「文化統治」初期における朝鮮総督府官僚の統治構想

抄録

This article attempts an analysis of how colonial officials perceive reality, make policy decisions and what motivates them to change those policies. The tremendous shock suffered by Japanese political leaders in the wake of the Korean independence movement that spread throughout the country from the nationalist demonstration that was staged in Seoul on 1 March 1919 brought about a fundamental reassessment of colonial policy and a heated debate concerning what was to be done. In the proposals that were offered by various policymakers we find varying degrees of warmth with respect to their perceptions about Korea as well as how to rule that country. Following the demonstrations, Japanese Prime Minister Hara Takashi, a territorial expansionist, called for a top-down approach involving a complete replacement of the top officials serving in the Governor-General's Office. In contrast, the staff of the Governor-General's police-state organization, who had been encouraged to be strongly independent-minded, opposed any unilateral moves, arguing that the situation in Korea was unique, and called for a new governance policy that reflected the actual state of the colony. It was these two approaches that would form the battle lines over which the rapid-fire reforms that were made in colonial institutions and their legal framework would be fought. Furthermore, the staff of the Governor-General's Office had after World War I toured Europe, North America and their colonies, enabling them to see first how the world was being decolonized, and this experience greatly influenced their new vision of how Korea should be governed. The sudden appointment of former Hyogo Prefectural Governor Ariyoshi Chuichi as the inspector general of political affairs in the Governor-General's Office created a new aspect to its operations. For example, the appointment of an inspector general who did not have any political connections in the Imperial Diet posed serious problems in terms of obtaining budget allocations and policy cooperation there, especially when the prosperity brought about by the War, which had made possible the aggressive cultural assimilation agenda pushed forward by Hara and Interior Minister Mizuno Rentaro, took a turn for the worst with the post-War depression that began in 1920. Consequently, as the aggressive Japanization policy promoted by the Prime Minister began to lose steam, head of the Governor-General's Home Bureau Otsuka Jozaburo attempted to jumpstart the agenda by proposing a reorganization of the colonial order through the establishment of a "Korean Parliament", which would be given autonomy over such domestic affairs as education and industry.