Race and Migration in Imperial Japan by Michael Weiner

Author:Michael Weiner [Weiner, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Ethnic Studies, General, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781136121326
Google: -e4DAQAAQBAJ
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Goodreads: 2267207
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1994-03-03T00:00:00+00:00

Table 4.25 Immigrant family housing, Osaka 1932

Source: Calculated from figures appearing in Osaka, Chōsenjin Seikatsu Jōtai – 1936, pp. 101–113.

Note: Size of dwelling based on occupation by four persons.

Table 4.26 Average income and expenditure, Tokyo 1935

Average monthly income (Â¥) Average monthly expenditure (Â¥) Monthly surplus (Â¥)

Householder (with 3 dependents) 24.93 25.88 0.85

Unaccompanied labourer 18.16 16.21 1.95

Source: Zaikyō Chōsenjin no Genjō – 1936, ZKSS, Vol. 3, p. 1061.

Note: Survey sample: householders – 1,833; unaccompanied male workers 1,766.

For Koreans, the rental of even the poorest quality housing involved at least three distinct participants: themselves; the landlord or houseowner; and the nagaya manager, who was responsible for day-to-day relations with the tenants and the maintenance of the property. Like his counterpart in the construction and mining industries (nayagashira or hambagashira), the nagaya manager exercised considerable control over the lives of tenants, often providing the immigrant with the sole point of contact with the surrounding community. A further factor in determining housing relations was the role of the housing agent or broker who acted as an intermediary between Koreans seeking accommodation and potential landlords.

Not surprisingly, as the immigrant community grew in size, there was a corresponding increase in the number of disputes between Japanese and Koreans. Most, but by no means all, involved housing (a clash between Japanese and Korean construction workers in Asahikawa, Hokkaido in 1930 was but one example of the numerous disputes provoked by the existence of racially based wage differentials).97 In the first nine months of 1929, however, more than 1,600 disputes involving Japanese landlords and their Korean tenants were recorded in Osaka alone – two-thirds of which were due to failure to pay rent.98 The Osaka City survey upon which these police estimates were based also noted that of the approximately 900 cases based on non-payment of rent more than 700 had gone unresolved. The same report commented that, in terms of frequency of occurrence, the principal causes of these disputes had been failure to pay rent, followed by non-payment of rental deposit, unauthorised sub-leasing and violation of contract.99 At the national level it was estimated that the number of housing disputes rose from only twenty-seven in 1925 to more than 5,000 in 1933.100

In general, the period after about 1930 was characterised by a rapid increase in the number of physical confrontations between Japanese and Korean residents. The figures presented in Table 4.27 provide a summary of those incidents classified by the Ministry of Home Affairs as of a general nature. They should be regarded as distinct from those arising out of labour disputes, which were normally recorded under a separate classification.

The figures presented here, while providing an accurate assessment of the national situation, conceal important regional variations. In 1932, the peak year for disturbances, a total of 7,872 were recorded by the police. Of these, no fewer than 6,389 occurred in Osaka under the category of ‘other causes’.101 The category ‘other’ also requires further elucidation, since it was often the largest single category and refers to a host of economically related incidents including housing and certain types of labour dispute.

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