A peace at noon was broken by a sudden shock as severe as man
could not stand. People felt a terror, which they had never
experienced and were thrown into a state of jumble. Under such a
situation, the incredible wild rumor occurred and was told
speciously. This wild rumor which spread in the twinkling of an
eye triggered off the slaughter that yielded to have the abundant
number of victims. In a state of confusion, information is often
manipulated by the power. People should have right judgment
against every information and must not be at a loss in the
presence of waves of information. This paper will describe about
three phases of the wild rumor in Kanto earthquake: the
background of wild rumor and Korean slaughter, the response of
mass media, and finally the response of people.
Who started the wild rumor of Korean riot and directly led the
Japanese to slaughter the Korean? More than 6,000 Koreans were
killed because of the wild rumor. To answer this, we should
consider who wanted such a wild rumor most in those days, and
what benefit it gave. Some material shows that Japanese rulers in
those days wanted it and got a lot of political benefit from
it.
The Kanto Earthquake occurred two minutes to noon on September
1, 1923. The crowd was thrown into a great confusion, which got
out of control. The public peace authorities, Mizuno (the
Minister of Domestic Affairs), Gotou (the chief of the Bureau of
Police and Maintenance of Public Peace in the Ministry of
Domestic Affairs), and Akaike (the Superintendent-General of the
Metropolitan Police), saw this state and feared that the crowd's
complaints would be hurled at Government. Kome Soudou (one of
public riots in Japan) had happened five years before the Kanto
Earthquake occurred, and the Korean nationalist movement had
happened four years before. Through oppressing these, they
understood enormous power of Japanese crowd's riot and Korean
independent movement most. In their book, Minamizato, Gotou and
Akaike give evidence of things in those days.
Gotou says, "The public peace authorities realized that it is
difficult to calm down the crowds uneasiness and keep order by
usual guard and the determination to have to take extreme
measures of proclaiming martial law came out of the public peace
authorizes right after the earthquake occurred. Akaike says, "I
feared that some scandals would happen. I asked the Minister of
Domestic Affairs to proclaim martial law. Probably, it was about
2 o'clock in the afternoon, I thought." (Minamizato 3, 4). In
short, the public peace authorities wanted to proclaim martial
law, send an army, and prevent a crowd's riot. However there was
one problem in proclaiming martial law. That was the reason for
it: "To proclaim martial law, the condition of war or civil war
was necessary, but it did not exist" (Minamizato 4).
The crowd's confusion was caused not by war or civil war but
by an earthquake. In the book written by Minamizato, there is
also the evidence given by Mizuno, the most responsible person on
public peace. He says that the Korean disturbance was made from
nowhere the next morning (on September 2) and that there was
nothing for oppressing it but to proclaim martial law. Akaike
says that he had wanted to proclaim martial law before the
problem of Korean riot happened. However Mizuno says that he
decided to proclaim it for controlling the Korean riot. Why is
their evidence at cross-purposes? It shows that Akaike, the
responsible person on the public peace of the capital, wanted
martial law for any reasons, and then Mizuno had a hard time
looking for the legal reason of it and invented the Korean riot
for himself. The public peace authorities needed martial law to
control the complaints of Japanese crowd previously and needed
the Korean riot to proclaim martial law. In short, it was the
public peace authorities that started the false wild rumor of
Korean riot. The false rumor of Korean riot was connected with
the slaughter of the Koreans because the Government transmitted
the wild rumor systematically.
In other words, Government directly led the Japanese to
slaughter the Korean. The government directly transmitted the
Korean riot and the control of it to each prefecture in the Kanto
region and instructed each prefecture "to take suitable measures
immediately when something happened." (Minamizato 5). This was to
permit slaughtering the Koreans in public. Minamizato says in his
book, "It is as clear as day what response these Government's
notification wi4l bring" to stunned people (Minamizato 6).
Why did the Japanese believe the wild rumor of Korean riot
easily and slaughter the Korean enthusiastically? First, the
Japanese had a sense of superiority over Korea and discrimination
against it. Japan invaded other Asian countries in the modem
period, because the Japanese thought that Japan was the most
developed country in Asia. In 1910, Korea was annexed by Japan
and became Japanese territory. Not considering the national
feelings of the Korean, the Japanese military regime carried out
the policy that it would assimilate the Korean to the Japanese
forcibly. It was forbidden to teach Korean and the Korean
history, and to publish in Korean. Through this experience, the
Japanese accumulated a sense of national superiority over
Korea.
