政府は社会問題化した米価高騰への対応を迫られるとともに、軍隊を出動させて米騒動の鎮静化を図った。

８月１３日に天皇の御内帑金（おないどきん）３００万円が政府に下賜され、道府県・市町村に配分された。御内帑金（困窮者救済のための天皇からの寄付金）を配分するための会議が各地域（県・市町村）で開かれた。御内帑金配分の会議がこの賑恤資金を呼び水にして、の会議の際に富豪に寄付金を呼びかけた。この寄付金に補助金を加えて資金とし、各市町村は白米の廉売を実施した。

政府は１３日の閣議で国庫金１０００万円を支出して内地米の強制買収の方針を示した。また、１５日の臨時閣議で、「穀類収用令」を緊急勅令として１６日に発表した（『米騒動の研究』第１巻１３８～１４５頁）。

この結果、市町村により販売価格、戸別の販売量、対象者、期間などに差はあるものの、市場価格１升４０銭円台の白米の多くは２５銭で販売された。（1升は1.5㎏。1円は100銭）。また、外米（サイゴン米・ラングーン米）も１５銭で廉売された。朝鮮からの移入米の価格は、内地米とほぼ同じ価格で、若干安い価格です。この廉売政策により、８月１６日までに米価廉売を求める大都市部の米騒動は鎮静化した（大都市最後の東京市の米騒動は8月１３日から１６日です）。

山口県内で８月１７日以降に発生した米騒動は、廉売政策を徹底しない村当局や寄付金を拠出しない富豪に対する廉売や寄付金拠出要請の行動が主である。８月１７日の宇部の米騒動は、宇部炭鉱鉱夫の賃上げ要求のストライキが契機となって米騒動に発展した。

米騒動当初、司法当局（司法省・大審院検事局）は生活に苦しむ民衆行動に慎重な措置を命じ、内務省も米価高騰による生活難から生じた社会問題と見て温情的だった。

しかし当時、新聞は、シベリア出兵に反対し、寺内内閣倒閣運動をすすめていた。米騒動が暴動化し、８月１３日に首都東京に伝播すると政府の対応は転換した。寺内内閣は、米騒動の拡大は新聞報道の影響が大きいとみて、１４日夜、水野錬太郎内相が「米騒擾」に関する一切の新聞記事掲載と号外発行の禁止を命令した。こののち、１５日から１８日までは、内務省発表の米騒動情報のみが記事となった。

 １８日、松室致（まつむろ－いたし）司法大臣は談話で、米騒動が食糧問題ではなく、犯罪であり暴徒の行為であるとした。そして、シベリア出兵中の「挙国一致、国内の秩序を保つ」ため、厳罰主義の方針を決定し、騒擾罪の適用に言及した。

The government was forced to respond to the rising price of rice, which has become a social problem, and dispatched an army to calm the rice riots.

On August 13, the emperor's money (Onaidokin) of 3 million yen was given to the government and distributed to prefectures and municipalities. Meetings were held in each region (prefectures / municipalities) to distribute the Onaidokin (a donation from the emperor to help the needy). At this conference, the donations from the emperor were used as priming water to call on the millionaires in each region to make donations. Municipalities sold white rice at a bargain price by adding public subsidies to donations from millionaires.

At a cabinet meeting on the 13th, the government announced a policy of compulsory acquisition of the domestically‐grown rice by spending 10 million yen of national treasury. In addition, at an extraordinary cabinet meeting on the 15th, it was decided to announce the "Cereal Expropriation Order" as an emergency decree on the 16th ("Study of the Rice Riots", Vol. 1, pp. 138-145).

　As a result, although there are differences in sales price, sales volume by household, target audience, period, etc. depending on the municipality, the white rice with a market price of 40-sen level per 1 Sho was sold almost for 25 sen. (1Sho is 1.5kg.1yen is 100sen). Foreign rice (Saigon rice, Rangoon rice) was also sold at a bargain price of 15 yen. The price of incoming transfer rice from Korea is almost the same as that of the domestically‐grown rice, which is a little cheaper. Due to this rice bargaining policy, the rice riots in metropolitan areas seeking bargaining of rice have ended by August 16. (The last rice riot in the big city, the rice riot in Tokyo City, ended on August 16^th.)

　The rice riots that have occurred in Yamaguchi Prefecture since August 17 are mainly protests against village authorities who do not thoroughly implement bargain policies, requests for donations to millionaires, and demands for bargain sales. In addition, the rice riot in Ube on August 17th were triggered by a strike by Ube coal miner requesting a wage increase.

　At the beginning of the rice riots, the judicial authorities (Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court) ordered cautious measures against the behavior of the people who suffered from living, and the Ministry of Home Affairs was sympathetic as a social problem caused by the difficulty of living due to the soaring rice prices.

However, at that time, newspapers opposed the Siberian intervention and promoted the movement to overthrow the Terauchi Cabinet. When the rice riots became riots and spread to the capital Tokyo on August 13, the government's response changed. The Terauchi Cabinet believes that the expansion of the rice riots will be greatly affected by newspaper reports, and on the night of the 14th, Interior Minister Mizuno Rentaro has ordered a ban on all newspaper articles and extra edition of a newspaper related to "Kome-Sojou (rice disturbance)." After that, from the 15th to the 18th, only the rice riots information announced by the Ministry of Interior became an article. 

　On the 18th, Justice Minister Matsumuro Itasi said in a discourse that the rice riots were not food problems, but crimes and mob acts. Then, in order to "unify the nation and maintain domestic order" during the Siberian intervention, the judicial authorities decided on a policy of strict punishment and mentioned the application of the crimes of disturbance.

