Nakae Chomin
Encyclopedia
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. As a result, Nakae is thought to have been a major force in the development of liberalism
in early Japanese politics.
, Tosa Domain
(present day Kōchi Prefecture
). 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 and Edo
. Later, he worked as a translator for the French minister to Japan, Léon Roches
.
After the Meiji Restoration
, he was selected as a member of the Iwakura Mission
and travelled abroad (under the patronage of the Justice Ministry
) to study philosophy, history, and French literature
in France, where he lived from 1871 until 1874. While in France, Nakae translated some of the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
into Japanese (most importantly, Rousseau’s "Du contrat social"
) as well as Eugène Véron's L'esthétique. He joined Saionji Kinmochi
at Emile Acollas
' Law School for foreign students in Paris
.
Upon his return to Japan, Nakae served as a lower-ranked secretary of the Genrōin
. 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
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
and the rapid implementation of an elected national assembly
. In 1887, Nakae was sentenced to exile from Tokyo under the Peace Preservation Law
for publishing critical articles about the Meiji oligarchy
. He spent the next few years in Osaka
, where he started the . Nakae was pardoned after the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution
in 1889, and he and his family moved back to Tokyo in October of that year.
During the 1890 General Election
, Nakae successfully ran for a seat in the lower house
of the Diet of Japan
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
, and retired to Hokkaidō
, 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
in 1901. His grave is at Aoyama Cemetery, Tokyo.
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. His real name was . His major contribution was the popularization of the egalitarian
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
doctrines of the French philosopher
French philosophy
French philosophy, here taken to mean philosophy in the French language, has been extremely diverse and has influenced Western philosophy as a whole for centuries, from the medieval scholasticism of Peter Abelard, through the founding of modern philosophy by René Descartes, to 20th century...
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
in Japan. As a result, Nakae is thought to have been a major force in the development of liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
in early Japanese politics.
Biography
Nakae was born in KōchiKochi, Kochi
is the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture on Shikoku island of Japan.Kōchi is the main city of the prefecture with over 40% of its population. As of May 31, 2008, the city had an estimated population of 340,515 and a density of...
, Tosa Domain
Tosa Domain
The was a feudal domain in Tosa Province of Japan during the Edo period. Its official name is . Some from the domain played important roles in events in the late Tokugawa shogunate...
(present day Kōchi Prefecture
Kochi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the south coast of Shikoku. The capital is the city of Kōchi.- History :Prior to the Meiji Restoration, Kōchi was known as Tosa Province and was controlled by the Chosokabe clan in the Sengoku period and the Yamauchi family during the Edo period.- Geography...
). His father was an ashigaru
Ashigaru
The Japanese ashigaru were foot-soldiers of medieval Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 1300s, but it was during the Ashikaga Shogunate-Muromachi period that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.-Origins:Attempts were made in Japan by the Emperor...
, or lower ranking foot soldier in the service of the Yamauchi clan of Tosa. Having displayed an early aptitude for Western learning
Rangaku
Rangaku is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641–1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunate’s policy of national...
, after studies at the domain academy, Nakae was selected to study French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
at Nagasaki and Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
. Later, he worked as a translator for the French minister to Japan, Léon Roches
Léon Roches
Léon Roches was a representative of the French government in Japan from 1864 to 1868.Léon Roches was a student at the Lycée de Tournon in Grenoble, and followed an education in Law...
.
After the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, he was selected as a member of the Iwakura Mission
Iwakura mission
The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy was a Japanese diplomatic journey around the world, initiated in 1871 by the oligarchs of the Meiji period. Although it was not the only such "mission", it is the most well-known and possibly most important for the modernization of Japan after a long period...
and travelled abroad (under the patronage of the Justice Ministry
Ministry of Justice (Japan)
The is one of Ministries of the Japanese government.-Meiji Constitution:The Ministry of Justice was established under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan in 1871 as the .-Constitution of Japan:...
) to study philosophy, history, and French literature
French literature
French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...
in France, where he lived from 1871 until 1874. While in France, Nakae translated some of the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
into Japanese (most importantly, Rousseau’s "Du contrat social"
Social Contract (Rousseau)
Of The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is the book in which Rousseau theorized about the best way in which to set up a political community in the face of the problems of commercial society which he had already identified in his Discourse on Inequality...
) as well as Eugène Véron's L'esthétique. He joined Saionji Kinmochi
Saionji Kinmochi
Prince was a Japanese politician, statesman and twice Prime Minister of Japan. His title does not signify the son of an emperor, but the highest rank of Japanese hereditary nobility; he was elevated from marquis to prince in 1920...
at Emile Acollas
Emile Acollas
Emile Acollas was a French professor of Jurisprudence born in La Châtre, Indre.He was one of the founders of the League of Peace and Freedom set up in 1867. His call for the conference gained 10,000 adherents including Victor Hugo, John Stuart Mill, Elisée Reclus, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Louis Blanc...
' Law School for foreign students in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Upon his return to Japan, Nakae served as a lower-ranked secretary of the Genrōin
Genroin
' was a national assembly in early Meiji Japan, established after the Osaka Conference of 1875. It is also referred to as the Senate of Japan, Genrōin being the word used to describe the Roman Senate, and other western legislatures named after it....
. 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
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
ideas. The newspaper was soon suppressed by the authorities for propagation of republicanism
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
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
Unequal Treaties
“Unequal treaty” is a term used in specific reference to a number of treaties imposed by Western powers, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, on Qing Dynasty China and late Tokugawa Japan...
and the rapid implementation of an elected national assembly
National Assembly
National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
. In 1887, Nakae was sentenced to exile from Tokyo under the Peace Preservation Law
Peace Preservation Law
The Public Security Preservation Laws were a series of laws enacted during the Empire of Japan. Collectively, the laws were designed to suppress political dissent.-the Safety Preservation Law of 1894:...
for publishing critical articles about the Meiji oligarchy
Meiji oligarchy
The Meiji oligarchy was the name used to describe the new ruling class of Meiji period Japan. In Japanese, the Meiji oligarchy is called the ....
. He spent the next few years in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, where he started the . Nakae was pardoned after the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution
Meiji Constitution
The ', known informally as the ', was the organic law of the Japanese empire, in force from November 29, 1890 until May 2, 1947.-Outline:...
in 1889, and he and his family moved back to Tokyo in October of that year.
During the 1890 General Election
Japanese general election, 1890
was the Empire of Japan’s first general election for members of the House of Representatives of the Diet of Japan. It was the first example of a popularly elected national assembly in Asia -History and background:...
, Nakae successfully ran for a seat in the lower house
House of Representatives of Japan
The is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.The House of Representatives has 480 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,...
of the Diet of Japan
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
from the Osaka 4th District. He allied with Itagaki’s
Itagaki Taisuke
Count was a Japanese politician and leader of the , which evolved into Japan's first political party.- Early life :Itagaki Taisuke was born into a middle-ranking samurai family in Tosa Domain, , After studies in Kōchi and in Edo, he was appointed as sobayonin to Tosa daimyo Yamauchi Toyoshige,...
Jiyūto
Liberal 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:...
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
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, and retired to Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, where he again established a newspaper. He ran for office again in the 1892 General Election
Japanese general election, 1892
The was the Empire of Japan’s second general election for members of the House of Representatives of the Diet of Japan, held on February 15, 1892.-History and background:...
, 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
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
in 1901. His grave is at Aoyama Cemetery, Tokyo.