In the book written by Pe, it is said that "in the un-daily
state" (in the Kanto Earthquake) "the sense of national
superiority over Korea would be revealed, taking the pure form. "
(Pe 20). Secondly, Japanese lower laborers harbored ill feeling
toward Korean labors. After the first World War ended in 1918,
Japan fell into a state of depression. To get over it the policy
of employing Korean laborers was adopted actively. There were
three reasons for it. "in the first place, since the standard of
living of Koreans was low, they were able to work for low wages.
Secondly, their farmer- origin and unusually healthy
constitutions suited them well for work requiring physical
strength. Finally, the Koreans were, by nature, more adaptable to
wretched living conditions than for unskilled laborers" (Wagner
15). In the book written by Wagner, the following things are
said: "replacing Japanese workers on the day-labor market . . .
and in all fields of labor requiring not much skill but physical
strength, they comprise a powerful rival of Japanese workers, and
the latter's labor conditions have been deteriorating to the
level of the former's. "(Wagner 15).
Japanese newspapers also increased Japanese laborers' ill
feeling toward Korean laborers more, by exaggerating the hostile
nature of the Korean laborers. A newspaper's editorial in Osaka
said "...it is disquieting that a crowd of Japanese workers
should go to public offices demanding work or food. Tens of
thousands of Korean laborers are now in Japan, but they do not
take any such improper course. They work very hard at low wages.
If Japanese laborers worked as hard as the Koreans at as low
wages, there would always be work for them. It is rather
inconsistent of Japanese laborers to be too proud to work for low
wages, while making the assertion that if a man will not work
neither shall he eat (Wagner 16).
Thirdly, the Japanese showed contempt for and feared the
Korean after the Korean nationalist movement in 1919. In Korea,
farmer's and laborer's movements began to be active for real
after the Korean nationalist movement failed in 1919. Armed
fights based in Northeast China and Siberia, and terrorist fights
based in China also began to be active. In Japan, nationalist
movements, in which Korean students played a leading part changed
into movements in which Korean socialists, anarchists, and
laborers played a leading part. The government authorities had to
keep sharper watch on these Korean movements in Japan. These
movements, however, were hurled not at Japanese crowd but at
Japanese state power. Japanese newspapers reported Korean
movements as slanderous and distorted way without understanding
patriotism and humanity which existed behind Korean movements. In
short, newspapers made Japanese crowd very fearful.
It was at 11:58 when the strong earthquake hit right under the
Kanto Plain on September 1st in 1923. As many researchers reveal,
it is clear that Korean slaughter happened because people have
said to be controlled by the false information officially
released from the Ministry of Domestic Affairs to Newspaper
offices. In this part, newspapers reaction toward false
information is going to be mentioned.
At that time, big newspaper offices were in Ginza, Asahi,
Yomiuri, Yamato, Yorozu-tyouhou, Nihonshinbun, Jiji, Kokumin,
Denpoutsushin, Tokyo-nichinichi, Houciii (Chamoto 205). That day
newspaper reporters of politics were all busy, because the second
Yamamoto Gonnohyoue Cabinet was to be born and was in the middle
of selecting members. Just after the earthquake occurred, fires
spread widely in Tokyo, and newspaper offices had to take refuge
to outside. The building of Asahi newspaper company was burnt
down so they took refuge near the Imperial Palace. Kohjirou
Ishii, who was the head of the accounting department in Asahi,
sent his man on an errand to Metropolitan Police Department for
some information. In Metropolitan Police Department, there
already existed the vague fear made up by the prejudice against
Koreans and socialists, and Shoutarou Shouriki who was the head
of Kanbo was said to be talked to errand, "Be careful, somehow I
am suspicious. Let us know if anything have happened". On the
other hand, Kainan Shimomura, who was an executive director, did
not listen calmly but protested saying, "It is impossible. Nobody
could predict such a big earthquake nor could plan riots. It is a
lie, wild rumor. Newspaper reporters must not believe such a
thing!" After that, whenever Kohjirou Ishii was gathering
information, he told everyone not to believe Koreans bad image
and make a fuss (Chamoto 206). However, to a great surprise, the
next day, on September 2nd, several newspapers reported and wrote
articles as follows:
- "Koreans are throwing poisons to wells;"
- "Three thousand wild Koreans are coming all the way from
Kanagawa to attack Tokyo in any moment;"
- "Korekiyo Takahashi was pressed to death in a building,
Gomohyoue Takahashi was assassinated;"
- "Prisoners are released and they are planning to set
fires;"
- "Many socialists are setting fires." (Chamoto 208)
Although now it is clear that all these information have been
false, newspapers on that day did not have the way to make sure
of the facts and wrote articles. The government already knew the
crazy hearsay about Koreans and socialists, which made the Kanto
Plain chaos, so the government announced Martial Law in Tokyo and
gave newspaper offices warning not to stimulate people by
articles of Koreans. However, around the same time, Gotou, who
was the head of Bureau of Police and Maintenance of Public Peace
in the Ministry of Domestic Affairs, sent telegrams to the heads
of each communities and warned: "In the middle of earthquake,
Koreans are setting fires in everywhere, which is their aim, and
they carry bombs and set fires spreading fuels all over. Martial
Law was announced in Tokyo right now so strict crackdown on
Koreans have to be strengthened." Gotou's announcement including
a great deal of ignorance and prejudice, which surrounded Koreans
made newspapers report more truthful, because it was the official
announcement, nobody believed either newspaper companies or
readers.
