On Takahira Kanda’s 'the People'

Abstract

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to show that Takahira Kanda’s（ 1830―98） evaluation of “the people” was closely related to his political and economic reform plans. 　　Since the early 19th century, ships from American and European countries had been coming to Japan, and the Tokugawa Shogunate felt compelled to reinforce their armaments. In order to raise the vast funds necessary for reinforcement, the shogunate tried to promote various domestic industries. The Meiji Government that later overthrew the shogunate also succeeded in such promotional policies. Thus, “the modernization” policies of the government spread to several fields, and the top governmental officials, bureaucrats, and western scholars presented numerous modernization plans, most of them insisting that the government carry out various reforms. However, they believed that “the people” were “ignorant” and did not have the ability to be involved with such reforms. 　　On the other hand, Kanda evaluated “the people” as political and economic subjects. Such ideas had already appeared by the end of the shogunate. In Nosyoben（ 1862）, Kanda insisted that “the people” are independent economic subjects with political interest; he succeeded to gain recognition for his thoughts after the Meiji Era. Thus, the idea of the assembly and patent systems in Japan was based on the recognition of his thoughts. 　　In order to carry out his reform plans, Kanda had to wipe out the evaluation of people made by the top governmental officials and bureaucrats and hence made his reform plans public through magazines and newspapers. His activities were closely watched by the top governmental officials, and finally the Meiji government managed to weaken his influence. However, his thoughts contributed much to the pioneering achievement of “the local notable theory” during the middle of the Meiji Era. JEL classification number: B 31.