"Bakunin and Japanese anarchist" presented by Hikaru Tanaka, on July 12, 2014 at the “International Conference for Bicentennial of Mikhail Bakunin,” Pryamukhino, Russia.
1. Publications on Bakunin in Japan after Second World War
After the Second World War, a relatively large
number of articles about Bakunin were published in the Japanese anarchist
papers and magazines. In 1956, one of the newspapers of Japan Anarchist
Federation featured Bakunin, to commemorate the 80th year since his death. But,
it was only after the 1960s that there were more texts on Bakunin published in
Japanese.
In 1961, there was a biography of Bakunin
published, which was written by an Japanese anarchist, Osawa Masamichi (1933-).
He wrote this book relying on the biography written by E.H. Carr, which was
translated in Japanese soon thereafter by Osawa and which was published in
1965.
Under the influence of the globally spread
student revolts starting in 1968, even in Japan, as well as in Europe and in
the United States, more people became interested in anarchism. Because of this,
after 1968, many translations of Bakunin’s works were published and sold better
than before. This made Bakunin more popular in Japan.
Especially important among these publications,
are the 6 volumes of “Bakunin’s collected works” published in 1973. This
collection was translated and published by the associated scholars of history
of Russian thought. The initiative of this collaborative work of translation
was taken by Sakon Takeshi (1936-2002) who translated the biography of Bakunin
by Natalia Pirumova, which was also published in 1973.
One of the leaders of revolutionary anarchist
group of high school student in Osaka, Chisaka Kyoji (1950-), who insisted on
struggling for an anarchist revolution relying on Bakunin’s revolutionary
vanguard secret organization tactics. This is an example, which indicates that
the publications of 1970s influenced on Japanese social movement. Chisaka named
himself “Bakuninist.”
The next generation who were interested in
anarchism in the 1980s like myself, have learned the anarchism, through reading
the Japanese translation of Bakunin’s and Kropotkin’s works which were
published in the 1970s. The almost all texts on Bakunin which are available
today in Japan were published in 1970s except for the texts by Ōsugi Sakae, which
were written in 1920s.
2. Ōsugi’s
Interpretation on the thought and life of Bakunin
These texts on Bakunin by Ōsugi are written
from his unique perspective and are easy to understand. Through these texts,
Ōsugi made Bakunin’s thought and life very popular in Japan and they are still
cited and referenced today.
Before Ōsugi played an active part in Japanese
anarchist movement, Japanese anarchists split from social democrats. After
that, in 1910, many anarchists and socialists were accused of high treason and
persecuted and as a result in 1911 twelve anarchists were executed.
After
this persecution, there emerged the movement of younger anarchists including
Ōsugi. He was different from the older generation, and also among the younger
generation. He could read French and English very well, and he kept informed
about the situation of anarchists in Europe and in the United States through
French and English anarchist magazines and newspapers.
Besides, his texts are easy to read even
today, with clear cut discussion, and also they gave to Japanese reader always
many unique perspectives.
For this reason, his essays were very popular,
not only among anarchists, but also among people outside the movement. In such
populations, there were even admirers for his texts. And even some commercial
papers requested him to write articles.
The period when Ōsugi published some articles
and books on Bakunin was only two years and three months. It was before he was
killed by police when he was only 38 years old, in September 1923, along with
his partner Itō Noe (1895-1923), when she was 28 years old. Why had Ōsugi
written about Bakunin only in these two years and three months?
Around 1920, Ōsugi expected the revolution to occur in Japan, like in
Russia. He thought that to lead the revolution successfully, Japanese
anarchists need to associate even with Bolsheviks or Marxists in Russia and in
Japan.
In 1920, when the Comintern, the Third
International, invited Japanese socialists and anarchists to an international
gathering in China, Ōsugi was the only Japanese anarchist who accepted this
invitation, went to China and attended the meeting at the risk of being
arrested. After this meeting, he agreed to collaborate with some Japanese
Bolsheviks to publish a journal in Tokyo, but because of the betrayal by
Bolsheviks, the conflict begun between Ōsugi and Bolsheviks.