《関連》米騒動時の政府・治安当局の高官

［内閣］総理大臣寺内正毅（陸軍・長州出身。貴族院・官僚内閣）。外務大臣後藤新平（台湾民生長官。初代南満州鉄道総裁）。内務大臣水野錬太郎（内務省官僚。貴族院議員）。司法大臣松室致（まつむろ-いたす。司法省官僚・前検事総長）。陸軍大臣大島健一。海軍大臣加藤友三郎。農商務大臣仲小路廉（なかしょうじ-れん。米価対策担当。内務省官僚・元警保局長）。

［司法官僚・内務官僚］司法省検事総長平沼騏一郎（ひらぬま－きいちろう）。内務省警保局長松村義一（まつむら-ぎいち）。

　貴族院議員は、爵位のある旧大名・明治維新功労者、官僚、学者、高額納税者などの議員で構成されていました。寺内内閣の大臣に就任したのは主に官僚出身の貴族院議員です。

　　寺内内閣の外相・後藤新平（前内相）は、台湾総督府民政長官時代から鈴木商店と関係が深く、シベリア出兵積極派であった。神戸の商社鈴木商店は、第一次世界大戦期の国際的な船舶不足と穀物高騰で利益を得、三井物産・三菱商事を凌駕する業績を上げていた。政府の外米輸入指定店となった鈴木商店は米騒動で群衆の襲撃を受けた。

<< Related >> High-ranking officials of the government and security authorities during the rice riots

 [Cabinet] Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake (from the Army and Choshu. House of Peers and bureaucratic cabinet). Foreign Minister Goto Shinpei (Taiwanese Civil Affairs Secretary. First President of South Manchuria Railway). Interior Minister Mizuno Rentaro (Ministry of Interior bureaucrat, member of the House of Peers). Matsumuro Itasu, Minister of Justice (Bureaucrat of the Ministry of Justice, Former Prosecutor General). Minister of the Army Oshima Kenichi. Minister of the Navy Kato Tomosaburo. Minister of Agriculture and Commerce Nakashoji Ren (the charge of rice price measures, Ministry of Home Affairs bureaucrat, former Director of “Keihokyoku”).

 [Bureaucrats of Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior] Hiranuma Kiichiro, Chief Prosecutor of the Ministry of Justice. Matsumura Giichi, Director of “Keihokyoku”, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Members of the House of Peers consisted of former Daimyo of the Edo period and Meiji Restoration meritors, bureaucrats, scholars, and high-paying taxpayers etc. The minister of the Terauchi Cabinet was mainly a member of the House of Peers from a bureaucracy.

Goto Shinpei (former Interior Minister), the Foreign Minister of the Terauchi Cabinet, has had a close relationship with Suzuki Shoten since he was the Minister of Civil Affairs of the Government-General of Taiwan, and he was an active Siberian interventionist. Suzuki Shoten, a trading company in Kobe, profited from the international shortage of vessels and soaring grain prices during the First World War, and achieved a performance that surpassed that of Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corporation. Suzuki Shoten, which became the government's designated store for importing foreign rice, was attacked by the crowd due to the rice riots.

2022.1.24

『米騒動の研究』第５巻６頁では、「万田炭坑および大牟田周辺が、平穏に復した九月一二日をもって画期とすべきである。」「九月一二日熊本県・福岡県の三池鉱山の騒動終熄で一応終結したということになる。」としている。『米騒動の研究』第４巻４９４頁では万田炭坑の米騒動を（「九月四日～一〇日」）としているものの、同５０９頁では「一三日に至って「暴動以来九日振りにして全山全く鎮静に帰した」（「沿革史」）」とあり、９月１２日を終期とする。

In "Study of the Rice Riots", Volume 5, page 6, said that "The rice riot should end on September 12, when the Manda coal mine and the area around Omuta have returned to peace", "On September 12, the rice riots of nationwide ended for the time being with the end of the riot at the Miike coal mine, which straddles Kumamoto and Fukuoka prefectures." "Study of the Rice Riots ", Vol. 4, p. 494, describes the rice riot at Manda Coal Mine as "September 4th to 10th". However, on page 509, it is stated that "on September 13th, the whole mountain was completely sedated for the first time in nine days since the riot" ("History"), so September 12th is the end. 

ＰＤＦの画面のポップアウト（画面右上の矢印）をクリックすると拡大して全ページを見ることができます。 Click the pop-out (arrow in the upper right corner of the screen) on the PDF screen to enlarge it and see all pages.

アジア歴史資料センター（JACAR）Ref.A06030016200『昭和１４年調・大正７年に於ける所謂米騒動事件の概要』・内務省警保局保安課・第三係。

司法省の検事吉河光貞が著した『所謂米騒動事件の研究』（昭和14年1月）の記載内容の約4分の3は、この史料と同じ内容です。

吉河の著書には、「所謂戦時成金の発生と物価騰貴の一般的趨勢」、「米価昂騰と其の原因」、「所謂米騒動の各種外部的動向」、「所謂米騒動の社会的影響」という項目が別にあります。吉河は昭和14年1月に執筆していますので、内務省警保局は、吉河の研究の大部分を引用して昭和14年12月調としていることになります。

Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) Ref.A06030016200 "Survey in 1939, Outline of the so-called Rice Riots Cases in 1918” Security Division (Third Section) of Keihokyoku, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Approximately three-quarters of the content of "Study of the so-called Rice Riots Cases" (January 1945) written by Yoshikawa Mitsusada, a prosecutor of the Ministry of Justice, is the same as this historical material.

　In Yoshikawa's books, there is another item, "The general trend of so-called wartime newly millionaire and rising prices", " Soaring rice prices and their causes", "Various external trends of so-called rice riots", and "Social impact of so-called rice riots". Since Yoshikawa wrote in January 1939, the Keihokyoku of the Ministry of Home Affairs cites most of Yoshikawa's research and publishes it as a December 1939 survey.

2022.1.24

ＰＤＦ２１５頁。PDF 215 pages.

"Hirikken (Unconstitutional)" (Billiken, pointed head and raised eyes resembled the fashionable Billiken doll at that time). Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake (from the Army and Choshu. House of Peers and bureaucratic cabinet) . (Click on Jiji dot com image to link to "Prime Minister's Genealogy-From the Meiji and Taisho eras to the present-Photo special feature" ).

Prime Minister Hara Takashi, who was called the "Chancellor of the Commoners" (Member of the House of Representatives from Iwate Prefecture, Rikken Seiyukai). (Jiji dot com, click image)

《質問》寺内正毅と原敬の写真の違いを考えてみよう。　<< Question >> Consider the difference between the photographs of Terauchi Masatake and Hara Takashi.

寺内の写真は、陸軍正装で勲章をたくさん着けています。勲章の種類は、次のボタンをクリックし、次に「栄典」→「勲章等」の項目の勲章名をオンマウスまたはクリックすると画像が出ます。

The photo of Terauchi Masatake is in the official costume of the Army and wears many medals. For the type of medal, click the following button, and then on-mouse or click the medal name in the item "Eitent (Honor)" → "Kunsho (Medal), etc." to display the image.

　寺内正毅と原敬の服装に着目して、経歴や内閣の性格を調べて考えてみよう。

　Focusing on the clothes of Terauchi Masatake and Hara Takashi, let's examine the background and the character of the Cabinet.

