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探討大正期間(1912-26年)日本在各方面的主要特徵。
背景 經歷明治維新後，雖然日本已經大體上成為一個現代化國家，但同時也保留了日本濃厚的傳統特色。 // 架構至大正天皇於1912年繼位後，日本在政治、經濟、社會、教育、軍事及外交方面均不斷發展及演變，以下將從上述各方面探討該時期日本的主要特徵。
主旨句 政治方面，大正時期的日本雖然步入政黨政治時期，但卻是動盪不穩的。 // 段落內文大正時期，日本政治已經漸趨開放，如日本已經出現了首次的護憲運動(1913年)，要求由元老指名擔任首相的桂太郎辭職，反映傳統的元老政治已經受到挑戰。及後，1918年的原敬出任首相，成為首位非元老或軍方背景的首相，標示了日本進入政黨政治時期，令政黨政治成為大正時期的重要特色。然而，大正時期的政黨政治並不穩固，因原敬至大正時期結束期間，日本七度更換首相，內閣亦更替頻繁。而且，於1922-24年間，元老先後推薦了擁有海軍及元老背景的加藤友三郎、山本權兵衛和清浦奎吾組閣，中斷了政黨政治的發展，反映政黨政治未能紮根於大正時期的日本。 // 小結可見，大正時期的政黨政治並不穩固，反而動盪不穩。
經濟方面，日本的特徵是財閥壟斷經濟發展，低下階層生活惡劣。自明治政府成立以來，政黨已與財閥關係密切，至大正時的政黨政治時期，財閥的政治捐獻更是政黨選舉經費的主要來源。因此，政治政策偏袒於財閥的利益，財閥成功壟斷當時的經濟發展，如三井、三菱、住友及安田就是大正時期日本的四大財閥，日本經濟實質操控於財閥手中。另一方面，低下階層的生活環境惡劣，如工人的工時長、工資低，缺乏社會福利的保障。此外，上漲的地稅使農民造成沉重的負擔，部分農民更需要變賣農地，成為佃農。此等的環境更成為不滿滋長的溫床，導致暴動的出現，如1918年的米騷動就是低下階層對於米價暴漲及惡劣環境不滿的表現。可見，日本在經濟方面的特徵是財閥壟斷經濟，低下階層處境惡劣。
社會方面，日本的社會特徵是有限度的社會自由。雖然大正時期的日本是一個君主立憲國家，《明治憲法》內亦規定了人民擁有言論、集會、出版等自由，但人民自由只能在「不損害和平的情況」下享有，而政府就經常利用「和平」此一含糊的藉口去壓制人民自由，使人民的權力受到限制。至1925年，日本更頒布了《治安維持法》，雖然該法原意是針對共產主義及反天皇的思想及言論，然而同時卻成為了政府打擊反對聲音的工具，使日人的自由度進一步受到壓制。可見，雖然大正時期的日本列明日人享有自由，但只為一有限度的自由。
教育方面，大正期間的日本教育及學術水平十分高。大正時期的日本教育水平不但冠絕亞洲，更能媲美歐、美等西方國家，因日本早於19世紀末已實行了強制性教育政策，至1907年的入學率已高達97%，至1920年更進一步提升至99%，反映日本的教育不但已經遠超亞洲其他國家，並且能夠媲美西方國家，幾乎做到全民教育的水平。此外，在教育水平不斷提昇的同時，學術水平也相應大幅提昇，物理學﹑醫學﹑天文學等範疇均活躍發展起來，如野口英世就因醫學貢獻而於1914年、1915年被提名諾貝爾學術獎，而森鷗外及夏目漱石也成為當時世界級的文豪，在海外具有很高的知名度。可見，高的教育及學術水平是大正時期日本的特徵。
軍事方面，強大的軍事實力是大正時期日本的一大特徵。日本於20世紀初已經擁有先進武備的軍隊，並且具有平內抵外，以致能夠對外擴張的軍事能力。在海軍方面，日本於19世紀末期已自行研發先進艦隻的生產，由於大量資金的投入，使海軍科技研發迅速，直1922年，日本更建造出世界第一艘完工服役的標準航空母艦「鳳翔號」，海軍實力足以與西方列強相庭抗禮。於1921-22年的華盛頓會議中，日本的軍艦數量僅次於英、美，成為世界第三大海軍強國。陸軍方面，日本早於20世紀前已實行徵兵制，加上成立陸軍學校及學習德國的陸軍訓練方式及武備，使日本於1906年已有13個配備先進武備的正規師團，陸軍實力也不容忽視。此等現代化的軍事建設，使日本不但能平內抵外，更能對外擴張，如1905年擊敗俄國(日俄戰爭)，成為軍事現代化的強國。可見，強大的軍事實力就是日本軍事方面的最大特徵。
外交方面，大正期間日本在外交上雖然享有崇高的國際地位，但同時受到其列強的針對。自二十世紀初起，日本已經成為一個世界強國，不但成為英國在亞洲地區的盟友(1902年的英日同盟)，更在1920年成立的國聯中擔當常任理事國，在國際事務上發揮著重大的影響力，此等均可反映日本的國際地位崇高。然而，日本在同時卻受到其他列強的針對，如在1921年舉行的華盛頓會議中，被英、美等列強強迫要求交出在中國山東的利益，損害了日本的殖民地利益。此外，在1924年，美國更通過《種族法案》，禁止包括日本人在內的黃種人移民到美國，反映日本受到其他國家的歧視。可見，大正時期的日本需要擁有崇高的國際地位，但同時也受到列強的針對。
總括而言，從政治、經濟、社會、教育、軍事及外交方面可反映大正時期的日本大體上成為現代化國家，但同時也未有擺脫全部的傳統思想及模式，令日本成為了一個揉合東、西文化的國家。
Examine the major characteristics of Japan in the Taisho period (1912-26).
After the Meiji modernization, although Japan could generally be regarded as a modernized nation, it kept a lot of Japanese traditions at the same time. When Emperor Taisho ascended to the throne in 1912, Japan had incessant developments and transformations in political, economic, social, educational, military and diplomatic aspects. The major characteristics of Japan between 1912 and 1926 will be discussed with reference to the aspects mentioned above.