After 1922, when Ōsugi learned from the European anarchist papers that
the Bolsheviks are suppressing anarchists in Russia, he began to criticize Bolshevism.
From then Ōsugi attacked the supporters of Bolshevism in magazines and papers,
and the fierce controversy between Ōsugi and Bolsheviks deepened the conflict.
In December of 1922, Ōsugi received a letter from
France. A French anarchist invited Ōsugi to the International Anarchist
Congress, which would be held in Berlin in 1923. Ōsugi got a false passport
very quickly, and “escaped” from Japan, and traveled to France by way of China.
But the international conference was repeatedly delayed. Ōsugi was very frustrated
by this waiting time, and ascended on the platform of workers gathering for May
Day in Saint-Denis, Paris, and talked about “May Day in Japan.” He was arrested
on the spot and was deported to Japan.
This international anarchist congress was
originally proposed in 1922, at the international gathering for 50th
anniversary of the anti-authoritarian conference in Saint-Imier, or the
conference by the “Bakunin-fraction” of the First international. We can say
that the Ōsugi’s travel to France or “escape” from Japan was indirectly
connected to Bakunin’s legacy.Sakae Ōsugi ca.1922 |
Ōsugi wanted to meet with Russian anarchists like Nestor Makhno and Volin, i.e Vsevolod Mikhailovich Eikhenbaum in Berlin to hear the story about anarchist revolution in Russia. One of his greatest concerns in this period was how the Japanese revolution could be lead successfully, and he probably hoped to learn from the experience of anarchists in Russian revolution. Ōsugi named his third child “Nestor,” born in 1923. This indicates how Ōsugi respected Makhno and Russian anarchists.
From the same perspective, Ōsugi was
interested in Bakunin, but Ōsugi described Bakunin not only as a revolutionary,
but as a likable human being. Ōsugi wrote as follows:
"Kropotkin described Bakunin as a good and innocent man who hopes only for peace and freedom. But with such description, it’s impossible to me to have feeling of affection towards Bakunin. I like better the texts which describe Bakunin as a man who disturbs even the peace and order among the anarchists and as a man who seemed even to the anarchists as a rebel within their relations. I like more the text which describes Bakunin as a natural born rebel, as anarchist who is not punctual, and lived so irresponsibly. When I read such descriptions of Bakunin, I always feel as if I am meeting an old friend. When I remember the life of Bakunin, I cannot help but smile to myself".
"Kropotkin described Bakunin as a good and innocent man who hopes only for peace and freedom. But with such description, it’s impossible to me to have feeling of affection towards Bakunin. I like better the texts which describe Bakunin as a man who disturbs even the peace and order among the anarchists and as a man who seemed even to the anarchists as a rebel within their relations. I like more the text which describes Bakunin as a natural born rebel, as anarchist who is not punctual, and lived so irresponsibly. When I read such descriptions of Bakunin, I always feel as if I am meeting an old friend. When I remember the life of Bakunin, I cannot help but smile to myself".
Ōsugi portrayed Bakunin, also in other texts, not only as a revolutionary or as an anarchist, but as a human being who is hard to hate and who has many faults. Ōsugi published some biographies of Bakunin in magazines and newspapers from 1921 to 1923. Before the biography by E.H.Carr which was published in 1965, Ōsugi’s biographies were the only Japanese texts, which had detailed descriptions and were also readable and interesting.
Before the 1920s, Ōsugi had written more
biographies and texts on Pyotr Kropotkin, like his predecessor Kōtoku Shūsui
(1871-1911). Like him and the socialists of the older generation, Ōsugi and
younger generation also learned about anarchism mostly through Kropotkin’s
texts.
Here, I would like to indicate, why Ōsugi
researched on Bakunin and wrote many essays and biographies of Bakunin.
