Pathway to Japanese Literature

◎ The underdevelopment of organizational activities among the masses.

(1) When activists get removed, nothing remains afterward.

For example, though there were 150 people at Hiroo Depot, when one person was fired, there became no way to handle things.
It grew difficult to intervene from outside into workplaces.

△ This shows why training caretakers matters.
They could have trained replacements through this.

That satisfaction of "I'm working hard" can't truly be called an organizational achievement.

The ability to make people act—that's what organizational strength means.

The true achievement lies in what foundation of activity remains after that person is gone.

Labor Relief was formed in May 1931.

From around autumn 1932,
a crackdown began.

Due to their activities during the municipal tram strike,
and because there was no manpower in the workplaces, they could not pursue independent activities but instead worked for agitprop, so none of Labor Relief's organizations expanded.

○ Mobile daycare center.
Using each depot as a base, they established daycare centers to support the union's family association activities during strikes.
This was to reduce the wives' workload during food distribution.

They also utilized a space.
It came to be called the union's daycare center.

In Hiroo, around twenty people.
Upstairs, the wives gathered; downstairs was the children's daycare.

Ebara handled it.
Ebara sent over twenty yen during the rattan chair donation drive.

On paydays, they would hang a box to buy sweets for Ebara Daycare's children.
That brought in about three yen.

The Tama River picnic.

Expenses: Twelve yen

Children: Twenty

Mothers: Seven or eight

The caregiver walked over and dressed them in swimsuits.
The mothers were overjoyed.

“This is perfect!”

An uncle with water safety knowledge from Shijū came and helped out.

Afterward, they held a discussion meeting.
A request for next year: Bring more parents and children (even infants).

Peddling.

They met with the depot branch manager.

Candy would work best.
(Depot)

Small factory (castella, sweetened beans)

Yanagishima

December 28th

“Please come tomorrow.”
“Please come at 10 a.m.”

It struck eleven.

"It’s no good!"

1:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Fifteen yen at this time.

A youth division member shouted.

Five sen.
Ten sen.
Fifteen sen.

Branch manager.
Fifty sen.

∥

There were many drivers.

“My child’s an undernourished child too.”

“I’ll handle all the relief—hand it over!”

[In the margin] If the branch manager gave approval, the city officials backed down.

Depot.

In one branch there are eight groups.
Group leader (Chairman) Vice group leader

One group had about forty people.
They hold meetings at the Jimusho.
Normally once a month; during strikes, they held group meetings daily.
The branch manager attended consistently.

Distrust in the leadership faction

1\. He’d gone and told them on the sly—so they said—
2\. He never showed his face at the branch office．
3\. Did he mean to call a strike or not?

“That’s on you!”

“It’s all about whether you do it or not!”

“Hold on—I’ve got a question.”
“We need to ask the branch manager.”

Forty-year-old man

“What is National Socialism?”

“They oppose overthrowing fascism!”

“Tōkō claims to have nothing to do with political parties or politics, doesn’t it?”

“Since this isn’t clear, they don’t pay union fees.”

“Please be quiet. Speak in order, one after another!!”

Even in such circumstances, no activity from Kakuha could be felt, and the young conductors remained inactive.

――――――――――

At this time, for the mobile daycare's agitation-propaganda.

○ Please continue developing the family association so we can work.

At Azuma

Kurihara Dye Works: over a thousand workers.

Working at Kyō Mosu,

Labor Relief gathered people employed at ironworks and forcibly tried to make them attend strike support committees in each district.
(First conduct agitation-propaganda—that was the opinion.)

This was rejected (once you bring them out, since they're workers, they'll understand).

They had thought to first hold a parent-teacher meeting, invite Labor Relief members, and conduct agitation-propaganda for the municipal tram strike when—

On Worker Solidarity Within the Socialist Structure

They began to worry it might become troublesome if they kept being vaguely entangled with this daycare center.

After that, they stopped sending anyone to the daycare center.

When they stopped sending even one person, the nagaya group didn't send anyone.
They lost about five people.

[In the margin] The daily anxiety of not knowing when they'd be axed.

――――――――――

At once, they blurted out everything under the sun.

Even though they weren’t familiar with the daycare center.

In Ebara, they focused their efforts on mobile operations and left their base empty.

They left one at home and sent three out.

They remain indifferent to the municipal tram's kikan recruitment and show no reaction to discussions about the support committee.

“Well, how have things been lately? Lately we end up going to bed early.”

“I really ought to go, but unfortunately something came up with a relative that evening—”

Last autumn.

Katō Kanjū’s Labor Relief held a south-city discussion meeting.

Watanabe-san attended,

He was taken to Ōsaki and held for ninety days.
“Don’t return to the daycare—that’s final.”

The parents’ meeting on the evening of January 19th.