When people heard the wild rumor or read articles that a
number of Korean people would come to attack Japanese people in
the middle of this disaster, what did they do? Of course,
Japanese people were confused so much and they completely had
fallen into a great panic and surrounded by a terror against
Korean people and socialists. Under the circumstances that
everyone cares for themselves and the feel of selfishness
controls peoples' mind, how and why Korean slaughter was to be
happen? This last part will reveal it.
The strong unbearable fear made Japanese people organize
self-defense groups, which was called Jikei-dan. One of the
biggest reasons for the awful and terrible Korean slaughter was
the organization of Jikei-dan, which was organized by soldiers,
Seinen-dan (a young men's association) and firemen, and they
hunted Korean people (Tsurazono 198). The reason why people
believed the wild rumor as a true story, was that this rumor was
reported by the police and the army (Nakajitna 158). In a state
of confusion, people could trust only the information from the
police and the army, and those information was relied on
unconditionally. Some members of Jikei-dan were convinced that
the Korean slaughter was recognized officially (Tsuruzono 198).
It seems, after reading material on this topic, that quite a few
people enjoyed catching and killing Koreans, because Koreans were
thought to be bad, wicked people who were to be extinguished.
Japanese people caught or killed Koreans thoroughly, because
people found a way to distinguish Japanese from Korean or Chinese
in order to force a person to pronounce certain phrases which is
difficult to pronounce correctly for foreigners. Only a small
percentage of people kept Korean people from harm, but most
people accepted the wild rumor, and took part in the slaughter or
remained an idle onlooker (Tsuruzono 198).
When a group, which is organized by people who each has
different thought, feeling and will, is ruled by certain
condition, special mob psychology will ensue. It shows perfectly
different thought, feeling and will from each other. In short,
mob psychology means that the momentary and extreme emotional
mental phenomenon which take place in unorganized group (Nakajima
91).
A famous psychologist, Gustave Le Bon said that people lose
individual consciousness when people in a mass; in a word, each
person acts by instinct because he is convinced that he is
irresponsible in a mass (Nakajima 92). People behave audaciously
and do incredible thing which they never do usually.
Because being threatened by earthquake and raging flame, and
being exhausted by anxiety and starvation, people believed the
report of Korean attack. However, the background of the wild
rumor was that the fear for revenge of Korean against the
discrimination of Japanese people against Korean people (Nakajima
86). The fear created incredible mob psychology in Japanese
people. Korean slaughter, unbelievable event today, actually
happened in Kanto Plain about 73 years ago. What does this
disagreeable occurrence mean in the present time? It is
impossible for everyone to be normal in the middle of chaos,
because people lose control of themselves and come to act by
instinct. Nobody can criticize members of Jikei-dan at that time,
and learning many lessons from this event, everyone has to be
aware of this tragedy to never be happened again, otherwise this
tragedy will not necessarily happen again in the future. In what
should people trust and live? Eventually, each person has to
choose one's activity, which has possibilities to cause tragedy.
Information controls people's mind in good way or otherwise,
everyone have to be aware of this self-evident truth. It can be
concluded that to have capability to tell good from bad is the
most important thing for people to live a proper life.
by Ryouko Hatari, Yukiko Imai
and Ewa Watanabe
Works Cited
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