Politically, Japan’s politics in this period was unstable, despite the fact that Japan had entered the era of party politics. During the Taisho period, politics in Japan became more and more liberal. For instance, the First Constitution Protection Movement第一次護憲運動 emerged in 1913, during which Prime Minister Katsura Taro桂太郎 was forced to sign as he was appointed by the genro. This reflected that traditional genro politics was no longer suitable for Japan in this period and it faced challenges. Afterwards, Hara Kei原敬 became the Prime Minister of Japan who had no genro or military background. This noted that Japan entered the era of party politics and it was even a main feature in the Taisho period. However, party politics not stable as from 1918 when Hara Kei became the first Prime Minister to 1926, the cabinet of Japan changed 7 times. Between 1922 and 1924, the genro even recommended Yamamoto Gonnohyoe加藤友三郎, Kato Tomosaburo山本權兵衛 and Kiyoura Keigo清浦奎吾 to form a cabinet, all of whom had naval and genro background. This disrupted the development of party politics, reflecting its inability in developing in Japan in the Taisho period. As a result, Japan’s politics in the Taisho period was unstable.
Economically, Japan’s feature was the zaibatsu’s monopolization of economic development as well as the poor livelihood of lower class. Since the Meiji government was founded, political parties and the zaibatsu had already had close relations. When in the Taisho period, the political donations from the zaibatsu was an important source of income for political parties to join the elections. Hence, the policies were always in favour of the zaibatsu and the zaibatsu succeeded in monopolizing the economic development at that time. For example, Mitsui三井, Mitsubishi三菱, Sumitomo住友 and Yasuda安田 were the ‘Big Four zaibatsu’ at that time. Japan’s economy was mainly controlled by them. Apart from the zaibatsu’s monopolization, the livelihood of the lower class was poor. Take workers as an example. They had low salary but long working hours. Worse still, they did not enjoy any social welfare, lacking support. Moreover, the rising land taxed posed a heavy burden to the farmers. Some of them even became tenants. The poor livelihood of the peasants was a hotbed for nurturing discontent, giving rise to the riot such as the Rice Riot米騷動 in 1918, which was caused by the precipitous rise in the price of rice and the poor living condition at that time. Therefore, the feature was the monopolization of the zaibatsu and the poor living conditions of the lower class.
