Legal Study on Various Unions in Peasant Novels Written by Hirata Koroku

Abstract

　Japanese peasant literature became well-known in the end of the Meiji period. The writers described the daily life of peasants who suffered from poverty and demand of landlords. This type of novels was influenced by proletarian literature in the beginning of the Showa period. Thus, the resistance movement created by peasants like the establishment of peasant union or the peasant dispute was featured. The novel titled “The Captured Land” (1933–1934) written by Hirata Koroku is one of these novels. The author was a primary teacher in Aomori Prefecture from the end of the Taisho period to the beginning of the Showa period. His novel was based on the experience of that time. In this novel, he insisted that peasants kept an industrial union at a distance and desired to establish a peasant union for their profits. This paper tried to examine various unions described in his peasant novels and clarify how to operate the union legal systems in farm villages.

　At that time, Japanese government adopted a policy of having all peasants under the industrial union's control. In 1932 the industrial union act was revised to make all peasants join the industrial union. However, in the northeast region of Japan many industrial unions fell into financial difficulties due to the economic stagnation and the bad harvest. Therefore, in the novel Hirata insisted that most peasants gave up making a profit by using the industrial unions. This novel suggested that the policy of having all peasants under the government's control was not achieved smoothly.

　Meanwhile, this novel showed that a part of peasants attempted to establish a peasant union to ensure profits. This story has a sad ending in failure of the attempt due to interferences by landlords and government officials. The author didn't refer to the mediation in a peasant dispute as an alternative plan, although he insisted on the necessity of the establishment of the peasant union. However, other part of peasants took objection to the establishment considering the relationship with the landlords. The novel showed that the peasants were divided in their opinion.

　Thereafter, most of the peasants became controlled by the industrial unions during the decade started from 1935. Meanwhile, the peasant unions lost their influence due to the national policy. Namely, Hirata 's peasant novels showed the transient social conditions from the period of economic stagnation to the period of statism.