No. 115 August 2000

Selections from the NDL Collection
Tsurumi Yusuke Monjo (Yusuke Tsurumi Papers)

"Kensei Shiryo" (Modern Japanese Political History Documents) is the NDL collection of private papers which trace Japanese modern political history in and after the latter half of the 19th century. 235,000 items comprise mainly diaries, letters, drafts and memorandums, once owned by eminent statesmen, diplomats, military officers, government officials and businessmen who were involved in Japan's modern politics. Items are identified by the name of the original owner. "Tsurumi Yusuke Monjo" (Yusuke Tsurumi Papers) were donated to the NDL in 1995-96 by his daughter Kazuko. 

Yusuke Tsurumi (1885-1973) was a many-sided man: politician, orator, internationalist, author, playwright, and good father. (Portrait) Graduating from the Tokyo Imperial University in 1910, he got a position in the Ministry of Railways. After a year's travel in the U.S., Europe, and Russia with his mentor Inazo Nitobe (1920-26 Under-Secretary-General of the League of Nations) to introduce Japan, he married the daughter of Baron Goto, his superior and a famous Japanese politician, in 1913. (Passports)

In 1924, he changed his course from public servant to statesman. As a statesman, he ran in ten elections from 1924 through 1959 and won five times. The political party Meiseikai which he founded was short lived. (The party platform of the Meiseikai) He nevertheless preferred to think himself as a politician. (Tanka poem) He was an advocate of the New Liberalism and an admirer of Woodrow Wilson. 

His acquaintance was not limited to statesmen such as Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, Jawaharlal Nehru, Getúlio Vargas. (Correspondence with W. Wilson and T. Roosevelt) He traveled with Arthur Schlesinger (historian), acted as interpreter for Roald Amundsen (the first to reach the North Pole), and met George Bernard Shaw, Sigmund Freud, and other luminaries. The Kayoukai (Tuesday meeting), gathering held in his house every Tuesday, attracted a variety of people, including government officials, journalists, businessmen, and writers. (Letter from Akiko Hatano)

In the 1920s and '30s, Mr. Tsurumi, one of the most famous Japanese publicists in the west, gave full play to his ability to improve mutual understanding. As he had a rare gift of eloquence even in English, his speeches in the U.S. and Canada got nationwide news coverage. The New York Times introduced him as a young Japanese Liberal and an expert on political science and history. (The N.Y. Times, July 14, 1938) His articles appeared in the New Republic, the Saturday Evening Post, and others. 

He played an important role in the Japanese Council (1926-1943) of the Institute of Pacific Relations (1925-1961) established by eminent people of the region (Australia, Canada, China, Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, U.S. etc.). Although the IPR was the first major private international organization in the Pacific region, its contribution to regional understanding and scholarship is little known today. The "Tsurumi Papers" of the NDL include a wealth of related materials, speech drafts, minutes of the meetings, and announcements. (Resume of his speech) The Japanese Council dissolved by the end of the '30s (officially in 1943) because of both the pressure on international liberals in Japan and the distrust of the Japanese government's spokesmen abroad. The NDL also holds the IPR publications in its books and periodicals collection. 

Although he emphasized international cooperation with the U.S. and the U.K., he was a major member of the Taisei Yokusankai (Imperial Rule Assistance Association) during World War II. He was not able to apply his beliefs to his life as a politician. He was affected by the purge directive of the Allied Powers from 1946 through 1950. (Purge notification)

In 1953, he won a seat in the House again, and was appointed Minister of Health and Welfare in 1954. (The written appointment) He loved politics. In 1959 he fell ill and was bedridden for 14 years before dying at the age of eighty-eight. 

He was known as the author of approximately hundred books including best-selling novels, biographies, translation of Plutarch's works, and critical essays. Three screen versions of his romantic novel "Haha" (The Mother) had a large audience. (Th Mother)

The Papers also include his diaries for fifty-seven years (1903-1959) in thirty-three volumes. He used diaries made in America, and most descriptions are written in English even in wartime. They record the thoughts and actions of a Japanese internationalist of the time. The description displayed was written in November 20, 1959, the day before the onset of his illness. (Diary)