FREEDOM AND PEOPLE’S RIGHTS MOVEMENT

The Freedom and People’s Rights Movement (jiyu minken undo) was a political and social reform campaign led by Itagaki Taisuke (1837–1919) during the 1870s that sought to create a democracy in Japan and secure civil rights through public orations, political meetings, and pamphleteering, most notably Ueki Emori’s (1857–92) Minken jiyu ron (On Popular Rights and Liberty, 1879). Although ultimately unsuccessful, the movement’s popularity put pressure on the Meiji oligarchy that led to the formation of the Diet and the creation of the Meiji Constitution in 1889. The government sought to suppress the movement in various ways. Itagaki eventually helped form the Public Party of Patriots (Aikoku koto) to promote civil liberties and consequently became the target of an assassination attempt. One literary outgrowth of the movement was the emergence of soshi shibai (hooligan shows), mass-oriented propaganda performances that developed into a new style of theatrical adaptation and had influences on the emergence of shinpa drama. Kawakami Otojiro, one of the “hooligans,” incorporated movement themes into political ballads, such as Itagaki-kun sonan jikki (Disaster Strikes Itagaki: The True Account, 1891).

See also MODERN THEATER; THEATER REFORM.