Ruffians, yakuza, nationalists : the violent politics of modern Japan, 1860-1960

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Ruffians, yakuza, nationalists : the violent politics of modern Japan, 1860-1960

Eiko Maruko Siniawer

Cornell University Press, 2008

  • : cloth

Available at  / 30 libraries

Search this Book/Journal

Note

Bibliography: p. 231-249

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Violence and democracy may seem fundamentally incompatible, but the two have often been intimately and inextricably linked. In Ruffians, Yakuza, Nationalists, Eiko Maruko Siniawer argues that violence has been embedded in the practice of modern Japanese politics from the very inception of the country's experiment with democracy. As soon as the parliament opened its doors in 1890, brawls, fistfights, vandalism, threats, and intimidation quickly became a fixture in Japanese politics, from campaigns and elections to legislative debates. Most of this physical force was wielded by what Siniawer calls "violence specialists": ruffians and yakuza. Their systemic and enduring political violence-in the streets, in the halls of parliament, during popular protests, and amid labor strife-ultimately compromised party politics in Japan and contributed to the rise of militarism in the 1930s. For the post-World War II years, Siniawer illustrates how the Japanese developed a preference for money over violence as a political tool of choice. This change in tactics signaled a political shift, but not necessarily an evolution, as corruption and bribery were in some ways more insidious, exclusionary, and undemocratic than violence. Siniawer demonstrates that the practice of politics in Japan has been dangerous, chaotic, and far more violent than previously thought. Additionally, crime has been more political. Throughout the book, Siniawer makes clear that certain yakuza groups were ideological in nature, contrary to the common understanding of organized crime as nonideological. Ruffians, Yakuza, Nationalists is essential reading for anyone wanting to comprehend the role of violence in the formation of modern nation-states and its place in both democratic and fascist movements.

Table of Contents

Introduction Political Violence in Historiographical Perspective Violence, Violence Specialists, and Politics Violence and Democracy Approaches to Comparative HistoryChapter 1. Patriots and Gamblers: Violence and the Formation of the Meiji State Shishi: Assassins, Rebels, Patriots Shishi Legacies in the Early Meiji Period Bakuto: Outlaws, Robin Hoods, Local Leaders Bakuto and the Meiji Restoration Bakuto as Political Violence Specialists: The Freedom and People's Rights MovementChapter 2. Violent Democracy: Ruffians and the Birth of Parliamentary Politics From Activist to Ruffian: Soshi in the 1880s Exporting Violence: Nationalist Tairiku Ronin across Borders Parliamentary Politics and the Professionalization of Soshi State Violence and the Second General ElectionChapter 3. Institutionalized Ruffianism and a Culture of Political Violence The Jiyuto Ingaidan and Its Bosses The Seiyukai Ingaidan in Party Politics Cultures of Violence: Yakuza Bosses in Diet PoliticsChapter 4. Fascist Violence: Ideology and Power in Prewar Japan Fascist Ideologies Fascist Violence The Nationalist Nexus in the Metropole and Beyond Violence in the Decline of the Political PartiesChapter 5. Democracy Reconstructed: Violence Specialists in the Postwar Period The Decline of Soshi and the Remaking of Ingaidan Violence Violence as a Political and Discursive Weapon in Diet Politics "Boryokudan" Redux: Yakuza and the Conservative Nexus 1960: The Apogee of Postwar Violence Specialists Coda: Political Violence after 1960Afterword Violence and Democracy Violence, Fascism, Militarism Violence Specialists and History A Contemporary Perspective on Violent DemocracyGlossary Notes Bibliography Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

Page Top