2022.1.24 

２０１８年は、米騒動１００年、明治維新１５０年目に当たります。したがって、米騒動（１９１８年）は、明治維新（１８６８年）から５０年目に発生しました。山口県とも関係の深い明治維新と明治国家の形成過程を、米騒動で総辞職した寺内正毅に焦点をあてて以下に俯瞰します。

寺内正毅は、１８５２年、周防国吉敷郡平井村（現山口市平川地区）にある姫山の麓、農家宇多田家の三男に生まれた。８歳のとき、同郡宮野村（現山口市宮野地区）の母の生家である寺内家（萩藩士）の養子となった。少年ながら文武に励み、大楽（だいらく）源太郎の西山（せいざん）塾（防府市台道（だいどう））に学んだ。そして、大田・絵堂（おおだ・えどう）の戦い（１８６５年）、四境（しきょう）戦争（第二次長州征討・１8６６年）に参戦した。長州藩諸隊の一つ整武隊（せいぶたい）に所属し、戊辰戦争（１９６８年）に従軍して東北や函館五稜郭（ごりょうかく）の戦い（１８６８～６９）へ転戦した。

2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the rice riots and the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration. Therefore, the rice riots (1918) occurred 50 years after the Meiji Restoration (1868). The following is a bird's-eye view of the Meiji Restoration and the formation process of the Meiji nation, which is closely related to Yamaguchi Prefecture, focusing on Terauchi Masatake, who resigned due to the rice riots. 

　Terauchi Masatake was born in 1852 to the third son of the Utada family, a farmer at the foot of Himeyama in Hirai-mura, Yoshiki-gun, Suo Province (currently Hirakawa district, Yamaguchi City). At the age of eight, he was adopted by the Terauchi family (Hagi clan), the birthplace of his mother in Miyano village, Yoshiki-gun (currently Miyano district, Yamaguchi city). Although he was a boy, he worked hard on scholarship and martial arts, and learned from Dairaku Gentaro's Seizan Juku (Daido, Hofu City). Then, he participated in the Battle of Oda-Edo (1865) and the Four Borders War (Second Choshu Expedition, 1866). Terauchi belongs to the Seibutai, one of the Choshu clan corps, and served in the Boshin War (1968-69), and battled in Tohoku and Goryokaku (1868-69). 

　その後、正毅は、兵制改革を主導した大村益次郎に選ばれて大阪の兵学寮（市ヶ谷の陸軍士官学校の前身）で学び、卒業（１８７１年）した。正毅が少年時代に学んだ西山塾（せいざんじゅく・大楽（だいらく）源太郎の私塾・防府市台道）の塾生（神代（こうじろ）直人ら）らは、１８６９年、隣村の鋳銭司村出身の大村益次郎を京都で暗殺した。正毅は、西南戦争（１８７７年）の熊本城攻防の激戦地である田原坂（たばるざか）の戦いで右腕を負傷し、後遺症が残った。

　正毅は、幕末・明治維新期に萩藩守旧派や幕府軍、西郷軍と戦って明治国家の形成に軍事面で貢献した。フランス留学（明治初期はフランス式陸軍を採用し、のちドイツ式となった）、日清戦争の兵站（へいたん）任務、義和団事件の従軍を経て、第一次桂内閣では陸軍大臣として日露戦争を遂行した。その後、陸軍大将、初代朝鮮総督、伯爵、元帥、総理大臣となり、政治・軍事の最高位に栄達した。明治維新から５０年目に発生した１９１８年の米騒動で総辞職し、病気のため翌１９１９年に死亡した。

　長州（防長）出身で、陸軍大将と総理大臣を合わせて経験したのは山県有朋、桂太郎、寺内正毅、田中義一の４名である。このうち、山県（第１世代）、桂・寺内（第２世代）の３名は、四境戦争、戊辰戦争に従軍し、明治国家の形成に関わった世代である。桂は大正政変後の１９１３年、正毅は１９１９年、山県は国際平和と民主主義のベルサイユ体制時代となった１９２２年に死亡した。３名は、明治国家の形成がひと通り終わり、ベルサイユ体制やいわゆる「大正デモクラシー」のはじまる第一次世界大戦前後の世界史、日本史の転換点の時代に他界した。

　一方、田中義一は、幕末１８６４年の生まれの第３世代で、明治政府安定後の軍人・政治家である。義一は、苦学した後、陸軍士官学校、陸軍大学校を卒業したエリート軍事官僚で、日露戦争に満州軍参謀として従軍した。第一次大戦に学んだ義一は、総力戦国家体制の構築を企図し、「大正デモクラシー」の時代に政治家に転身して立憲政友会総裁・総理大臣となり軍国主義国家体制、大陸進出の基盤を築いた。義一は、張作霖爆殺事件で陸軍急進派を守ろうとして昭和天皇の逆鱗に触れ、以後長州出身者は冷遇されることになった。

　『元老山県は政党嫌いで官僚の支持を得たが、山県と並ぶ実力者の元老伊藤博文は、議会政治を重視し、立憲政友会を創立し総裁となった。立憲政友会総裁は伊藤から西園寺公望、原敬へ引き継がれた。伊藤は自由民権運動時代の「党」という対立ではなく、「会」という挙国一致をめざす名称をつけた。伊藤の立憲政友会結成により、初期議会の「藩閥」対「民党」という横断的対立の時代から、両者を縦断する政友会による調整の時代に入った」』

（『　』は、池田勇太（山口大学人文学部准教授）の講義内容の要旨を引用））。

　民衆の動きが強まり米騒動の発生した104年前（2022年基準）は、「明治」が終わり、政党政治による「大正デモクラシー」が始まった時代であった。一方で、内閣・軍・政党などの権力機関同士の調整・交渉を重視した第１・第２世代の「明治」が転換し、田中内閣総辞職以降は長州出身者の政治力が後退した。この後、陸軍内で反長州閥の統制派・皇道派が台頭した。この時期は、「昭和戦前期」の胎動期であったと考える。この後、軍事力に依存する軍国主義国家体制（国体）が確立して日中戦争・アジア太平洋戦争に至った。

After that, Masatake was selected by Omura Masujiro, who led the military reform, and studied at the military school dormitory in Osaka (predecessor of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in Ichigaya) and graduated (1871). In 1869, in Kyoto, the students (Kojiro Naoto and others) of Seizan-Juku (Dairaku Gentaro's private school / Daido, Hofu City) and others, which Masatake learned as a boy, assassinated Omura Masujiro who is from Suzenji of the neighboring village. Masatake injured his right arm in the battle of Tabaruzaka, a fierce battlefield for the offense and defense of Kumamoto Castle in the Satsuma Rebellion (1877), and the aftereffects remained.

