Jōtarō Kawakami (
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
: 河上 丈太郎, ''Kawakami Jōtarō;'' 3 January 1889 – 3 December 1965) was a Japanese politician who was initially the leader of the
Right Socialist Party, and then later a leader of the united
Japan Socialist Party
The was a major socialist and progressive political party in Japan which existed from 1945 to 1996. The party was the primary representative of the Japanese left and main opponent of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party for most of its ex ...
.
Biography
Early life
Hailing from
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
's
Minato-ku ward, he was the son of a used lumber dealer named Shintaro Kawakami. When Jōtarō was very young, his father became a
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, which later influenced Jōtarō to become a devout believer, and from the time that Jōtarō was five years old, his father would take him to prayer meetings.
[高見澤 1976, pp. 227]
When the church's activity was sluggish, there would be fervent 2-3 hour meetings between the father and son Kawakami along with pastors Kousuke Tomeoka and Shunpei Honma, at which young Jōtarō would often be bored. However, the passionate prayer left a strong impression with him. When the young Jōtarō started schooling, his illiterate father had him read the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
one chapter at a time. In his later years, Jōtarō's father made his wish that his son would become a good politician who would devote himself to the benefit of both God and humans.
At the time that Kawakami was attending
Rikkyō Middle School, the daily newspaper known as ''Yoruzuchōhō'' (万朝報) carried an article in 1903 by
Sakai Toshihiko
was a Japanese socialist. He advocated opposition to the Russo-Japanese War, founded the Heiminsha and published the newspaper ''Heimin Shimbun''. He formed the Japan Socialist Party and the Japanese Communist Party, and became the first gene ...
and
Kōtoku Shūsui
, better known by the pen name , was a Japanese socialist and anarchist who played a leading role in introducing anarchism to Japan in the early 20th century. Historian John Crump described him as "the most famous socialist in Japan".
He was ...
which criticised the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
. which developed a strong impression on Jōtarō and led him to develop an interest in
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
thought.
After attending
Daiichi High School, Kawakami graduated from
Tokyo Imperial University
The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...
's Law School in 1915 with a specialisation in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. He had initially prepared to work for the Government-General of
Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
, but he loathed the military rule in place over there, and so he became a lecturer at
Rikkyō University
, also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan.
Rikkyo is one of the five MARCH universities, the group of private universities in the Kanto region, together with Meiji, Aoyama Gakuin, Chuo, and Ho ...
instead. Later on, through the advice of a colleague, he relocated for a new position at
Kwansei Gakuin University
, colloquially known as , is a private, non-denominational Christian coeducational university in Japan. The university offers Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees to around 25,000 students in almost 40 different disciplines across 11 underg ...
. While teaching here, Kawakami encountered the
Christian pacifist
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Ch ...
thinker
Toyohiko Kagawa
was a Japanese Evangelicalism, Evangelical Christian pacifism, Christian pacifist, Christian reformer, and labour activist. Kagawa wrote, spoke, and worked at length on ways to employ Christian principles in the ordering of society and in coo ...
, from which he began to serve as a lecturer at a manual labour school. From this experience, he became thoroughly absorbed in the movement which sought to put socialist ideas into practice.
Furthermore, at the time he was still teaching at Kwansei Gakuin, Kawakami was admitted into Tokyo Imperial University Law School's undergraduate program that specialised in
jurisprudence
Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...
, through which he obtained the needed qualifications for being a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
.
Marriage
At the time that Kawakami was still a professor at Kwansai Gakuin, he decided to marry Sueko Hiraiwa, who had never met and only knew through the occasional exchange of letters. Sueko's father Yoshiyasu, who was the second director of the Japanese Methodist Church, was angry that her daughter chose a marriage partner without his permission, and opposed the marriage because he viewed Kawakami to be an eccentric. Sueko spent two nights trying to convince her father to reconsider his position.
[高見澤 1976, pp. 219]
Being that Kawakami had also not consulted his family before choosing to marry, his father also expressed strong opposition, in part because he was prejudiced against educated women. However, approval was eventually acquired through the positive readings of a fortune teller.
