26-07-2025
VOX POPULI: ‘Most difficult homework' in the words of author Kunio Yanagita
A black-and-white photo shows a group of 10 or so schoolchildren staring at an announcement in vertical script on a bulletin board in 1928.
That year, men aged 25 and older were given the right to vote, and the notice proclaimed the first general election under the new law.
The children may have gathered at the bulletin board out of curiosity. The photo was captioned rather cynically: 'The most difficult homework.'
The photo graces the pages of 'Meiji-Taisho-shi: Seso Hen' (History of the Meiji and Taisho eras: Chapter on social climate), a book written by Kunio Yanagita (1875-1962) that stands as a masterful portrayal of social trends during the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) eras.
Focusing on a broad array of subjects, ranging from housing to diet, clothing, work and romantic relations, Yanagita analyzed how the lifestyle of 'ordinary' Japanese citizens had changed through the years.
In conclusion, he wrote: 'In other words, we were sick and poor as citizens.'
I was intrigued by the strangeness of that statement.
'Yanagita is lamenting,' said Masami Ishii, an emeritus professor at Tokyo Gakugei University and the author of a detailed annotation to Yanagita's autobiography.
That means, Ishii explained, that Yanagita was aware of society's inability, despite the acute need, to educate its citizens to become voters capable of exercising good judgment, irrespective of their socio-economic standing.
Yanagita graduated from Tokyo Imperial University, now the University of Tokyo, and worked at the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. He later joined The Asahi Shimbun where he served on the Editorial Board until 1930.
When his book was published in 1931, Yanagita was 'beginning to focus on folklore, having seen the limits of journalism,' according to Ishii.
True, Yanagita wrote in his book that 'the reality of social affairs' is more complex than anything newspapers could report.
Probably sensing his own limitations, he decided to trace the history of the common people rather than that of the powers that be.
Travelling around the nation, he listened to the voices of the people and collected old tradition and lore.
July 31 marks the 150th anniversary of his birth.
With self-admonition, I am now asking myself: Am I fully attuned to people's small voices? Am I tackling, and not shirking, 'the difficult homework'?
--The Asahi Shimbun, July 26
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
