The Japanese Kominka Policies

As Japan prepared for war, Kominka became the primary policy for Taiwan.

Komika in Japanese means to transform people into imperial subjects. The goal of the policy was to make the people true Japanese, not only in deed, but also in spirit. Komika necessitated an objectification of Japanization by demanding the colonized to act, live and die for the emperor in defending the Japanese Empire. The Kominka movement can be viewed from two perspectives. As a continuation and intensifying process of assimilation, and as a part of wartime mobilization of the entire Japanese Empire. (Chou, 1996:42)

The term Kominka appeared for the first time in 1936. After the appointment of Governor General Kobayashi Seizo, Kominka became one of three principal policies on the colony, together with industrialization of Taiwan and a realization of the “Southern advancement”.On April 1st 1937, Chinese language was abolished from newspapers following government pressure. After 1937 all traditional Chinese lessons both in public and in private education was prohibited.The Marco Polo Bridge incident of July 7th marked the beginning of a new period for Taiwan. The period after the incident can unmistakably be categorized as the war and Kominka period on the island. (Fong, 2006:176)

As the Japanese was fighting against the Chinese, the goal of eradicating the Chinese consciousness from the Taiwanese people became more important than ever.

During Kominka, whatever was deemed Japanese was to be imposed on Colonial people, while everything considered Korean or Taiwanese (or Chinese) were to be expunged in

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both Colonies. (Chen, 2001:102)Four major programs became the key in the Kominka principle of turning the Taiwanese into Japanese imperial subjects, namely “religious reform”, “national language movement” the name changing campaigns and the recruitment of military volunteers. (Chou, 1996:45)

Religious Reform

The religious reform aimed at replacing indigenous religions with the Japanese state religion Shintoism. As part of the reform a number of shrines were built in Taiwan.

Thirty-eight out of a total sixty-three Japanese Shrines in Taiwan was build in between 1937 and 1943. The Colonial government encouraged people to visit the shrines. In addition to visit the shrines, the Taiwanese were also advised to keep a Japanese domestic altar (kamidana) in each household. The households were expected to worship the taima (paper amulets) distributed from the Ise Shrine, the holiest of Japanese Shinto shrines in Japan. Official figures estimated that about seven out of ten households received the Ise shrine paper amulets in 1941. Although it is not clear if the Taiwanese did indeed worship.

In addition to promote the Shintoism, the colonial government also tried to remove the indigenous religions on Taiwan. Some officials under General Kobayashi Seizo even demolished Taiwanese temples and Chinese Shrines in order to destroy the local religions.

The demolition of the temples revoked strong protest from local Taiwanese, and also criticism from the Japanese Diet. The temple demolition was stopped in 1940 after Hasegawa Kiyoshi was appointed the new Governor General. Yet, during Seizo’s rule almost one third of native Taiwanese temples had been destroyed. (Chou, 1991:16)

Although the Japanese but large efforts into changing the religion, they did not succeed. After the war, almost all aspects of the Shinto religion disappeared as Japanese rule came to an end. After the Japanese defeat, the colonial rulers main priority was to protect the sacred shrines from being desecrated by local population.(Chou, 1996:48) The national language movement

Starting in the late 1920s the Japanese colonial educators put efforts into learning the masses as much Japanese language as possible. The Kominka did not evoke great changes for the Taiwanese students. The Japanese education was already considered good

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enough, and did not need substantial changes. Acceptance and embracement for Japanese education was much higher in the city than in the countryside. As a result the language movements during Kominka movements were aimed at those outside of schooling, especially the elders and the people in the countryside. (Tsurumi 1977:56)

By April 1937 there were 2.812 national language study programs with an enrollment of 185.590 students, and 1.555 basic study programs, enrolling 77.781 students. In addition to the language programs and expansion of education, the colonial government tried to discourage Taiwanese families from speaking Taiwanese dialects.

Taiwanese were banned from official positions, although as Chou notes, most Taiwanese would find that they were forbidden to speak in their mother tongue only when they were boarding a bus or visiting a city hall. Among the programs promoting the language was the National Language Families. The program was for families that could prove that all members of the household used Japanese language at home. The program targeted well educated Taiwanese hoping that they would be used as positive examples for the rest of society. The title was intended as an honor. In addition the members would receive material rewards. In some cases the children in the program could be accepted to better schools or the parents given priority in employment for official positions. Although the exact number of families enrolled in the program is not clear, it is estimated that around 3.400 households received the title in Taipei, making out about 1,3 percent of the

population. Given that Taipei was the capital and cultural center in the colony. It is safe to assume that the number for the rest of the island was lower. Since it was rewards and opportunities involved in the program it is hard to tell how many people actually spoke Japanese at home. Neither is it clear how many of the families actually followed the program extensively only speaking Japanese. (Chou, 1991:61)