At this time, veteran members had been taken away (four people); support came from Azuma and Kameido—wives of Labor Relief members.

Three caregivers for seventeen children.

Seven people gathered: two fathers and five mothers—all employed.

Fujikura

—Tabi (Tragomu): 100 workers

Printing (Gyōsei Gakkai Printing Office): 200 workers

Tanaka Seisakusho

Shinkō Kawakami

Three childcare workers,

The core issues were: how to get the childcare workers back, and how to prevent further suppression—

Damages from December to the 19th, their countermeasures, and reports—divided and allocated.

From the consumers’ cooperative—soy sauce; two bottles of rice.

“There are matters we’d like the fathers and mothers to discuss.”

“Taku-chan’s father”

“Taku-chan’s mother.”

◎ Every single person expressed their opinion.

◎ Scattered but varied grievances,

Hadn't they already stormed the police station? (the wife of a Tanaka Leather Factory worker—a woman around thirty-three)

Holding back their excitement,

"Well now, that seems like a good idea—but what does everyone think?"

"Here's what I think—"

Distribute flyers and get other factories to back us up.

Let's negotiate with the landlord,

Let’s gather even more caregivers.

"If we increase both the number of children and fathers, we’ll withstand any police crackdown."

○ Let’s raise the daycare center’s childcare fees

◎ Let’s contribute ten sen per month for the soap fund to wash diapers,

That was the opinion of mothers who washed diapers during Owen’s time—many spoke up when they washed them.

Gyōsei Gakkai’s father

“I suppose we really have no choice but to go plead with the police chief, don’t we?”

The father from the scrap dealer also agreed.

The mother from Tobiya—

“I think it’s problematic because it’s behind the police station.”

Administrative Society

“This isn’t the time to be talking about such things. I’ll take the day off and go.”

“I’ll go anywhere and say my piece, so anytime.”

Administration

“Since tomorrow’s Friday, if it were Saturday, staying overnight would be fine. How does that work for everyone’s schedules, don’t you think?”

“So it’s been decided that we’re going to the police, then?”

“Ah, that’s been decided.”

When they realized that the day after tomorrow was January 21st—Lenin Day—they gasped.

“If it’s the twenty-first, I’ll bring the neighbor’s wife along too.”
“So Mother—what about the factory? (Tabi)”
“I’ll take off too.”

――――

“It’s better after the factory closes.”

“By that time, the factory won’t be closed yet.”

The Administrative Society will go at 9:00; the daycare center (8:30).

“This time, the caregivers mustn’t go,”
“Let’s go ourselves.”

The father from the scrap dealer had gone to fetch a caregiver before.
When they pressed him about who put him up to it—

“Shouldn’t we discuss our approach before going?”

Ōsaki’s Special Higher Police entrance stood narrow.
They couldn’t afford delays downstairs—

“Doesn’t anyone here know the place?”

They decided to enter from the back,

They decided what to say.

1. We want the caregivers returned quickly.

2. Stop having spies come to the daycare center to threaten us and take things away.

Everyone tested the discussion points on themselves individually.

When they left the father from the scrap dealer behind, he got lost,

After that, they drank oshiruko and such.

The 20th proceeded as usual.

“Auntie, make sure to keep track of the time properly, okay?”

“It’ll be fine.”

“We’re counting on you tomorrow.”

The 21st—a day of cold wind threatening snow.

They began gathering the children from around six-thirty.

The father from the scrap dealer was supposed to come by bicycle around seven,
“Uncle, what’s wrong? Where’s Taku?”

There was hauling to do and that load—

They had to bring them by eight-thirty.

“Auntie, you handle the briquettes then. Once Higumai-san comes, we’ll have everyone here.”

The group going consisted of thirteen parents—all bringing their children.

“There’ll definitely be spies coming, so go wait at my house.”

“I’m counting on you to hold down the fort.”

they said.

“What’s this? What’s this? What’s this? You lot—what’s this? A demonstration?”

He first slapped the cheek of the mother who had gone in.

The father from the scrap dealer—

“This isn’t a demonstration—we’ve come to make our request.”

“Why do you do such things?”

“That’s the Communist Party.”

“What is the Communist Party?”

“The Communist Party is about overthrowing XX and running the country—in other words, something like Russia.”

“My baby’s still this small—I don’t care if it’s red or black, we don’t leave things like this at the daycare.”

“What the hell are you supposed to be?”

“Me?
“I’m a tuna seller.”

“What’s a ‘tuna seller’?”

“You idiot who doesn’t even know what a tuna seller is—‘tuna seller’ means day labor!”
“If you won’t let us use the daycare center, I’ll just leave my child here.”
“Don’t you all care about your own children?”
“Precisely because they’re precious, we’ve tossed aside fifty sen or even a yen to come make our request.”
“Daycare centers make children worse. If you need them so badly, run them yourselves.”
“Then let Labor Relief handle it—since there’s no money.”
They spread misinformation.

