Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 174

The conflict between him and Saito Minoru was even greater than that between Yamamoto and Ito. Although Yamamoto and Ito had a power struggle, their sources of power were different. The former came from his position, while the latter came from his duty as an advisor to the Emperor. However, the only thing between him and Saito was the position of Minister of the Navy. If someone took it, it meant that the other would be severely suppressed.

Moreover, this is not just a struggle between the two of them; the small circle of followers around them will also rise and fall because of this struggle. Kawahara, of course, will not show any humility at this time. He can be humble to himself, but he cannot let his confidants lose their future because of this, otherwise he will truly become a lonely figure in the future.

Kawahara quickly abandoned his plan to quietly wait for succession and inquired with Hayashi Shin'ichi about how to proceed with the reorganization of naval personnel. Yamamoto Gonnohyōe and Saitō Makoto, as central bureaucrats, were able to control the navy precisely because of their personnel power. Therefore, if Kawahara wanted to succeed as Minister of the Navy, he had to first seize control of naval personnel, thus depriving Saitō Makoto of any chance of turning the tables.

On this issue, Kawahara, Togo, and Hayashi Nobuyoshi shared the same view. However, the former two did not have as much initiative as Hayashi Nobuyoshi, or rather, they had many more concerns. After all, no matter how much Hayashi Nobuyoshi lost, it would only be a lieutenant colonel, while if they failed, it would mean that decades of struggle would be wasted.

Therefore, Kawahara and Togo had always felt that the reorganization of naval personnel should be promoted after taking over as Minister of the Navy, so that it would be more legitimate. Hayashi Nobuyoshi, on the other hand, advocated that by promoting the reorganization of naval personnel, Kawahara's authority as the successor to the Minister of the Navy would be established, so that when he actually took over as Minister of the Navy, he would not need to make too many personnel concessions to others.

Kawahara was well aware that Hayashi Shin's proposals were more advantageous to him. After all, his foundation within the navy was not deep. His demotion to the position of principal of the Marine Academy was not to enhance his resume, but rather to prepare for retirement. Compared to the personnel network that Yamamoto and Saito had built up over decades, he did not have the courage to engage in personnel battles with the veterans of the military as soon as he took office.

While Yamamoto was still in the position of minister, he pushed for personnel reorganization. Yamamoto Gonnohyōe became his shield, allowing him to avoid all the pressure being concentrated on him. After the personnel reorganization was completed, his authority in the navy was officially established, and he truly became the minister in name and in fact.

However, before confirming Yamamoto Kaisō's intentions, Kawahara dared not take such a risky step. But now that Hayashi Shinji had confirmed Yamamoto Kaisō's intentions, he had fewer concerns and began to seriously consider the possibility of pushing forward with the personnel reorganization plan.

Lin Xinyi understood Kawahara's anxious and uncertain mindset, so he didn't expect Kawahara to push the overall situation forward with him. He was already satisfied as long as Kawahara and Yamamoto Kaihō tacitly approved of the naval personnel reorganization plan.

Therefore, he suggested to Chief of Staff Kawahara: "While the Navy personnel reorganization plan is intended to establish your prestige, it is not necessary for you to forcefully introduce this plan. I believe that we should first create public opinion in the military that there is a generational change, and then you, Chief of Staff, should respond to the demands of the officers and soldiers and propose a personnel reorganization plan for naval reform. In that case, no one will concentrate their resentment on you."

Kawahara liked the idea of ​​generational change. His replacement of Yamamoto Gonnohyōe as Minister of the Navy was also a generational change, wasn't it? He liked the idea just from hearing this reason, so he asked even more eagerly, "So how do you plan to create public opinion about generational change?"

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xinyi said, "The goal of the new naval roadmap is to industrialize the navy, and an industrialized navy needs professional soldiers. I think officers at the section chief level or above should be more aware of this, since they are the ones who actually handle naval affairs and are responsible for translating orders from superiors into concrete actions. Their biggest problem is not that subordinates disobey orders, but that they cannot correctly understand the orders, which means they lack professional knowledge and skills."

