The Autobiography of Osugi Sakæ (Voices from Asia)
This first English translation of Osugi's autobiography limns a portrait of late Meiji Japan that is rarely seen. Osugi, a flamboyant and notorious left-wing activist, began his radical career as a 19-year-old student in 1904. Murdered by the Japanese military police in 1923, Osugi left his writings, which bolstered his image as a romantic rebel hero. His autobiography covers only his younger years, but it includes a fine description of Japanese radicalism in its early stages of development. Osugi also provides readers with a close look at the brutal, dehumanizing practices prevalent in Japanese schools while he engagingly chronicles the making of a radical, especially in a valuable chapter on prison life in his time. Since little information about the early Japanese left-wing movement exists in English, this volume offers Westerners a unique chance to peer into the mind of a Japanese radical. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries.- Katharine L. Kan, Aiea P.L., HawaiiCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.