　At the end of the Edo period and during the Meiji Restoration, Masatake fought against the former Hagi clan conservative faction, the Shogunate army, and the Saigo army, and contributed to the formation of the Meiji nation from the military side. After studying in France (the Army adopted the French Army style in the early Meiji era and later became the German style), Masatake served in the Sino-Japanese War logistics mission, and the Boxers Rebellion. Became Minister of the Army in the First Katsura Cabinet and carried out the Russo-Japanese War. After that, he became the army general, the first governor-general of Korea, the count, the marshal, and the prime minister, and reached the highest level of politics and military. 1918, which occurred 50 years after the Meiji Restoration, and died in 1919 due to illness.

　From Choshu (Suo/Nagato), the four people who have experienced the Army General and the Prime Minister together are Yamagata Aritomo, Katsura Taro, Terauchi Masatake, and Tanaka Giichi. Of these, Yamagata (1st generation) and Katsura / Terauchi (2nd generation) were the generations who participated in the Four Border Wars and the Boshin War and were involved in the formation of the Meiji nation. Katsura died in 1913 after the Taisho Political Crisis, Masatake died in 1919, and Yamagata died in 1922, during the Versailles regime of international peace and democracy. The three people passed away at the turning point of world history and Japanese history before and after World War I, when the formation of the Meiji nation was completed and the Versailles system and the so-called "Taisho democracy" began.

　On the other hand, Tanaka Giichi is a third generation born in 1864 at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and is a military man and politician after the stability of the Meiji government. Giichi was an elite military bureaucrat who after studying hard, graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and Army War College, and served in the Russo-Japanese War as a military staff of the Manchurian Army. Giichi, who learned from World War I, planned to build a total war national system. During the "Taisho Democracy" era, he became a politician and became the president of the Rikken Seiyukai and prime minister, laying the foundation for a militaristic national system and advancement to the continent. Giichi incur the Emperor Showa wrath in an attempt to protect the army radicals in the Zhang Zuolin bombing incident, and after that, people from Choshu were treated coldly.

　Genro Yamagata disliked political parties and gained the support of bureaucrats, but Ito Hirobumi, an influential person alongside Yamagata, emphasized parliamentary politics and founded the Rikken Seiyukai and became president. The president of the Rikken Seiyukai was handed over from Ito to Saionji Kinmochi and Hara Takashi. Ito gave the name "Kai" to the national unity, not the conflict of "party" in the era of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement. With the formation of Ito's Rikken Seiyukai, the era of cross-cutting confrontation between the "Clan clique" and the "People's Party" in the early parliament has entered an era of coordination by the Seiyukai, which cut vertically the two. "

 (Quoting the abstract of the lecture by Ikeda Yuta (Associate Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Yamaguchi University)).

　104 years ago (2022 standard), when the movement of the people became stronger and the rice riots occurred, it was era that the "Meiji era" ended and the "Taisho democracy" by party politics began. On the other hand, the first and second generation "Meiji", which emphasized coordination and negotiations between power organizations such as the Cabinet, the military, and political parties, changed, and after the resignation of the Tanaka Cabinet, the political power of Choshu clan clique receded. After this, Control Faction and Imperial Way Faction that is anti-Choshu clan clique emerged within the Imperial Japanese Army. It is considered that this period was in the middle of an unstable phase of internal changes of the "prewar Showa period". After this, a militaristic national system (Kokutai) that relied on military power was established, leading to the Japanese-Chinese War and the Asia Pacific War.

 2022.1.25

《参考》長州藩諸隊の活躍と兵制改革　《Reference》 Activities of Choshu clan corps and military reform　 

　長州藩は現在の山口県（周防（すおう）・長門（ながと）。防長（ぼうちょう））を領知した萩毛利藩のことで、幕末に藩庁が萩から山口に移ったため山口藩となった。山口県内には他に長府（ちょうふ）毛利藩、徳山毛利藩などがあった。（六本木ヒルズの毛利庭園は長府毛利藩の江戸藩邸跡である。）長州藩の軍事力（幕末から戊辰戦争）は、草莽（そうもう）系諸隊と世襲の藩士の兵があり、両者はほぼ同数で構成されていた。草莽系諸隊は、奇兵隊など１０隊で構成され、隊士は陪臣と農商民が多かった。隊士は士分で給与は藩から支給された。他に、士分以外の身分で構成される農兵の軍団があった。小郡（おごうり）地区の農兵や差別された部落民の構成した維新団など、多数の農兵の軍団があった。幕末に最前線で活躍し死傷者が多かったのは奇兵隊以下の草莽系諸隊であった。特に高杉晋作が初代総督であった奇兵隊が著名である。

　１８６５年１月の大田・絵堂の戦い（おおだ・えどう。現美祢市美東町大田、絵堂）は、長州藩が幕府に従うか幕府を倒すかを決定した重要な戦いだった。幕府を倒す立場の草莽系諸隊は、奇兵隊（軍監は山縣有朋）、八幡隊（やはた・はちまんの読みは未確定）、膺懲隊（ようちょうたい）、南園隊（なんえんたい）、御盾隊（みたてたい）、そして高杉晋作率いる遊撃隊が参戦した。草莽系諸隊は「正義派」と呼び、幕府に恭順する萩藩の保守派を「俗論党」と呼ぶ。大田・絵堂の戦いで、草莽系諸隊は、俗論党の撰鋒隊（せんぽうたい・萩藩家臣団の正規兵）などの萩政府軍を破った。この戦いの結果、長州藩は討幕に転換した。「討幕」は武力によって幕府を倒すことをいい、「倒幕」は話し合いによって新政府樹立をめざすことをいう（「霊山（りょうぜん）記念館」（京都市東山区）展示解説））。

　１８６６年６月、幕府は第２次長州征討（「四境戦争」）を開始し、４方面（芸州口、小倉口、大島口、石州口）から防長を攻撃した。長州藩は、日本史の転換点となったこの戦いに勝利した。その後、戊辰戦争（１８６８年１月鳥羽伏見の戦いから１８６９年５月（西暦６月）に終わる函館戦争まで１年半）の中、１８６８年７月明治政府は江戸を東京に改称した。

　戊辰戦争に出兵した長州藩諸隊の兵士は約５０００名（約半数が「草莽」系諸隊、半数が正規の藩兵）であった。しかし、１８６９年１１月の山口藩の兵制改革により諸隊は廃止され、常備兵に「精撰」されたのは２２５０名に留まった。「精選」は藩士中心の採用であったため、陪臣や農商民出身が多かった諸隊は、遊撃隊を中心に脱隊騒動（１８６９～７０年）を起こした。草莽系の隊士は１２００名が隊を脱して宮市（防府市）などに集まった。元隊士らも加わり約２０００名が叛乱を起こして山口藩と対立した。