“If it’s something like the General Federation, fine—have those people over there handle it.”

Instead, they shot back, “What’s the General Federation?”

They persisted from nine to eleven, bringing along a seven-year-old boy called Nokore to the wife from the Administrative Society.

“Alright, let’s go in.”
“Alright, little one, let’s go in together—just the two of us.”

“Yeah.”

Another young mother was carrying a baby on her back.

On the morning of the 21st, after the demonstration set out, a person from the Literary Newspaper came.

That person hurried off, saw them enter the police station, and came back,

They took one Hobo away.
At the same time, the two from the Literary Newspaper (they were local members) were taken away.

――――――――――

At Mother’s house

A third-grade elementary school boy went to check the situation.
"There’s no one here."

He went to the police station.

“Isn’t my mom or anyone here?”

“What’s this? Acting tough for a kid! I’ll tie you up!”

“What’s this? I’m not some damn vegetable!”

When he went in and looked, everyone was standing up.

“It was useless.”

“Let’s go to the field,”

“Which spot is good?”

“The middle spot is good.”

“What do we do starting tomorrow?”

I searched for a caregiver, and the mothers decided to take turns providing care.

Repression hadn’t arrived until March.

On March 11th, three more came.
Snow fell.
There were fourteen children.
The mothers who had gone to the demonstration, Sasai, I, and the Labor Relief people.

“Before snack time—we’re in trouble now.”

They escaped from the second floor.

[Marginal note:] Arai Mitsuko around this time.

From the 20th, the repression grew increasingly severe.

April 1st—they operated with a full complement of new caregivers.

On May 1st, they took them away again.

They took along the three people from the Shinagawa Workers' Club they had requested.

Around May 8th, the leaders discussed opening a temporary daycare and decided to form a defense committee to strengthen demonstration impact.

The rough carpenter spoke up: “My place has two six-tatami rooms with a friend upstairs who understands our situation—let’s use that space.”

“Then what about the caregivers?”

“Hmm... What should we do?”

“We’ll clear out the entire second-floor six-tatami room and have the two caregivers stay there.”

Seven or eight people.
Watanabe and I.
There was no residential connection here, so it proved futile.
Then when Tanaka’s mother(?) went to Shinkō Kawakami’s place, a police raid had already arrived – there too, the temporary daycare was destroyed.

――――――――――

Two months had passed—what were they doing?

――――――――――

6:00 AM—6:00 PM 5 sen, 4 sen (includes snacks) 1 yen per month

―――――――――

＊January has no gas.

Using the holiday up to January 7th, the landlord nailed everything shut.

Starting on the 8th, they began pulling out the nails and getting back to work.

Labor Relief and Daycare Centers: Their Connection

Branch┌─┐ ┌─┐

│ │→│ │Daycare center

Secretary└─┘ └─┘

(1) The Jōnan Consumers’ Cooperative Hiroo handled everything.
They provided the daycare center’s rattan chairs.

(1) Were there any fathers from the municipal workers among the parents of the daycare children?

(1) The relationship between each daycare center and the support committee.
How did each daycare center’s own activities connect with Owen and study that experience together?

(1) During Owen’s time—what were the construction workers doing back then?

“The left-wing people don’t pay any attention to us at all…”

“Even though Han-san supports us…”

• The daycare center’s origins, its operational state after transferring to Labor Relief, and relations with surrounding entities,

In May, Labor Relief

• On the night of January 19th—how many people gathered? What percentage were parents?

Half – 18 people, 13 people.

• Structure of the Defense Committee

• What were the evolving differences between the initial state and the present?

• October 30th Incident ＼

• The relationship between the Iwata Labor-Farmer Funeral (heightened momentum from demonstrations?) and the Labor Relief Daycare Center,

• Kobayashi Labor-Farmer Funeral ／ Agitprop’s Actual Impact

◎Why Did the Housewife Next Door Join the Demonstration?

○ Regarding the Caregivers' Specific Struggles and the Individuals Involved.

September 25th

On the green and red "Children's Home": "Support the Municipal Tram Strike!"

Regarding the Temporary Daycare Center

◎ On Rainy Days: Aching for a Sandbox

――――――――――

Snacks: 2 sen and 5 rin per person

――――――――――

April—children around the broken swing at the entrance.

Boys and girls getting along well.

“Let’s turn this into a factory!”

“Yeah, let’s make this our factory!”

“It’s a swing factory!”

The girls donned handkerchiefs and mimicked working.
Before long, sweating as they earnestly tried to repair it, they had fully assembled it.

――――――――――

To Mother!

Please put aprons on them and send them over． Please have them wear bloomers． Please have them carry handkerchiefs．