The joint section chiefs will summarize and review the various oversights that occurred during this operation, and then propose a discussion on the professionalization of the navy. At that time, Chief of the General Staff, you can then take up the banner of naval professionalization and promote the reorganization of naval personnel. Those who oppose you will naturally lose their righteous cause…”

Not long after leaving the Chief of Staff's office and returning to the Cultural Studies Department, Lin Xinyi was discussing his work with his subordinates when Akiyama Saneyuki came to visit. Lin Xinyi readily accepted Akiyama's invitation, thinking that this was a good opportunity to spread the word about the professionalization of the navy. As the head of the First Section of the First Division, Akiyama Saneyuki was clearly more suitable than him to propose this idea.

After seeing Qiushan off, Lin Xinyi returned to his office and sat down, saying to everyone, "Let's continue the meeting. Everyone has reported on their work. Except for the group that went to the factory for research, the work of the other groups has basically entered a stable phase."

Currently, our external work mainly revolves around the Cultural and Arts Foundation and the Dongyang Newspaper Group, while our internal work focuses on research and military newspaper and magazine publications. Regarding these two areas, I want to emphasize that external work is not merely about building a positive image of the Navy in the public eye, but also about ensuring the self-sustainability of our enterprises. Simply put, we cannot expect the Navy to provide long-term funding to support cultural programs outside the military. We must maintain these programs as much as possible on our own, and may even need to obtain funding from these programs in the future to subsidize the propaganda work carried out by cultural programs within the military.

Regarding internal work, research is not the goal; rather, it's to provide data support for naval development research and theory. Therefore, research work must be independent and cannot be subservient to the opinions of any powerful individuals. Military newspapers and periodicals are not meant to sing praises of the navy, but rather to guide the navy's entire staff in recognizing its direction and to provide public oversight of any misconduct within the navy. Of course, military newspapers and periodicals are different from civilian publications; when criticizing misconduct, it's crucial to maintain a proper balance and avoid targeting individuals, as this could create unnecessary enemies…

Captains Hirotoku Mizuno, Tsunomatsu Inoue, Gengo Hyakutake, Keiichi Domoto, and Harutaro Kishida... all those present were diligently taking notes. Although the Cultural Studies Department had only been established for a short time, it had already become a renowned department within the Military General Staff. Even those who had previously been unfamiliar with Shinichi Hayashi developed genuine admiration and trust for him after attending the founding ceremony of the Oriental Culture and Arts Foundation.

Given their backgrounds, some of them might be able to move around in high society, but don't expect to enter the core circle. However, at this foundation's founding ceremony, almost all of Japan's top figures appeared, which means that the cultural department that promoted the foundation's establishment has gained the approval of these top figures; otherwise, they wouldn't have been there.

Faced with Lin Xinyi's ability to gain recognition from high society, no one dared to underestimate this young section chief anymore. Their goal was precisely to enter this circle, and now that Lin Xinyi had led them directly to the door, being jealous of him at this point would be jeopardizing their own future.

In fact, what they were concerned about now was whether their power would be taken away by others. Lin Xinyi had spread out the cultural classes all at once, so everyone had considerable power, which was much better than the teachers in other classrooms.

The other departments of the Naval General Staff gained some power after the Naval General Staff moved out of the Navy Ministry building, but this increase in power was limited, and there was also overlap in functions with the Navy Ministry and other agencies. Therefore, ordinary staff members remained ordinary staff members and had no opportunity to take charge independently.

However, as the Navy's external liaison agency, the Cultural Section extended its reach to the civilian media industry, thereby greatly enhancing its external propaganda function. The Navy did not have this function in the past, so the Cultural Section did not have to worry about anyone competing with it for the management power of external propaganda.