　おりから農民一揆も頻発して長州藩は危機に陥った。帰藩した木戸孝允は脱隊兵を鎮圧し、斬首・牢舎・遠流（おんる）など厳しい処罰を科した。ここに、明治新政府樹立という新時代を拓いた、幕末最大の功労者であった、奇兵隊・遊撃隊以下の諸隊は、歴史的役割を終えて壊滅し、常備軍に再編成された。

　常備兵創設に反発した脱隊騒動の展開過程は、たとえば司馬遼太郎の小説のように、触れられない場合が多い。しかし、奇兵隊・遊撃隊などの諸隊が解散を命じられ、その後、脱隊騒動が起こって諸隊が壊滅するまでの歴史をしっかり叙述することが必要だ。脱退騒動まで叙述することで幕末・明治維新史は完結すると考える。歴史を転換させた「草莽崛起論」（吉田松陰）の長州藩草莽諸隊の光と影をみることにより、幕末・維新史とは何かを深く考察できるのではなかろうか。

（草莽系諸隊、脱退騒動に関しては、「Ⅲ―２　「地図で見る幕末の山口県と宇部地域」【生徒】（クリック・内部リンク）」のページの後半の部分を参照してください。）

2020.10.21更新

The Choshu clan was the Hagi Mouri clan that have possession the current Yamaguchi prefecture (Suo / Nagato/Bocho), and became the Yamaguchi clan because the domain office moved from Hagi to Yamaguchi at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. In Yamaguchi Prefecture, there were Chofu Mouri Clan and Tokuyama Mouri Clan and others. (The Mouri Garden in Roppongi Hills is the site of Chofu Mouri Clan's Edo-residence.) The military power of the Choshu clan (from the end of the Edo period to the Boshin War) consisted of Grassroots corps and hereditary clan soldiers, both of which consisted of approximately the same number. The Grassroots corps consisted of 10 corps such as Kiheitai, and most of the soldiers were the retainer of the vassal of Choshu feudal lord, and farmers. The soldier of the Grassroots corps was Samurai status and the salary was paid by the Choshu clan. There was also a corps of peasants consisting of non-Samurai status. There were many corps of peasants, including the Ogori district peasants and the Ishin-dan composed of discriminated Burakumin. At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, it was the Grassroots corps represented by the Kiheitai that were active on the front lines and had many casualties. In particular, the Kiheitai, whose first governor-general was Takasugi Shinsaku, is famous.

　The Battle of Oda-Edo in January 1865 (currently Oda-Edo, Mito-cho, Mine City) was an important battle in which the Choshu clan decided whether to obey the Shogunate or defeat the Shogunate. The Grassroots corps in the position of defeating the Shogunate are Kiheitai (the military commander is Yamagata Aritomo),  Yawatatai (Yahata / Hachiman's reading is undecided), Youchotai, Nanentai, Mitatetai, and Takasugi Shinsaku's Yugekitai troupe participated. The Grassroots corps is called “Seigi-Ha (the Justice faction)”, and the conservative faction of the Hagi clan who is obedient to the Shogunate is called the "Zokuron-To (Conventional Party)". In the battle between Oda-Edo, the Grassroots corps defeated the Hagi government forces such as the Senpotai (Regular soldiers of the Hagi clan vassals). As a result of this battle, the Choshu clan did not obey the shogunate and switched to a policy of fighting the shogunate. "Tobaku (討幕)" means aiming to overthrow the shogunate by military means, and "Tobaku (倒幕)" means aiming to establish a new government through discussions. ("Ryozen Memorial Hall" (Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City) Exhibition Commentary)).

　In June 1866, the Shogunate started the second Choshu expedition ("Four Border War") and attacked Suo and Nagato provinces from four directions (Geishu-guchi, Kokura-guchi, Oshima-guchi, and Sekishu-guchi). The Choshu clan won this battle, which was a turning point in Japanese history. After that, during the Boshin War (one and a half years from the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in January 1868 to the Battle of Hakodate ending in May 1869 (June AD)), the Meiji government renamed Edo to Tokyo in July 1868.

　The number of soldiers of the Choshu clan corps dispatched to the Boshin War was about 5,000 (about half were the “Grassroots” corps and half were regular clan soldiers). However, due to the military reform of the Yamaguchi clan in November 1869, the corps were abolished, and only 2,250 people were "selected" as the Standing army. Since the "selection" was mainly hired by the Hagi clan vassals, the Grassroots corps, which were mostly from the retainer of the vassal of lord, and farmers, caused "Dattai-sodo" (1869-70) centered on the Yugekitai etc. 1200 the Grassroots-type soldiers deserted from the corps and gathered in Miyaichi (Hofu City) and other places. With the addition of former soldiers, about 2,000 people rebelled and confronted the Yamaguchi clan.

　In addition to this rebellion, there were frequent Ikki (peasant uprisings) among farmers, and the Choshu clan was in danger. Kido Takayoshi, who returned to the Yamaguchi clan, suppressed the deserter of the corps and imposed severe punishment such as decapitation, prison, and exile to the farthest. Here, various corps such as the Kiheitai and the Yugekitai, which were the greatest contributors at the end of the Edo period, who pioneered the new era of establishing the new Meiji government, were destroyed after their historical roles and reorganized into the standing army.

　The development process of Dattai-sodo that rebelled against the establishment of the standing army is often not touched, as in Shiba Ryotaro's novel. However, it is necessary to thoroughly describe the history of the Kiheitai, the Yugekitai, and other corps that were ordered to disband, until the Dattai-sodo occurred and the corps were destroyed. I think that the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration history will be completed by describing the Dattai-sodo. By looking at the light and shadow of the Choshu clan Grassroots corps of "Somo-Kukki (Grassroots army uprising) theory" (Yoshida Shoin), that changed the history, I think we can deeply consider what the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration are.

 (For The Grassroots corps and the Dattai-sodo, please refer to the latter half of the page of " III-2 " Yamaguchi Prefecture and Ube area at the end of the Edo period as seen on a map". [Page for students] (click / internal link)")

 　2022.1.24

《参考》田中誠二「幕末期萩藩財政史研究序説」。幕末・維新期の長州藩の活動を支えた財政と領民。

《Reference》 Tanaka Seiji "Introduction to the Study of Fiscal Policy History of the Hagi Clan at the End of the Edo Period". Fiscal policies and people of the domain who supported the activities of the Choshu clan at the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration.