Socially, Japan had limited freedom in the society. It is true that Japan in the Taisho period was a country with constitutional monarch. The Meiji Constitution明治憲法 also stated that people had the freedom of speech, assembly and press. But such human rights and freedom could only be enjoyed when in circumstance that peace was not harmed and jeopardized. The government always capitalized on the word peace with ambiguous excuse to suppress the freedom of Japanese. People’s rights was limited. In 1925, the government even introduced the Peace Security Preservation Law治安維持法. Though the initial purpose of the law was to limit the anti-emperor discussion and communism, the law was subsequently used by the government to mute the dissenting voice. The freedom of Japanese was limited. Hence, though Japan in the Taisho period allowed Japanese to enjoy freedom, the freedom was of limited scope.
Educationally, the education level and education standard of Japan were high in the Taisho period. As a matter of fact, the education level was not only the highest in Asia, it was also on par with that of Western countries, including the US and Europe. Since Japan carried out compulsory education policy in 1907, the national enrollment rate reached 97%, and further increased to 99% in 1920. It showed that Japan’s education level was not only far ahead of the other Asian countries, but also on par with the Western countries. Japan could almost provide universal education. In addition to enhancing the education level, the academic standard was also rose. Rapid development could be seen in Physics, Medicine and Astronomy. For example, Hideyo Noguchi野口英世 was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1914 and 1915 owing to his contributions to medicine. Also, Mori Ogai森鷗外 and Natsume Soseki夏目漱石 became leading writers in the world and were very famous outside Japan. Thus, the high education level and academic standard were the characteristics of Japan’s education in the Taisho period.
Militarily, the great military strength was a distinctive feature of Japan in the Taisho period. Japan had a well-equipped military force which was strong enough to resolve internal disputes, defend the country against external threats and even invade other countries. For Navy, since the late 19th century, Japan had started research and development of advanced warships. With the large sum of money invested, the development of naval technology was rapid. In 1922, Japan even finished the building of the world’s first standard aircraft carrier航空母艦 named Hosho鳳翔號. Its naval strength was on a par with that of the Western powers. In the Washington Conference華盛頓會議 of 1921-22, Japan was allowed to possess a number of warships that was only lower than that of Britain and the US, being the third largest naval power in the world. For army, Japan introduced conscription before the 20th century. After setting up military academies, learning German military training methods and buying weapons from Germany, there were 13 infantry divisions equipped with modern weapons in Japan in 1906. The strength of Japanese army was too great to ignore. The modernized military force allowed Japan to not only resolve internal and external disputes but also expand its territory. For example, it defeated Russia in 1905(Russo-Japanese War日俄戰爭) and conquered a large piece of land. It transformed into a power that achieved military modernization. Therefore, the great military strength was the biggest characteristic of Japan’s military aspect.
Diplomatically, although Japan enjoyed a high international status in the Taisho period, it was targeted against by the west. Starting from the early 20th century, Japan was already a world power. For instance, the formation of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance英日同盟 in 1902 and Japan’s being one of the permanent members常任理事國 of the League of Nations showed that Japan exerted huge influence in international affairs. This reflected that Japan enjoyed high international status. However, while enjoying high status, Japan was targeted against by the West. Take the Washington Conference華盛頓會議(1921) as an example. Japan was forced by the US and Britain to return the interests in Shandong, harming Japan’s colonial interests. Moreover, Japan passed the the US passed the Immigration Act種族法案 of 1924 to ban immigration from Asian countries, including Japan, to the States. It was explicitly a discrimination against the Japanese.
Generally speaking, Japna in the mid-1930s was becoming modernized. Although it gradually realized a modernized system, some traditional thoughts still existed. Therefore, to a small extent it was a modernized country.
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