The involvement in the media industry further fueled the Cultural Affairs Department's need to acquire controlling stakes in media companies, thus giving it a budget independent of the Navy's control. As for the Cultural Affairs Department's propaganda and other work within the Navy, while it hasn't fully materialized yet, everyone feels that Lin Xinyi is unlikely to be satisfied with just propaganda and research work; if he delves deeper, a series of new functions may emerge.

The prospects for academic subjects aren't just good in the future, but good right now. As long as everyone continues to hold onto their current power, they will inevitably achieve something significant in the navy, thereby attracting the attention of the naval leadership. Because everyone shared this belief, they naturally took Lin Xinyi's speeches very seriously, and Lin Xinyi established his authority in academic subjects.

However, Lin Xinyi himself didn't place much importance on this. He believed that staff members had to prove their abilities through their work, while he demonstrated his authority as a section chief by adjusting their tasks—this was what he considered normal office culture. He viewed superiors who used tests of their subordinates' obedience to demonstrate their status only as proof of their own incompetence, requiring a group of tamed slaves to highlight their own prestige.

Therefore, Lin Xinyi's meetings were very quick. Everyone would report their work clearly, then discuss how to solve the problems, and then the meeting would adjourn. However, after today's meeting, he didn't immediately announce its end. Instead, he asked about everyone's living conditions, such as where everyone was currently staying and whether they were satisfied with their accommodations.

Almost everyone complained about these issues. Shinagawa refused to allow the railway to pass through the former site of the Tokaido, which preserved the area's landscape but also isolated Shinagawa from modern life. The dormitories lacked running water, electricity, and gas; they were rented from locals and consisted of old houses with inadequate facilities.

After listening, Lin Xinyi asked, "The Chief of Staff and the Vice Chief of Staff probably don't live in Shinagawa. What about the department heads and section chiefs? How many of them live in the dormitories?"

Keiichi Domoto immediately replied, "It seems that the department heads also went back to Tokyo. Although the section chiefs don't go to Tokyo, they don't live in the dormitories either. Instead, they have settled their homes in Shinagawa. The houses they rent are larger, and there are people to clean and cook for them, so they live more comfortably than the ordinary section chiefs."

Lin Xinyi nodded and said, "Shinagawa probably won't have any railway branch lines built anytime soon. However, since we're living here, we should bring some benefits to the local residents. First, we need to repair the road between the Military General Staff Headquarters and the train station. Domoto, you contact the General Affairs Department and have them come up with a name for us to communicate with the local town and village self-governing organizations. They will be responsible for acquiring the land, and we will invest in building cement roads and short-distance buses. As for running water and electricity, we can also look into how to solve those problems..."

Domoto Keiichi immediately agreed loudly. He was actually also responsible for communicating with various construction companies in the Tokyo area. Doing these things didn't require too much effort; he was just struggling to find a proper title. With Hayashi Shin-yi making the decision, the rest wasn't difficult.

Chapter 596

Shinagawa, as the premier post station on the Tokaido Road, was naturally a very prosperous place during the Edo period, as evidenced by the numerous temples and shrines built there. The local residents initially refused to allow the railway to pass through their land, fearing that it would prevent travelers from stopping in Shinagawa.

However, this small-farmer mentality was eventually shattered by the new era. The railway bypassed Shinagawa but still took away its customers, causing this once bustling and prosperous first post station on the Tokaido to gradually become deserted. Shinagawa's geisha district, which was once as lively as Asakusa, is now decaying and deserted.

The construction of the General Staff Headquarters building brought some life to the area, since officers' salaries were quite good, and naval officers had much greater spending power than army officers. As a result, several new taverns opened on the streets near the General Staff Headquarters building, catering specifically to officers.

Although Lin Xinyi didn't frequent ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurants) and geisha houses, the upper echelons of Japan at that time liked to discuss business in these places. Even serious official business was much more pleasant to discuss in ryotei than in the office, so he was not unfamiliar with these occasions.