文献に表れにくい、志士を支えた女性たちはどのように生きたのでしょうか。禁門の変で御所（ごしょ）に突入し、責任を負わされて切腹した家老国司信濃（くにし－しなの）夫妻の墓（宇部市奥万倉（おくまぐら）天龍寺）は形、大きさともに同じです。京都霊山（りょうぜん）護国神社はじめ各地の招魂社は男性の霊を祀っていますが、その生活を支えた女性たちの評価を見落としてはなりません。

また、長州藩を支えていたのは領民であることを忘れてはなりません。関ケ原の戦い後、防長二ヵ国に領知を削減された毛利藩は、もともと領知に比して家臣団数が過大で財源が不足していました。このため、藩は、領内に過酷な検地を実施し、領民は重税を課せられました。

「宝暦検地（1761年）の四ッ物成（よつものなり）はけっして四公六民（しこうろくみん）ではなく、七公三民以上で、物成（ものなり・年貢のこと）・付加税・郡村費の負担を払うと表作（おもてさく・二毛作をした時の最初の主たる作物である米）の米が残らないというふうに申し上げました。それが天保モデルを見ると作徳（さくとく・年貢を負担した後で百姓の手元に残る米）が手元に残るようになる。馳走米（ちそうまい・正租以外の付加税）がかかり、飢饉年があり、大失政があった中で、です。これらを見て、防長のお百姓というのはすごいと思いました。まことによく働いた、そう思わざるを得ません。家臣・所帯方の内借捌き（ないしゃくさばき）で憂き目をみた、町人をはじめとする領民の犠牲にも目を向ける必要があります。」

（田中誠二「天保期の萩藩財政」（県史講演録））。

（管理者註：「内借捌き」は家臣が町人などから借りた銀を藩が肩代わりし、37年間は年利2％の利子だけ返し、末年に元銀を完済するという仕組みです。これは事実上、借金を踏み倒す方法です。）

田中は、慶応元年からの軍艦・鉄砲の購入資金のほとんどが撫育方（ぶいくがた）資金によってなされたとする三坂圭司の説を批判的に検討し、幕末から戊辰戦争期の戦費は、安政～元治期の産物・交易・金融政策の転換と軌を一にする藩札の大増刷によって調達されたと論証した。

（田中誠二「幕末期萩藩財政史研究序説」。「維新期山口藩の藩債・藩札の償還」山口大学最終講義2013.3.2）。

How did the women who supported the patriots of Emperor rule, who are hard to see in the literature, live? The tombs of Mr. and Mrs. Kunishi Shinano (Okumagura Tenryu-ji Temple, Ube City), the chief retainer of the lord, who were liable for Seppuku despite rushing into the Imperial Palace due to the Kinmon Incident that began at the command of the feudal lord, are the same in shape and size. Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku-jinja Shrine and other Shokonsha shrines is a shrine sacred to the spirits of the men, but the evaluation of the women who supported their lives should not be overlooked.

　Also, we must not forget that it was the people of the domain who supported the Choshu clan. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Mouri clan, whose clan's territory was reduced to the two countries of Suo/Nagato, originally had an excessive number of vassals and lacked financial resources compared to the clan's territory. For this reason, the clan carried out harsh Kenchi (land surveying) in the clan's territory, and the people of the domain was subject to heavy taxes.

　" Yotsu-mononari (40% tax) of the Horeki Kenchi (1761) was never Shi (4)-Ko/Roku (6)-Min (40% tax and 60% people's acquisition of harvested rice), but more than Shichi (7)-Ko/San (3)-Min (70% tax and 30% people's acquisition of harvested rice). I said that if the people of the domain pay the burden of Mononari (annual tribute), additional tax, and county village expenses, the rice for the table crop (rice crop of double cropping) will not remain. If you look at the Tenpo model, you will find that Sakutoku (rice that remains in the hands of the peasant after paying the annual tribute) remains in peoples' hand. It was realized in such a situation that Chisomai (additional tax other than regular tax) was applied, there was famine's years, and there were the great political failures. Looking at these, I thought that the peasants of the two countries of Bocho were amazing. I have to think that the Bocho's peasants worked really hard. It is also necessary to pay attention to the sacrifices of other people of the domain, including the townspeople who had a hard time about the internal borrowing of their vassals and clan finance official.”

　 (Tanaka Seiji "Fiscal Policy of the Hagi Clan during the Tenpo Period" (Yamaguchiken Prefectural History Lecture Record)).

 (Administrator's Note: "Naishaku-sabaki (internal borrowing)" is a mechanism in which the Hagi-clan takes over the silver borrowed from the townspeople by the vassals, returns only the interest of 2% per annum for 37 years, and pays off the principal in the last year of the repayment deadline. This is effectively a way to avoid payment of a debt.)

　Tanaka critically examined Misaka Keiji's theory that most of the funds for purchasing warships and guns from the first year of Keio were funded by the Buikugata-funds. Tanaka proved that the war expenses during the Boshin War from the end of the Edo period were procured by the big printing of the clan bills that were in line with the changes in produce, trade, and monetary policy during the Ansei-Genji period.

(Tanaka Seiji "Introduction to the Study of Fiscal Policy History of the Hagi Clan at the End of the Edo Period". "Redemption of Clan Bonds and Clan Bills of the Yamaguchi Clan during the Restoration Period" Yamaguchi University Final Lecture 2013.3.2).

（2019.12.6）

 2022.1.25

　日比谷焼き打ち事件、大正政変、シーメンス事件の時も民衆が行動しましたが、これらは政党人が主導した政治的な行動でした。米騒動は民衆が主体であり、政党人が民衆と結んで行動することはなく、民衆の政治的要求を結集する無産政党もまだありませんでした。

　米騒動の拡大により、明治以来の藩閥官僚内閣である寺内正毅内閣は政治責任を問われて総辞職し、本格的政党内閣の原敬内閣が成立して近代政治史の転換点になりました。

【《補足》寺内正毅内閣は、長州・陸軍閥の寺内首相と官僚（貴族院所属）が大臣となっている藩閥・官僚内閣です。官僚は国民から選出されていませんので立憲政治に反しています。このため、寺内内閣は非立憲内閣、寺内は「ビリケン（非立憲）」とよばれていました。「ビリケン」の由来は、大阪の通天閣のビリケン人形と寺内の頭部の印象が似ているためです。現在の山口市出身の寺内の旧姓は宇多田です。歌手の宇多田ヒカル（クリック・外部リンク）は正毅の曾姪孫（そうてっそん・甥姪の孫）にあたります。】

