Book/Printed Material Draft of the "Petition for the Establishment of a Popularly Elected Assembly" (Three Versions).
About this Item
Title
- Draft of the "Petition for the Establishment of a Popularly Elected Assembly" (Three Versions).
Summary
- In January 1874, Japan's first political party, Aikoku Kōtō (Public Party of Patriots), was established by Itagaki Taisuke, Gotō Shōjirō, Soejima Taneoi, and Etō Shinpei (also seen as Eto Shimpei), a year after they had gone into opposition following the political upheaval of 1873, when the governing alliance of senior officials split over a proposed military expedition against Korea. Gotō and Itagaki were among the leaders of the losing faction, most of whom had favored the expedition. They were also joined by Furusawa Shigeru, who had returned from studying in England. On January 17, they submitted the "Petition for the Establishment of a Popularly Elected Assembly" to the Sain (Left Council). The petition criticized the dictatorial politics of some senior officials and advocated the establishment of a popularly elected assembly in order to invigorate public discussion. Also printed in Nisshin Shinjishi (The reliable daily news), a newspaper published by John Reddie Black, the petition led to the Movement for Civic Rights and Freedom in Japan. Aikoku Kōtō was dissolved several months later. The final version of the "Petition for the Establishment of a Popularly Elected Assembly" is kept in the National Archives of Japan. Presented here are three draft versions of the document, held in the National Diet Library.
Names
- Etō, Shinpei, 1834-1874 Associated Name.
- Furusawa, Shigeru, 1847-1911 Associated Name.
- Gotō, Shōjirō, 1838-1897 Associated Name.
- Itagaki, Taisuke, 1837-1919 Associated Name.
- Taneoi, Soejima Associated Name.
Created / Published
- [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1874.
Headings
- - Japan
- - 1874
- - Petitions
- - Political participation
- - Politics and government
- - Protest movements
- - Public Party of Patriots (Japan)
- - Representative government and representation
Notes
- - Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
- - Reference extracted from World Digital Library: Daniel A. Métraux, "Democratic Trends in Meiji Japan," Education About Asia 16, no. 1 (Spring 2011).
- - Original resource at: National Diet Library.
- - Content in Japanese.
- - Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.
Medium
- 1 online resource.
Digital Id
Library of Congress Control Number
- 2021667466
Online Format
- compressed data
- image