Name Changing Campaign

On February 11, 1940 a new set of rules concerning the household registration made it possible for Taiwanese families to change names to Japanese names. By changing names the Taiwanese would in theory become true Japanese. The Japanese gave two official reasons for the campaign. The first argument was that the assimilation of Taiwanese always had been the ultimate goal of the Japanese colonizers. As a second

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reason the government claimed that “the Taiwanese had demonstrated the spirit of imperial subjects during Japan's war with China and that, in testament to this loyalty many of them wished to bear names similar to those of ethnic Japanese” (Chou, 1996:55)

The name changing programs registered households rather than individuals. If the head of the household wanted to change name, the names of all the members of the household would change. In order to qualify for the name change, there were two criteria the household needed to pass. First, the family needed to be recognized as a family where all members spoke Japanese at home. Second, the family had to endeavor to cultivate a disposition appropriate for imperial subjects and be full of public spirit. The choice of new names was restricted. The restriction included four categories. First, the names of Japanese emperors were forbidden. Second, the names of famous historical personalities were forbidden. Third, names referencing to Chinese regions or former their former Chinese name were restricted. And fourth, names of contemporary important figures and eccentric names were forbidden. (Chou, 1996:56)

In the first round only twelve households changed their names. In the following years the number rose. By 1941, 2.014 households had registered. By the end of 1943 the number had risen to 17.524 households including 126.211 individuals, almost two percent of the population. After relaxing the requirements in 1944 a larger part of the population changed their names. At the end of the war it is estimated that around 7 percent of the Taiwanese families had their names changed during the war. (Chou, 1996:58)

Volunteer Programs

Taiwanese were not liable to military service before the war, however after the outbreak of war in 1937 the Japanese started recruiting Taiwanese as porters. In addition Taiwanese teachers were recruited as interpreters. Applicants for the first round of recruits exceeded 4000. The Japanese also recruited Taiwanese as members of the agricultural corps, cultivating land in order to feed the army. It is not known how many Taiwanese entered the war in the first round, but the number of applicants for the first round of recruits exceeded 4000. (Chou, 1991:170)

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The Kominka movement reached its climax around the attack of Pearl Harbor.

After Pearl Harbor the scale of mobilization was enlarged. The “army special volunteer system of Taiwan” was instituted in April 1942, and the “navy special volunteer system of Taiwan followed in August 1943. In 1942, 425.921 Taiwanese, 14 percent of the male population turned in application for about one thousand volunteer slots. Military laborers were mobilized without changes to social or colonial structures. In Taiwan this was made possible by indoctrination, the mass media were key in shaping the image of loyal

subjects in such a way that that being a laborer was praiseworthy. Wartime labor mobilization was also enhanced by a shift from requisition or recruitment to both

“volunteerism” and organized local groups. Volunteers came to be called “glorious military laborers” (Tsai, 2005:114) The campaigns created mobilized a large number of Taiwanese in the war efforts.

Chou argues that the different generation varied in their identification as Japanese during the period. Among the youth aged fifteen to twenty-five, many perceived

themselves as Japanese. The young generation was born in a modernized Taiwan receiving education in the Japanese common school. Through schooling their were indoctrinated through the Japananization period. They were too young to experience the discrimination in the working life, and were born after times of unrest. They looked upon Japan as a modern emerging power, and could not imagine life outside of the Japanese state. Compared to the younger generation, the older generation was the least affected by the Kominka period. The older generation was not educated in the Japanese education system and did not speak the language. As all the Japanese propaganda and mobilization efforts were in Japanese they were not affected by the Japanization. According to Chou the last group consisted of the middle-aged population. This generation received Japanese education, but was matured to age before the war. Through education they adopted some aspects of Japanese culture, and learned the language. However they also experienced the Japanese discrimination practices and were was treaded as second-rate citizens

throughout their lives.The group, especially the middle class was described as very ambivalent towards the Kominka policies. On some aspects they accepted the movement, for example the group was described as enthusiastically learning Japanese. And was well accustomed to use the Japanese language. However, like the rest of society, the

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aged group refused the Japanese religion. The group was reluctant to change their names in the name changing movement. However the group seemed to support the Volunteer programs. Many of the volunteers in the program were from this generation. It is not clear why so many people joined the volunteer program. The population might have been pressured to join the programs, a number of cases indicates that the Taiwanese were pressured and forced to join the military program. Other reasons could be the massive propaganda machine aimed at the volunteer program. The Japanese put large focus on the recruitment of volunteers. (Chou, 1990:224)