Public Parks and the Society in the Period of Taisyo Democracy (1905-25)

Abstract

It is well known that the beginning of mass movements in the modern Japan was born in Taisho Democracy period (1905-25). A city-wide riot arised at Hibiya Park on 5 September 1905, which was so-called Hibiya Incendiary Incident to protest the Russo-Japanese Peace Treaty. Hibiya Park, opened as a public park in June 1903, was in a sense the symbol of the government office quarter and then became an expressional place of mass political campaigns. Since then mass movements, such as Movement to protect constitutional government, Rice riots, Universal Manhood Suffrage Movement and so on, had beenarising mainly at public parks in each prefecture. It specially seems that the first May Day held at Ueno Park on 2 May 1920 was a symbolic political movement. The masses politically and socially began to be conscious of existence of public parks during the process of rising mass movements.