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Woman’s Place in Japan’s Great Depression: Reflections on the Moral…
Woman’s Place in Japan’s Great Depression:
Reflections on the Moral Economy of Deflation
Moral Economy of Deflation
Describe the close linkage between economic policy and social moral values
Historical pattern
The Kyōhō Reforms (1716–1736)
Tokugawa Yoshimune reestablishing hard monetary standards, reinforcing samurai values, and imposing policies that caused severe deflation.
The Kansei Reforms (1787–1793), Tempō Reforms (1841–1843)
using strict monetary policies to counter commercialization and restore conservative values.
The Matsukata Deflation (1881–1884)
Finance Minister Matsukata Masayoshi implemented a stringent deflationary policy to stabilize the yen, end the inflationary boom, and reinforce conservative political order in the Meiji period.
The Gold Standard and National Masculinity
Economic mechanism and a symbol of national status and moral discipline
Silver standards and inconvertible paper money were seen as signs of backwardness, “childishness, or femininity.”
1920s context
Impact of the Inflationary Boom
brought Japan its first major trade surplus, creating a class of “new rich” (narikin)
Era of luxury and instability
Rising prices made life difficult for ordinary people and led to the largest mass protests, e.g Rice riot of 1918
opening the door to “dangerous foreign ideas” such as communism and liberalism
Changes in Women’s Roles
Actively participated in the first-wave feminist movement
Expansion of paid employment especially in Tokyo’s service sector created a visible image of the modern, independent woman.
The modern girl image
The Austerity Campaign of the Hamaguchi Cabinet (1929–1931)
Goals and Slogans
Financial adjustment and retrenchment.
A balanced budget and reduction of government debt.
Lifting the gold embargo
The government launched an unprecedented Public and Private Spending Reduction Campaign, using new mass-media technologies such as radio, film, and recordings.
Women as the Focus of the Campaign
Inoue Junnosuke’s Speech. Inoue spoke directly to middle-class housewives
Inoue argued that housewives bore direct responsibility for the nation’s economic condition because they were “full of vanity” and unable to abandon the “luxurious lifestyle” of the boom years
Campaign was widely disseminated through
13.5 million copies of a booklet
8,168 public lectures and film screenings
Production of feature films and even popular songs
Counterarguments
Takahashi Korekiyo’s Argument: The Paradox of Thrift
National vs. Household Economics: Saving may be good for an individual, but if everyone saves simultaneously, aggregate demand collapses.
Consumption as Demand: At the national level, “consumption equals demand, and demand equals productivity.” Reducing demand reduces productivity.
If a person saves 2,000 yen instead of spending it, that may benefit the individual but harms the national economy
Ishibashi Tanzan’s Vision: Toward a Consumer Economy
“Second Industrial Revolution”: He argued that the world was shifting from a production-centered economy to one in which the importance of consumption was widely recognized.
Instead of restraint, Ishibashi called for encouraging consumption to raise living standards
Proposed establishing a Ministry of Consumption and, proposed that its minister should be a woman.
Responses
Hiratsuka Raichō
welcomed the cabinet’s acknowledgment of women as “consumers,” seeing it as an opportunity to push for broader demands for political rights and social status.
However, she criticized the government’s “passive, conservative, individualistic” version of thrift
Rather than simply cutting spending, she proposed that women organize themselves into consumer associations based on the principle of production for consumption
Public Reception
Minseitō won a historic victory in the February 1930 general election. Prime Minister Hamaguchi was even ranked among the “most popular men” by café waitresses.
Feminist activists resisted government attempts to control women’s organizations
Austerity message resonated little with the working class
Collapse
Factors
Global Depression
Collapse of the International Gold Standard
Domestic Backlash
Minseitō cabinet fell in December 1931. The new Seiyūkai cabinet, with Takahashi Korekiyo as Finance Minister, immediately reimposed the gold embargo, abandoning the gold standard and Japan’s deflationary policy.
The rise of militarism and masculine military values pushed the feminist movement into retreat.