Although it had temporarily been decided that the wedding would take place at a large auditorium in
Aoyama Gakuin
is an educational institute in Tokyo, Japan, which comprises Aoyama Gakuin University, Aoyama Gakuin Senior High School, Aoyama Gakuin Junior High School, Aoyama Gakuin Elementary School, and Aoyama Gakuin Kindergarten.
The institute was fou ...
, because Kawakami had insisted that a lifetime should begin from a smaller place, the wedding location was changed to the Harris Hall, an area that was around 5
tsubo
A ''pyeong'' (abbreviationpy) is a Korean unit of area (mathematics), area and floorspace, equal to a square ''kan (unit), kan'' or 36square Korean feet. The ''ping'' and ''tsubo'' are its equivalent Taiwanese units, Taiwanese and Japanese units ...
(~16.5 sq. meters). Since this location was so cramped, attendees were unable to sit properly. There was no wedding ring nor taking of commemorative photographs. After the ceremony, evening family worship was held at the Kawakami household.
As a proletarian parliamentarian
In the
1928 general election, the first one for which there was
universal male suffrage
Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the sl ...
, Kawakami was elected as a member of the
Japan Labour-Farmer Party
The was a socialist political party in Japan between December 1926 and December 1928. During its existence, it occupied a centrist position in the divided socialist movement.
Foundation
The Japan Labour-Farmer Party was one of several proleta ...
, making him one of only eight Diet members who belonged to a
proletarian party. After that, although he failed to secure re-election in the
1932 general election, Kawakami made a come-back in the
1936 general election, and from there he would remain in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
until his death. At this time, he also jumped between different party affiliations, such as the
Japan Masses Party, the National Masses Party, and the National Working and Farming Masses Party.
In 1932, after various Japanese proletarian parties decided to consolidate into the
Socialist Masses Party, Kawakami also joined it and agreed with the party when it began to endorse
state socialist
State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition ...
policies. Kawakami voted along with most in the Socialist Masses Party in expelling
Saito Takao for his famous antimilitarist speech in 1940. In that same year,
Hisashi Asō
was a Japanese socialist, politician, and trade unionist.
Biography
Hisashi Asō was born in the Oita Prefecture in 1891. He enrolled in the French Law Department of Tokyo Imperial University in 1913 and graduated in 1917. Following this, he wo ...
, a figure who worked to further entrench national socialist policies within the Socialist Masses Party, passed away, and Kawakami became his proxy as a director at the
Imperial Rule Assistance Association
The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling political organization during much of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals ...
. Due to these reasons, Kawakami was
purged
In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertaking such an ...
in the immediate postwar period as a wartime collaborator by the occupation authorities.
As the Rightist Socialist Party leader

When the occupation-era purge was cancelled, he was recommended by the chairman of the
Rightist Socialist Party. At this time, Kawakami gave a speech in which he said that the chairman position was a
cross
A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...
, which let to him acquiring the nickname of the "crucifix chairman." Shortly afterwards, he commenced prayer meetings for Christian Diet members inside the Diet itself which were held every Thursday morning.
The
1952 general election was held that same year, Kawakami gave a speech to supporters in which he said:
"My long time of being purged is over, it is now at last possible for me to have an audience with you, my friends. I was purged because I had been participating in a certain organisation. To be honest about my feelings, although it is not the case that I had always been participating with that organisation of my own free will, I won't make many excuses now. Among you all, ladies and gentlemen, if there are people who are begrudgingly critical of my actions during the war, please make an impartial judgement during the election. Again, I desire that any people who forgive me to cooperate not for my own individual benefit but for the greater benefit of the Japan Socialist Party."
He also apologised for his wartime activities. A great many formerly purged politicians stood for this election, but it has been said that Kawakami was the only one who formally acknowledged his wartime responsibility.
In 1955, with regards to the reunification of the
Japan Socialist Party
The was a major socialist and progressive political party in Japan which existed from 1945 to 1996. The party was the primary representative of the Japanese left and main opponent of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party for most of its ex ...
(after it had split into leftist and rightist factions),
Mosaburō Suzuki of the
Leftist Socialist Party inherited the position of chairman, whereas Kawakami became a party advisor. After that, Kawakami vigorously pursued the
peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pe ...
, and when the wartime Minister of
Commerce and Industry,
Nobosuke Kishi, became
prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, Kawakami acknowledged his own war responsibilities once again and pressed Kishi to acknowledge his own as well.
