New History Textbook (Chapter 4 & 5) 2005 version - Bakumatsu Films

given shore leave. When the fleet docked at Yokohama, it was greeted by crowds of well-wishers
waving tiny flags, and American naval officers were guests of honor at party after party. When the
train carrying the Americans arrived at the station, it was met by 1,000 elementary school students
singing “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
English-language greeting in the October 18, 1908 edition of the Asahi Shinbun
67 Taisho Culture
What were the distinguishing characteristics of Taisho culture?
New Academic Disciplines and Literature
During the last years of the Meiji era and through the Taisho era, the focus of young Japanese
people, ever thirsting for knowledge, turned inward. This was a luxury they could enjoy because by
then, Japan had attained a status equal to that of the Western powers. During that same period,
people were urged to respect individuality and achieve self-realization, and to broaden their
horizons by learning about Western literature, art and philosophy.
This liberal, intellectual ambience encouraged new developments in scholarship. For instance, it
inspired figures like Nishida Kitaro, who superimposed Western philosophy on the Zen experience,
creating his own brand of philosophy (Nishida philosophy); and Yanagida Kunio, Japan’s first
ethnologist, who studied the folklore of Japan’s common people.
The spirit of the new era informed literature as well. Onto the scene came the Shirakaba (white birch)
school of writers with their humanitarian ideals; among its adherents were Shiga Naoya, Mushakoji
Saneatsu and Arishima Takeo. Also influential were Tanizaki Jun’ichiro, whose work is famous for
its aesthetic sensibility, and Akutagawa Ryunosuke, known for his intellectual style. Toward the end
of the Taisho era, proletarian literature, which depicted workers’ lives and revolutionary movements
from a Marxist perspective, appeared. The first modern dramas, modeled after Western theater, were
written and performed at this time.
The Popularization of Culture and the Shaping of an Urban Lifestyle
Beginning in the middle of the Taisho era, many middle schools, girls’ high schools and universities
were founded. As the literacy rate rose, so did the readership of material other than newspapers, such
as general-interest magazines like Chuo Koron and Bungei Shunju. Literary anthologies were
published in great numbers. Radio programs were broadcast for the first time, and the popularization
of culture continued.
As modern industry evolved, the number of urban residents grew. Private railways were built to
connect city centers and suburbs. The tone was being set for today’s lifestyle, as bus routes were
extended, department stores opened, more women wore Western clothes, and foreign dishes such as
curry, croquettes and pork cutlets gained popularity. New employment opportunities opened up for
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