A Life Adrift
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A Lf A A Life Adrift, the memoir of balladeer-political activist Soeda Azembō (1872- 1944), chronicles his life as one of Japan’s Þ rst modern mass entertainers and imparts an understanding of how ordinary people experienced and accommodated the tumult of life in prewar Japan. Azembō created enka songs sung by tenant farmers in rural hinterlands and factory hands in Tokyo and Osaka. Although his work is still largely unknown outside Japan, his poems and lyrics were so well known at his career’s peak that a single verse served as shorthand expressing popular attitudes about political corruption, sex scandals, spiralling prices, war, and love of motherland. As these categories attest, he embedded in his songs contemporary views on class conß ict, gender relations, and racial attitudes toward international rivals. Ordinary people valued Azembō’s music because it was of them and for them. They also appreciated it for being distinctively modern and home-grown, qualities rare among the cultural innovations that ß ooded into Japan from the mid- nineteenth century. A Life Adrift stands out as the only memoir of its kind, one written Þ rst-hand by a leader in the world of enka singing. The Author Michael Lewis is Professor of History at Michigan State University. 0001a-prelims-Life01a-prelims-Life AAdrift.indddrift.indd i 117/10/087/10/08 11:36:21:36:21 ppmm Routledge Contemporary Japan Series A Japanese Company in Crisis Political Reform in Japan Ideology, strategy, and narrative Leadership looming large Fiona Graham Alisa Gaunder Japan’s Foreign Aid Civil Society and the Internet in Japan Old continuities and new directions Isa Ducke Edited by David Arase Japan’s Contested War Memories Japanese Apologies for World War II The ‘memory rifts’ in historical A rhetorical study consciousness of World War II Jane W. Yamazaki Philip A. 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Ferguson The Changing Japanese Family Edited by Marcus Rebick and Ayumi War Memory, Nationalism and Education Takenaka in Post-War Japan, 1945-2007 The Japanese history textbook controversy Adoption in Japan and Ienaga Saburo’s court challenges Comparing policies for children in need Yoshiko Nozaki Peter Hayes and Toshie Habu A New Japan for the Twenty-First The Ethics of Aesthetics in Japanese Century Cinema and Literature An inside overview of current fundamental Polygraphic desire changes and problems Nina Cornyetz Edited by Rien T. Segers Institutional and Technological Change in A Life Adrift Japan’s Economy Soeda Azembo, popular song and modern Past and present mass culture in Japan Edited by Janet Hunter and Cornelia Storz Translated by Michael Lewis 0001a-prelims-Life01a-prelims-Life AAdrift.indddrift.indd iiii 117/10/087/10/08 11:36:27:36:27 ppmm A Lf A Se Az b , P lr S ng, n Mod r M Cr Jp Irouce, n te, n rlte t Jpn by Mcha! L ws 0001a-prelims-Life01a-prelims-Life AAdrift.indddrift.indd iiiiii 117/10/087/10/08 11:36:28:36:28 ppmm First published 2009 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2009 Michael Lewis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electric, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying or recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN 0-203-88621-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0-7103-1337-3 (hbk) ISBN10: 0-203-88621-6 (ebk) ISBN13: 978-0-7103-1337-9 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-0-203-88621-2 (ebk) 001a-prelims-Life Adrift.indd iviv17/10/08 1:36:29 pm C t ts Acknowledgements ix List of Illustrations xi Measures and Money xiii Introduction: A Life Adrift (Ryūsei-ki) xv Prefatory Poem: Advance! New Order, Advance! xxxvii Chapter 1 My Early Years 1 Chapter 2 The Period of Sōshi Politics and Political Songs 15 Chapter 3 The Eastern Moral Reform Group 75 0001a-prelims-Life01a-prelims-Life AAdrift.indddrift.indd SSec1:vec1:v 117/10/087/10/08 11:36:29:36:29 ppmm A Lf A Chapter 4 Before and After the Russo-Japanese War 101 (1904-1905) Chapter 5 Enka, A New Style 173 Chapter 6 Tasihō: an Abbreviated Record 201 Chapter 7 Spiritual Life 