Ruffians, yakuza, nationalists : the violent politics of modern Japan, 1860-1960 / Eiko Maruko Siniawer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Siniawer, Eiko Maruko.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political violence--Japan--History.

Political violence.

Democracy--Japan--History.

Democracy.

Japan--Politics and government--1868-.

Japan.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (284 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Introduction

Patriots and gamblers: violence and the formation of the Meiji state

Violent democracy: ruffians and the birth of parliamentary politics

Institutionalized ruffianism and a culture of political violence

Fascist violence: ideology and power in prewar Japan

Democracy reconstructed: violence specialists in the postwar period

Afterword.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9780801456824

0801456827

9780801454363

0801454360

9780801461859

0801461855

OCLC:

732957085