shi” (近世 日本 国民 史), that is, the “History of Japan Today”. He was the older brother of the writer Tokutomi Roka .

literature

  • S. Noma (Ed.): Tokutomi Sohō . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X
  • Hunter, Janet: Minyusha . In: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Kodansha International, 1984. ISBN 4-7700-1193-8 .
  • John D. Pierson: Tokutomi Soho 1863-1957: A Journalist for Modern Japan, 1980. ISBN 0-691-04674-3 .