Akiyama Saneyuki invited him to get together after get off work, which eventually turned into a meeting at a bar on the street next to the General Staff Headquarters building, where he would find a few geisha to accompany him. Lin Xinyi noticed that the geisha there seemed to have not received any formal training and were far inferior to those in Tokyo, but they were young and beautiful.

While waiting for the guests to arrive, he chatted with several geisha who were serving him drinks. He discovered that they were all from the countryside in Northeast China and had been forced to sell themselves because of family debts. The oldest of them was no more than 18 years old.

However, the social hierarchy in the Meiji Restoration was far less strict than in the Edo period. In the Edo period, the women around him could not call themselves geisha. After all, only after undergoing long-term and rigorous training and passing the exams at specialized geisha houses could one debut as a geisha. And the clothes worn by such a geisha could buy the same price as two or three hostesses.

The cheapening of geisha is not due to an improvement in the living standards of the Japanese people, but rather to the cheaper labor force, leaving women with little competitive advantage with no choice but to enter the sex industry. The backgrounds of these hostesses offer a stark reminder that rural Japan is on the verge of bankruptcy.

As the tavern owner opened the door, Tachibana Arima and Tetaro Sato appeared outside. At Akiyama Masayuki's prompting, Shinichi Hayashi got up and followed Akiyama to greet the two department heads and seniors.

Arima Ryotachibana was still very willing to maintain a good relationship with Hayashi Shin-yi, so he didn't put on airs as a senior or superior. He responded kindly, "I remember watching you and the senior cadets conduct war games at the Naval Academy. It feels like it was just yesterday. Time really flies. Now you're a section chief..."

Akiyama Saneyuki didn't react to these words, but Sato Tetsutaro was a little embarrassed. He actually wanted to remind Arima that it was abnormal for Hayashi Shinji to be the section chief. In principle, the 17th and 18th Marines had just entered this level, and the 32nd Marine should be receiving instruction from their seniors on the warship.

Lin Xinyi didn't feel that Arima was mocking him. After all, he had gone out before graduating from the Marine Academy and had never experienced the "loving education" that seniors gave to juniors on the warship. So he naturally wouldn't have any bad associations with Arima's words.

Arima Ryotachi was willing to set aside his seniority and superior status and interact with Lin Hsin-yi as an equal, and Lin Hsin-yi did not turn him away coldly, so the atmosphere at the banquet became relaxed.

After a few rounds of drinks, and seeing that the camaraderie had been built up, Sato Tetsutaro seized the opportunity to steer the conversation toward the current work of the cultural studies department. After praising the department's achievements, Sato casually asked, "What are the cultural studies department's plans for the future? Is there anything our department can do to assist us?"

This was precisely Sato Tetsutaro's purpose in actively organizing this banquet. His appointment as the head of the First Department was the result of compromises among all parties. Kawahara did not want someone with a strong background with Yamamoto Kaisō to become the head of the First Department of the Military General Staff. Although Tsaibe Hideaki was transferred from the Second Department, the newly appointed head of the Third Department, Yamaji Kazuyoshi, was Yamamoto Gonnohyōe's son-in-law. The next top candidate, Arima Ryōtachi, was a confidant of Tōgō Heihachirō. Therefore, Sato Tetsutaro obtained the position of head of the First Department.

This was undoubtedly a major development in Sato Tetsutaro's career, but the pressure he felt was also extraordinary. The First Division was originally supposed to be the core department of the Military General Staff, but the introduction of the Cultural Studies Department had recently stolen the limelight from the Military General Staff. The end of the war also meant that the First Division, which was mainly responsible for operational plans, had little important work that attracted attention.

If this situation continues, the internal structure of the Military Command may undergo significant changes, and as the head of the First Department, he will bear the responsibility for the First Department losing its core position.

Sato Tetsutaro certainly didn't want to be seen as an incompetent minister, but he had to admit that he really didn't know much about things outside of war. Peacetime was like an endless vacation for the combat departments, while the cultural studies classes became busier because of the peace.

