As it left the station, I saw W. on the platform, his hand raised to bid me farewell.
I signaled back the same; my final goodbye to the comrades in Japan.”
AUTHOR: Ōsugi Sakae
TRANSLATION with an INTRODUCTION: Michael Schauerte
AFTERWORD:Kondō Kenji, Ōsugi Yutaka
ISBN: 978-4-907511-14-2
FIRST PRINTING：November 2014
Publisher: DOYOSHA LLC
Price: JPY 2,300
CONTENTS:
Translator’s Introduction (Michael Schauerte)
Ōsugi Sakae Chronology (1885-1923)
Escaping Japan
The Toilets of Paris
Prison Songs
Prison Life until Deportation
Assorted Stories from My Trip Overseas
A Note to My Comrades
Afterword to the 1923 ARS Edition (Kondō Kenji)
Afterword to the English Edition (Ōsugi Yutaka)
Chronology of Ōsugi’s “Escapes” (1920-23)
About the Author:
ŌSUGI SAKAE
was born in 1885, the son of
a career military officer, and grew up in Niigata Prefecture. Moved
to Tokyo in 1901 after expulsion from Nagoya Military Cadet School;
enrolled the following year in Foreign Language College. In
1904, came into contact with the socialist movement through Heimin shimbun
(Commoners’ News), a radical, anti-war newspaper edited by Kōtoku
Shūsui and Sakai Toshihiko. Married Hori Yasuko
in 1906 and was arrested that year for taking part in a
demonstration against a streetcar fare hike. Other arrests and prison
sentences followed, including a sentence of two-and-a-half years for
involvement in the 1908 Red Flag Incident. Released from prison in
late 1910, around the time Kōtoku and other radicals were sentenced to
death for their alleged involvement in a plot to
assassinate the emperor. In 1912, helped to revive the chilled
radical movement through establishing the literary journal Kindai shisō
(Modern Thought) with Arahata Kanson. The journal was
published until 1916. That same year his love affairs with Itō Noe
and Kamichika Ichiko led to a public scandal that ended his marriage.
Subsequently began living with Itō, with whom he
established the journal Bunmei hihyō in 1918. Traveled to
Shanghai in 1920 to attend the Comintern’s Conference of Far-Eastern
Socialists. Attempted to form a “united front” with
communists in 1921 through the newspaper Rōdō undō (The Labor
Movement), but soon parted ways with them. Departed Japan at the end of
1922 clandestinely to travel to Shanghai and then went
on to Europe, where he hoped to attend an international anarchist
conference. Arrested in France the following year for an incendiary
speech delivered at a May Day meeting. Returned to Japan in
July following his deportation from France. Abducted by the military
police on September 16, 1923, and murdered along with Itō and his
six-year-old nephew. A translator of numerous books,
including Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid, Darwin’s The Origin of Species, and Fabre’s Souvenirs entomologiques. His own works include Sei no tōsō (Struggle for Life; 1914),
Rōdō undo no tetsugaku (Philosophy of the Labor Movement; 1916), Kuropotokin kenkyū (Studies of Kropotkin; 1920), and Seigi o motomeru kokoro (Justice-Seeking Spirit; 1921);
and the memoirs Gokuchūki (Prison Memoirs; 1919) and Jijoden (Autobiography; 1923).
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
MICHAEL SCHAUERTE is a translator and writer. Has lived for the past twenty years in Japan. Graduated from Kenyon College in 1991 and received an MA from Hitotsubashi University in 2001. Writings on Ōsugi Sakae include “Shijin toshite no Ōsugi Sakae” (Ōsugi Sakae as Poet), published in the 2013 book Ōsugi Sakae to nakamatachi (Ōsugi Sakae and Friends). Regularly writes for the Socialist Standard. Now makes his home in Miyazaki Prefecture with his wife and two daughters.
ŌSUGI YUTAKA is the son of Ōsugi Sake’s younger brother, Isamu. A graduate of Tokyo Metropolitan University. Worked for the television broadcasting company TBS until his retirement in 1999. His detailed chronology of the life of Ōsugi Sakae, Nichiroku: Ōsugi Sakae Den (A Record of the Life of ?sugi Sakae), was published in 2009. Currently a part-time instructor at Tōhō Gakuen and Tokiwa University.
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