On 17 June 1960, Kawakami was stabbed in his left shoulder by a right-wing youth, in an apparent assassination attempt.
As the Socialist Party leader
In 1960, when
Suehiro Nishio
was a Japanese labor activist and party politician whose career extended across the prewar and postwar periods. A long-serving member of the National Diet (15 terms in total), he was a power broker in the Japan Socialist Party and one of the main ...
formed the
Democratic Socialist Party, some Diet members who belonged to the Kawakami faction of the JSP defected to the DSP. In so doing, it is said that Chairman
Kaoru Ōta of the
General Council of Trade Unions of Japan
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...
requested Kawakami not to move the entirety of his own faction over to the DSP in exchange for election cooperation. However, in order to restrain the feelings of the Kawakami faction, Kawakami himself ran for the JSP leadership election, and lost to the Suzuki faction-endorsed candidate
Inejiro Asanuma by a narrow margin. The Kawakami faction was pleased with this unexpected show of support and thus its agitation in favour of the DSP subsided, and as a result Kawakami succeeded in keeping even the slightest factionalism in the JSP at bay. However, following
Inejirō Asanuma
was a Japanese politician and leader of the Japan Socialist Party. During World War II, Asanuma was aligned with the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and advocated for Pacific War, war in Asia. Asanuma later became a forceful advocate of s ...
's death later in October 1960, after a brief period in which
Saburō Eda was acting chairman, Kawakami was elected to be the JSP's chairman.
Kawakami was a centrist which placed him on the right end of the spectrum within the JSP. Under his chairmanship, the party pursued a policy of "Structural Reform," advocated by Eda, which sought to present a more optimistic vision of Japan's future more suitable for the era of high-speed economic growth than the party's previous image of always harping on social inequities. The aim was to broaden the base of the party to new constituencies.
In his later years, Kawakami fell ill during an election campaign and his condition deteriorated afterwards, and he felt that if he were to continue being chairman in that condition, he would be criticized by later generations for being too attached to his position, and had his eldest son
Tamio send in a note of resignation to the JSP. Tamio would later serve in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
and was the diplomatic bureau director of the Japan Socialist Party. Kawakami was replaced as party chairman by the far-left faction leader
Kōzō Sasaki
was a Japanese socialist agitator and politician. The longtime leader of the left wing of the Japan Socialist Party in the postwar period, he served as chairman of party from 1965 to 1967.
Small in stature and possessed of a fiery temper and a ...
, who had vigorously opposed the "Structural Reform" policies. He brought an end to the "Structural Reform" program and returned the party to a more orthodox Marxist party line.
In 1965, Kawakami collapsed from overwork, and on the 3rd of December that same year, while hospitalised, he passed away with a
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
at his bedside. Ten days prior to the collapse, while on an
NHK
, also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee.
NHK ope ...
program, Kawakami argued that the Japanese people are at the forefront of the peace movement, which is the will of God, because they were the first nation to experience an
atomic bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
, and that he would devote his entire life to pursuing a peaceful society. The cause of death was
subarachnoid haemorrhage
Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. Symptoms may include a severe headache of rapid onset, vomiting, decreased level of c ...
.
[服部敏良『事典有名人の死亡診断 近代編』付録「近代有名人の死因一覧」(吉川弘文館、2010年)9頁]
References
Works cited
*
* 河上前委員長記念出版委員会編『河上丈太郎 十字架委員長の人と生涯』日本社会党、1966年。
* 高橋勉『社会党河上派の軌跡』三一書房、1996年。ISBN 4380963004
* 田村祐造『戦後社会党の担い手たち』日本評論社、1984年。
*「高見澤潤子笛吹けどおどらず―河上丈太郎」『永遠のあしおと―真実な神に出会った人たち』主婦の友社、1976年、217-236頁。
External links
委員長は十字架である
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawakami, Jotaro
1965 deaths
1889 births
People from Minato, Tokyo
Lawyers from Tokyo
University of Tokyo alumni
20th-century Japanese lawyers
Academic staff of Kwansei Gakuin University
Academic staff of Rikkyo University
Socialist politicians
Politicians from Tokyo
Japanese Christian socialists
Members of the House of Representatives (Empire of Japan)