Before the Second World War, Osaka was called the Manchester of the
East, because its industries, such as cotton spinning and metal work,
played such an important role in the national economy. Osaka had also
been a primary commercial centre of the country since the seventeenth
century. It is, therefore, no exaggeration to say that Osaka was the centre
of Japanese capitalism, and it was during the Taisho era, 1912–1926, that
Osaka was most prosperous. In those days there was unceasing
immigration to Osaka, particularly into the urban area, in order to find
employment. The migrants came primarily from rural areas, plus an
increasing number from Korea. Under such circumstances, acute social
problems emerged, in particular slums, unemployment and poverty.
During the Taisho period, the Osaka authorities were not unaware of
the problem of poverty. First, the local authorities began to recognize the
necessity of a municipal social policy and so they reorganized the
administration in order to attack poverty. With this reorganization, a new
department was formed to deal with all aspects of the social welfare of the
inhabitants. Secondly, they actively carried out and published social
surveys of urban poverty. From the information thus obtained, a relief
system was established, consisting, for example, of social work and public
assistance. Thirdly, urban officials accepted the responsibility of coping
with urban poverty and actually made efforts to tackle it. They tried to
define the meaning of poverty and the attitude of the local authorities
towards poverty changed completely from that which had obtained in any
previous period. It was in this era that the actual living and working
conditions of the urban poor became apparent to the authorities and
practical measures were taken to ameliorate poverty. For these reasons,
Osaka provides us with an interesting case study.
The focus of this article is on the relationship between poverty and
family formation in Osaka, including not only the circumstances of the
urban poor but also the factors influencing the attitudes of the local
authorities, who recognized the importance of the relationship between
urban poverty and family formation, and the nature of the relief system
they organized. Before going into detail concerning Osaka's poverty
problems between 1912 and 1926, however, it is necessary to examine the
set of circumstances which, one might argue, were critical in prompting
Osaka to launch a social work programme.