Firstly, it was because Ōsugi wanted to find in the life and thought of Bakunin
some suggestions of how to successfully lead the revolution in Japan; secondly,
it was because of his fighting with the Bolsheviks in Japan that he needed to
learn about the experience of Bakunin, who fought with Marx and his supporters,
the authoritarians in the First International.
After 1968, 45 years after the death of Ōsugi,
in the turbulence of the student revolt, there was growing interest in Bakunin.
The reason why the students wanted to know about Bakunin’s life and thought
seems to be almost the same as Ōsugi’s reasons. The students searched for
successful revolution, and they struggled with authoritarian socialists.
Then what about today? In these past 20 years,
because of the neo-liberal policies of the Japanese government, the population of
the working-poor has increased and the gap between poor and rich has expanded
and become very clear.
In this situation, in the past 10 years in
Japan, the mass-movement of racists has emerged. This movement is supported by
so many working poor people who have no hope for a better future. This movement
especially target to the permanent resident Korean people who have been living
in Japan for three to four generations
On
the other hand, in the past 10 years, younger people who show rebellious spirit
by putting on various demonstrations against the government on the street like
“Amateur Revolt,” are appearing. Especially after the disaster of the nuclear
power plant in Fukushima on March 11 of 2011, in Japan, there are many younger
people have begun to revolt against the government and bureaucracy with
demonstrations on the street. These days, there are emerging the people amongst
Japanese people, who prefer confusion and disorder, and rebelling against
authority and social order. Younger Japanese were once characterized as
obedient people to government or as people who easily accommodated themselves
to the social order, but it seems like they are changing.
In these past three years it seems that the
population of rebellious people continues to grow. With direct actions on the
streets, they show their feeling of protest against the attitudes of
politicians, bureaucrats, and the executives of power companies and of global
corporations.
Japanese society is still very conservative, but something has changed
after Fukushima disaster. We know the economic growth has been one of the
central values of the Japanese people after 1945. But from the demonstration on
the street against nuclear power is now emerging the words “Not money, but life”
or “Life over money.” This expresses a very different values and ideals than
before.
I
think it is possible to say that a “new anarchism” is emerging in a Japanese
style. Even if we don’t call them “anarchist”, they are revolting against
authority with direct action, like anarchists of past and present. And I think
that they are the people who are in need now of the philosophy and attitudes
embodied by Bakunin.
I will conclude this presentation by citing with following words written by Ōsugi in1921. Here he tried to explain the reason why he was fascinated by Bakunin:
I will conclude this presentation by citing with following words written by Ōsugi in1921. Here he tried to explain the reason why he was fascinated by Bakunin:
"Younger people who begin to learn about anarchism,
they all suffer from “Bakunin-fever.” 20 years ago, I also suffered from this
disease. But if people are wise, they will awake from this fever very soon. I
was also not such a foolish guy, and after that, I became really fascinated by
the scholarly life and attitude of Kropotkin. But in the last few years, I have
been getting the feeling of becoming younger, and I have been caught up by the “Bakunin-fever”
again. Bakunin lived in the age of disorder and
instability. He lived in the age when the old regime of feudalism had broken,
but the new capitalist system was not yet established. After that, Kropotkin
lived in the age of capitalism, when so many people thought that capitalist
system would never collapse and that this system would bring them peace,
stability and prosperity forever. But, wouldn’t not seem the World War, the
German revolution and Russian revolution take this capitalist world to an age
of disorder and instability once again? To bring them, in the end, to a new
system of justice and freedom?"
However, this prophecy of Ōsugi was not fulfilled.
Two years later, he was killed as a victim of state repression. After that,
Japan was going directly into the age of militarism and war of aggression, but I
think in these words Ōsugi suggests one of the ways in which the thought and
life of Bakunin can be understood with a sense of reality. Finding such a sense
of reality in the thought and life of people who lived more than hundred years
ago, it is depends on our imagination and sensibility. I think that this is
something that Ōsugi has taught us.