229 Chapter 8 A Pilgrim’s Account 237 Bibliography 273 Index 279 vi 0001a-prelims-Life01a-prelims-Life AAdrift.indddrift.indd SSec1:viec1:vi 117/10/087/10/08 11:36:29:36:29 ppmm I M m ry " I#$s%& Sig' & 0001a-prelims-Life01a-prelims-Life AAdrift.indddrift.indd SSec1:viiec1:vii 117/10/087/10/08 11:36:29:36:29 ppmm 0001a-prelims-Life01a-prelims-Life AAdrift.indddrift.indd SSec1:viiiec1:viii 117/10/087/10/08 11:36:29:36:29 ppmm Acknowledgements I Þ rst encountered Soeda Azembō as a lone voice happily singing bitter songs about modernity’s mixed blessings. In the years since I began learning about the life behind the lyrics, my solitary relationship with Azembō’s as subject for historical study has made for many friendships with people who have helped me come to know him better. Azembō was a prickly character, a pessimistic humanist and popular entertainer with a reclusive streak. I sometimes wonder how he might have felt about his individual poetic voice providing an opportunity to engage so many collaborators in assaying his place in Japanese history. I am still unsure how to answer that, but suspect that Azembō, ever the performer, would probably be pleased to once again be in a new public’s gaze. From what I have learned about his willingness to give credit where it is due, I am more conÞ dent that he would approve acknowledging the players whose efforts make it possible for the ‘mute cicada’ to be heard again after such a long silence. I am especially appreciative of the librarians and archivists at Waseda University, Sophia University, and the Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature Research (Kanagawa Kindai Bungaku Kan) who guided me to sources of information about Azembō’s life and times. The Kanagawa Museum additionally facilitated the use of photographs reproduced in this volume. Professors Anzai Kunio at Waseda and Kate Wildman Nakai at Sophia provided entrée to their campus libraries and shared their thoughts on Azembō’s historical signiÞ cance. 0001a-prelims-Life01a-prelims-Life AAdrift.indddrift.indd SSec1:ixec1:ix 117/10/087/10/08 11:36:29:36:29 ppmm A Lf A I received help from many quarters in translating A Life Adrift. Iwasaki Shigetoshi, an independent scholar and the person to whom this book is dedicated, taught me much about Þ nding the meaning for ideas and expressions from an historical context that is no more. Iwasaki Sensei, at times bemused about one of Azembō’s arcane references, looked forward to reading how I would Þ nally render Ryūsei-ki into English. I regret that the translation was not completed before he passed away. I trust that Iwasaki Yuko, who also became involved in this project, will appreciate how some of the puzzles of translation have been worked out in his Þ nal version, thanks to her and her husband’s guidance. Several friends and colleagues read the completed translation and introduction that accompanies the text. I am especially grateful to Andō Emi for assisting in Þ nding resources, textual and human, relating to Azembō’s life and times. Gary Jung and Mie Lewis deserve thanks for reading the manuscript in its entirety and making valuable suggestions for revision. Fellow historians E. Taylor Atkins, Jim Huffman, and Roy Hanashiro shared their expertise to help improve both the content and presentation of Azembō’s story. Jan Bardsley, ever enthusiastic, proved true to form in her unß agging support. Finally, gratitude is owed to Michigan State University’s OfÞ ce of the Provost and OfÞ ce of the Dean of International Studies and Programs for providing funding and time away from campus to research and write this study. Lou Anna K. Simon, John Hudzik, and Jeffrey Riedinger are the individuals responsible for the institutional support which proved essential to completing this project. I apologize for overlooking any one who offered encouragement and advice. Many supporters means some are bound to be missed. I sincerely appreciate the generous help I have received. All who have contributed are of course absolved from any mistakes in fact or interpretation that may appear in this work despite their good advice to the contrary.