　原敬は岩手県（盛岡市選挙区）選出の衆議院議員で、衆議院第一党の立憲政友会総裁（伊藤博文→西園寺公望→原敬）です。陸海軍・外務大臣以外は立憲政友会党員の大臣で構成された初めての本格的な政党内閣でした。それまでの総理大臣は、すべて、元勲（元老）が天皇に推薦した華族でした。華族には、公爵・侯爵・伯爵・子爵・男爵があります。華族は、貴族院議員となり、衆議院議員の選挙権・被選挙権がありませんでした。

【《補足》衆議院議員が国民から選出された政党人が中心だったのに対し、貴族院議員は皇族議員、華族議員、勅任議員で構成されます。皇族と華族の公爵・侯爵は全員が議員となり、伯爵以下は互選により、議員となりました。勅任議員は、勅選議員（官僚、財界人が多い）、帝国学士院会員議員、多額納税者議員などです。貴族院の議員数は華族議員が多いのですが、大臣となるのは官僚出身者が中心でした。】

最初の政党内閣とされるのは１８９８年の憲政党の第一次大隈重信内閣です。しかし、大隈総理は爵位（伯爵、のち侯爵）があり衆議院議員ではありません。そのため、国民が選出した衆議院議員で構成される「本格的な政党内閣」とはいえないのです。原は、憲政史上初めて、国民が選出した平民（戦前の戸籍の族称は華族・士族・平民）の総理大臣となり、国民は「平民宰相」とよんで歓迎しました。原は、本来は士族出身でしたが、平民として届け出て戸籍上は平民でした。原は平民として政治を行う立場をとり、爵位は生涯受けませんでした。

原は男子普通選挙制には反対の立場で、民主化を推進する功績には限界がありました。しかし、本格的な政党内閣という性格を持つ点で画期的な内閣でした。こののち、天皇主権下ではありますが、男子普通選挙制（１９２５年（大正１４）成立、１９２８年総選挙）と政党内閣制が実現します。この結果、国民の代表である衆議院議員（衆議院第一党）が内閣を組織する政党内閣の慣行が実現していきます。吉野作造は天皇主権（国家主権論）下であることから、この政治を「民本主義」と表現しました。

【《補足》天皇機関説と国体論

　国家主権論に基づく天皇主権とは、法人としての国家の最高機関として天皇が位置付けられる。憲法で統治権が天皇にあると規定される意味での天皇主権で、天皇は憲法の他の規定に制約される（天皇機関説）。

　これに対して『国体の本義』（昭和12年・1937年）は、大日本帝国は、天照大神（あまてらすおおみかみ）・神武天皇以来の万世一系の現御神（あきつみかみ・現人神（あらひとがみ））が永遠に統治する国としている。この国体論では、日本は、現御神の天皇を統治権の主体とする絶対的な天皇主権の国となる。

　外国では、元首・主権者である大統領・君主・主権者・統治権者などは法規で定められている。しかし、国体論は、現御神である天皇の元首の地位は法規で定めることはできないとする。これにより、天皇は憲法で定められた国家の最高機関であるとする天皇機関説は否定された。天皇機関説は、普通選挙制による国民代表による政党内閣制の根拠となっていた。

　国体論に基づき、共産主義・社会主義だけでなく、民主主義や自由主義も否定され、弾圧された。】

　また、米騒動に民衆が多数参加したことは、民衆・労働者の政治・社会的な意識と力が強まっていたことを示しています。すでに米騒動前年に労働運動は高揚していました。米騒動により、普選運動（政治運動）、労働運動・農民運動・部落解放運動などの社会運動が一段と高揚しました。こうした政治・社会の民主的な動きは「大正デモクラシー」とよばれる場合があります。「大正デモクラシー」は政治的には政党内閣制と男子普通選挙制の成立を言います。また社会全体の民主的な風潮をさす場合があります。「大正デモクラシー」を学術用語として使用することに否定的な意見もあります。

【《補足》納税制限のない選挙権を規定した男子普通選挙法（衆議院議員選挙法改正）が成立したのは加藤高明内閣（護憲三派連立内閣）の１９２５年（大正１４）である。また、この選挙法に依る最初の総選挙は田中義一内閣（立憲政友会）の１９２８年（昭和３）である。】

　「大正デモクラシー」は、昭和恐慌・満州事変以後、軍部の台頭により崩壊して天皇制軍国主義国家体制（国体）が確立しました。しかし、アジア太平洋戦争の惨禍を経て、戦後民主主義社会として再興・実現しました。戦後の民主化政策によってはじめて、日本は活力ある社会となり、めざましい発展を遂げて今日に至っています。戦後民主主義の原点であり、日本の発展の出発点となったのは米騒動といって過言ではありません。

　大正から昭和初期にかけての時代（いわゆる「大正デモクラシー」の時代）は、これまで、明治維新以来急速に近代国家が発展した明治時代と比較すると評価が十分でありませんでした。しかし、民衆が歴史を動かした時代であり、戦後民主主義につながる先駆的な時代として再認識すべきと考えます。また、ともすれば、米騒動の民衆参加は反社会的な暴動という負の遺産として捉える傾向がありました。こうした見方を再考し、全国どの地域でも発生した米騒動が「大正デモクラシー」の出発点であり、戦後民主主義の先駆となったことを再認識し、積極的な評価をしなければならないと考えます。

　全国の米騒動の中でも、宇部の米騒動は被起訴者・死者において全国最多であり、海底炭鉱の鉱夫が中心となった「海の底からの米騒動」という特質があります。この鉱夫らのエネルギーが「大正デモクラシー」の原動力となり、戦後の民主主義につながったことを高く評価したいと考えます。

　People also acted during the Hibiya incendiary Incident, Taisho Political Crisis, and Siemens scandals, but these were political actions led by political parties. The main actors of the rice riots were the people, the parties did not act in connection with the people, and there were no proletarian parties that mobilized the political demands of the people.

　Due to the expansion of the rice riots, the Terauchi Masatake Cabinet, which is cabinet of the domain clique and bureaucratic since the Meiji era, resigned due to political responsibility, and the Hara Takashi Cabinet, a full-fledged political party cabinet, was established and became a turning point in modern political history.

