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Kotoku Shusui

Kotoku Shusui (幸德秋水, November 5, 1871-January 24, 1911), whose real name is Tenjiro (伝次郎), is a Japanese socialist and anarchist from Kochi Prefecture (高知県), and he was one of the anti-imperialism leaders of Japan in the early 20th century. He studied philosophy, history, and literature in France on a national scholarship, and served as the editor in chief for The Oriental Free Press, a newspaper founded by Saionji Kinmochi (西園寺公望). And he translated The Social Contract, or Principles of Political Right (民約論) by J.J. Rousseau and wrote Notes on the Social Contract 民約譯解), which were widely known to many who were interested in people's right in Europe and earned him the reputation as the 'Rousseau of the East.'

Kotoku was a newspaper writer for The Free Press, and the Tokyo General Morning News (萬朝報) from 1893, and he later converted to a socialist. In 1901, he wrote Imperialism, the Monster of the 20th Century to criticize imperialism. And in 1903, he founded Heiminsha (平民社) to launch the magazine Heimin Shinbun (平民新聞) in which he ran articles opposing the Russo-Japanese War and calling for the workers to unite and go on a general strike. Ultimately, these activities would lead him to be charged with 'treason' for plotting to assassinate the king of Japan (天皇, tenno) in 1910 and executed in the following year of 1911. As he was an advocate of the freedom of the press and critic of Japan's aggressive policy, some scholars regard Kotoku as an anarchist martyr.

The Life and Thought of Kotoku Shusui

The newspaper in which the first
Japanese translation of
'The Communist Manifesto'
by Kotoku appeared
(part of Heimin Shinbun
dated November 13, 1904)

Kotoku is not well known to us Koreans other than the facts that when he was arrested for plotting to assassinate the king of Japan in 1910, he reportedly had a post card in his chest commemorating the Korean patriot Ahn Jung-geun and that he was an intellectual advocating the independence of Korea. But Kotoku lived in a transitional time for Japan when the country was struggling not to be colonized by the West and, at the same time, as a late-capitalist country, suffering from a number of social maladies while trying to realize in Asia the imperialism fantasy learned from the West. With their victories in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Japan laid a foundation for expansion as an imperialist nation, and completed the framework as a modern nation by relying on the military and bureaucracy with the king as the center. The modern state of Japan completed in such a short period of time went on to develop into a totalitarian nation which treated its people as consumable parts of the nation without allowing them the time to learn the concept of autonomy. But as Japanese society as a whole was open to various thoughts at that time, the absolute monarchism that exacted loyalty to the king from his subjects was not tolerated by those who dreamed of social reform. Kotoku openly expressed his position critical of Japan's imperial expansion after winning the wars with China and Russia. And this may make him an early critic of Japan's imperialism. Kotoku also started a socialist campaign by drawing on his experience in freedom and people's right movement, and criticized imperialism and the totalitarian system led by the king of Japan based on the anarchist thought. This suggests that Kotoku pioneered progressive discourse in modern East Asia. In his book Imperialism, the Monster of the 20th Century, Kotoku identified imperialism as a combination of nationalism and militarism and denounced it as a fantasy for the small ruling class. However, the so-called 'Criticism of the Japanese Empire' by Kotoku has limitations in that while his criticism was directed mainly against the use of force, he seldom, if ever, criticized the totalitarian national system, economy, and diplomatic policy of aggression by the king of Japan. Nevertheless, his criticism of imperialism contains the 'antiwar message' that reckless, fist-law wars of aggression should be put to an end. And the criticism of imperialism by Kotoku contributed to providing theoretical framework for anti-imperialism movement in East Asia and, at the same time, influenced the leaders of the Xinhai Revolution in China.

100 Years After the Death of Kotoku, What Does It Tell Us?

With the death of Kotoku implicated in treason, Japan saw a rapid decline in anarchist movement because Kotoku's treason case precipitated the establishment of the Special Higher Police by the Japanese government which would further oppress social movement. Afterwards, Japan established a social system under which the people were deprived of freedom and placed under surveillance. This is the Kotuku's nightmare come true, and this system was sustained until Japan's defeat in the war in 1945. Now that 100 years have passed since the death of Kotoku, it becomes clear what challenge he left in 21st-century East Asia and how we should think of him. The thought of Kotoku should not be restricted to the limited period of the early 21st century. It is something to revisit in the phenomena of Japanese society today overflowing with patriotism.