【<< Supplement >>The Terauchi Masatake Cabinet is the domain clique and bureaucratic cabinet whose ministers are Prime Minister Terauchi from the Choshu domain clique and Army clique, and bureaucrats (belonging to the House of Peers). Since bureaucrats are not elected from the people, it is against constitutional politics. For this reason, the Terauchi Cabinet was called the unconstitutional cabinet, and the Terauchi was called the "Billiken (unconstitutional)".　 The origin of "Billiken" is that the impression of the head of Terauchi is similar to that of the Billiken doll of Tsutenkaku in Osaka.　 The maiden name of Terauchi, who is currently from Yamaguchi City, is Utada.　 The singer Utada Hikaru (click / external link) is Masatake's Sotesson (nephew's grandson).】

Hara Takashi is a member of the House of Representatives from Iwate Prefecture (Morioka City Election District) and the president of the Rikken Seiyukai, the first party of the House of Representatives (Ito Hirobumi→ Saionji Kinmochi → Hara Takashi). The Hara Cabinet was, except for the Army, Navy and Foreign Ministers, the first full-scale political party cabinet composed of ministers of Rikken Seiyukai members. Until then, the prime ministers were all Peers (Kazoku) recommended by Genkun (Genrou) to Emperor. There are dukes, marquis, counts, viscounts, and barons in the Peers. The Peers became members of the House of Peers and had no right to vote and eligibility for election to Member of the House of Representatives.

【<< Supplement >> While the members of the House of Representatives were mainly political parties elected from the people, the members of the House of Peers are composed of members of the Imperial Family, members of the Peers family, and members of the imperial appointees. The Imperial Family and All of the dukes and marquis of the Peers and became members of the Diet, and the counts and below became members by mutual election. The imperial appointee members include members of the Imperial nominee (mostly bureaucrats and business people), members of the Imperial Academy, and members of large taxpayers. The number of members of the House of Peers is mostly Peers, but the ministers were mainly bureaucrats.】

　The first's party cabinet was the Kenseito's 1'st Okuma Shigenobu's cabinet in 1898. However, Prime Minister Okuma has a Peers title (count, later marquis) and is not a member of the House of Representatives. Therefore, it cannot be said that it is a "full-scale party cabinet" composed of members of the House of Representatives elected by the people. For the first time, Hara became the prime minister of the commoners (the tribes of the prewar family register were the Peers, the samurai, and the commoners) elected by the people, and the people welcomed him by calling him "the Chancellor of the Commoners." Hara was originally from a samurai family, but he was registered as a commoner and was a commoner in the family register. Hara took the position of politics as a commoner and did not receive the title for a lifetime.

　Hara was opposed to the universal suffrage system for men, and his achievements in promoting democratization were limited. However, it was an epoch-making cabinet in that it had the character of a full-fledged political party cabinet. After this, although under the sovereignty of Emperor, the men's universal suffrage system (established in 1925 (Taisho 14), 1928 general election) and the party cabinet system will be realized. As a result, the practice of a political party cabinet in which a member of the House of Representatives (the first party of the House of Representatives), who is the representative of the people, organizes the cabinet will be realized. Since Yoshino Sakuzo is under the sovereignty of emperor (national sovereignty theory), he described this politics as "Minpon Shugi".

【<< Supplement >> The emperor sovereignty based on the theory of national sovereignty means that the emperor is positioned as the highest institution of the nation as a political legal entity. The emperor sovereignty in the sense that the Constitution stipulates that the emperor has the right of sovereignty, and the emperor is constrained by other provisions of the Constitution. On the other hand, in "The Principles of Our Empire" (1937), the Empire of Japan is a country where the Akitsumikami (current God / Arahitogami) of "Bansey-ikkei" rules forever since the Emperor Jimmu of the genealogy of Amaterasu Omikami. In this theory of national polity, Japan is a country of absolute emperor sovereignty with the Emperor of Akitsumikami (Arahitogami) as the subject of sovereignty. In foreign countries, the president, monarch, sovereign, ruler, etc. who are heads of state and sovereigns are stipulated by law.　 The theory of national polity states that the position of the head of state of Arahitogami, the Emperor, cannot be stipulated by law. For this reason, the theory of Emperor as the nation's highest government organ that the emperor is the highest institution of the nation stipulated in the Constitution was denied. The theory of Emperor as the nation's highest government organ was the basis for a party cabinet system in which politics was carried out by members elected by universal suffrage. Based on this theory of national polity, not only communism and socialism but also democracy and liberalism were denied and suppressed.】

　In addition, the large number of people participating in the rice riots shows that the political and social awareness and power of the people and workers were strengthening. The labor movement was already uplifting the year before the rice riots. Due to the rice riots, social movements such as the general election movement (political movement), the labor movement, the peasant movement, and the buraku liberation movement have further risen. Such political and social democracy is sometimes called "Taisho democracy." "Taisho democracy" politically refers to the establishment of a party cabinet system and a men's universal suffrage system.　 It may also refer to the democratic the tendency of society as a whole. There are also negative opinions about using "Taisho democracy" as an academic term.

【<< Supplement >> The General Election Law for Men (Revision of the General Election Law for Members of the House of Representatives), which stipulates the right to vote without tax payment restrictions, was enacted in 1925 (Taisho 14) by the KATO Takaaki's three-party coalition Cabinet of Constitution protection. The first general election based on this election law was in 1928 (Showa 3) of the Tanaka Giichi Cabinet (Rikken Seiyukai).】　　

　After the Showa Depression and Manchurian Incident, "Taisho Democracy" collapsed due to the rise of the military, and the emperor system militarism national system (national polity) was established. However, after the devastation of the Asia Pacific War, it was revived and realized as a postwar democratic society. Only after the postwar democratization policy has Japan become a vibrant society and has achieved remarkable development to this day. It is no exaggeration to say that the rice riots were the origin of postwar democracy and the starting point for Japan's development.

 　The period from the Taisho era to the early Showa period (the so-called "Taisho democracy" era) has not been sufficiently evaluated compared to the Meiji era, when the modern nation developed rapidly after the Meiji Restoration. However, it is an era in which the people moved history, and I think it should be re-recognized as a pioneering era leading to postwar democracy. Also, the public participation in the rice riots tended to be seen as a negative legacy of antisocial riots. Rethinking this view, we must reaffirm that the rice riots that occurred in every region of the country were the starting point of "Taisho Democracy" and pioneered postwar democracy, and I think that we must make a positive evaluation.

Among the rice riots of the whole country, the rice riot of Ube is the largest number of indicted and dead in the whole country, and it has the characteristic of "rice riot from the bottom of the sea" centered on the miners of the submarine coal mine. I would like to highly appreciate that the energy of these miners became the driving force of "Taisho Democracy" and led to postwar democracy.

2022.1.24