As a confidant of Chief of Staff Kawahara and Vice Chief of Staff Togo, Hayashi Shinichi did not join the First Division but instead went to the Fourth Division to establish a cultural department. Sato Tetsutaro felt that Hayashi Shinichi was probably clearer than all of them about the future plans of the Military General Staff, which is why he went to do cultural work in such an unconventional way instead of seeking to enter the core of the Military General Staff - the operations department.

If he wanted to achieve success in the first part, he had to figure out exactly how the Military Command planned for the future. Of course, the two commanders, Kawahara and Togo, wouldn't tell him, and he felt that even the two commanders themselves probably didn't know very well. However, Lin Xinyi might have such a blueprint for a long-term plan in mind, so he should naturally ask Lin Xinyi directly.

Faced with Minister Sato's question, Hayashi Shin-yi made no attempt to hide anything or be wary. He simply took the opportunity to say to the two ministers and Akiyama, "Minister Sato is joking about asking the First Division to assist the Cultural Affairs Section. In fact, the Cultural Affairs Section exists to assist the work of various departments. The Cultural Affairs Section is already prepared to cooperate with the Operations Department in the upcoming post-war review and naval reform. It should be Minister Sato who is asking us for assistance."

Sato Tetsutaro looked at Akiyama Saneyuki with some doubt and asked, "I understand the postwar review work, but what is the naval reform work? Is the First Division promoting this work?"

Akiyama Masayuki nodded and said, "Naval reform was actually an idea that Shinji proposed to me this afternoon. He said that based on the post-war review, the biggest harm to us in this operation was not the performance of the Russian Navy's warships or the combat skills of its soldiers, but the lack of professionalism among the officers and soldiers of our navy."

For example, the outstanding performance of the Russian Vladivostok flotilla in commerce raiding was not due to the Russian Navy's superior training, but rather to our failure to clear safe waters and establish security for the transport fleet. We could have restricted the Russian Vladivostok flotilla's area of ​​operation through regional surveillance and escort by mobile fleets, but initially the Second Fleet focused on the mission of destroying the Russian Vladivostok flotilla, thus allowing them to lead us by the nose.

In its confrontation with the Russian Vladivostok detachment, the Second Fleet behaved like an amateur baseball team, completely lacking in tactics and discipline. The officers and men of my Second Fleet are not lacking in courage, but they lack professionalism, thus rendering their courage useless…

Fortunately, Sato Tetsutaro knew that Akiyama Saneyuki was straightforward, otherwise he might have suspected that the other man was mocking him to his face, since he was the Chief of Staff of the Second Fleet. Although embarrassed, after seriously considering Akiyama Saneyuki's evaluation of the Second Fleet's actions, Sato Tetsutaro had to admit that the Second Fleet's excessive focus on achieving its primary objective of annihilating the Russian Vladivostok Squadron inadvertently gave the Russian Vladivostok fleet an opportunity to counterattack Japanese maritime transport routes and the Japanese mainland.

Arima Ryotachibana, standing to the side, was focused on another key point. That afternoon, Hayashi Shinji and Akiyama had only truly discussed the issue of naval reform, meaning that the operations department hadn't considered this problem at all before. He subconsciously observed Akiyama and Hayashi Shinji's expressions and found nothing unusual on either of them; it seemed to be just a fairly ordinary exchange of opinions.

However, Arima knew that anything involving naval reform was no small matter, and that it would inevitably involve great honor and merit. Hayashi Shinji calmly handed over the task to Akiyama Saneyuki, and Akiyama Saneyuki did not refuse without feeling embarrassed, which shows that the relationship between the two was indeed closer than that of ordinary seniors and juniors.

While his mind was wandering through these random thoughts, Arima didn't hesitate to ask Lin Xinyi, "When you talk about naval reform, do you mean strengthening the professionalization of the navy? What are you going to be more specific about?"

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xinyi explained to Arima: "Since the British completed the power revolution with the steam engine, the world has entered the industrial age. In the past era of sailing ships, a single sailing warship required the felling of at least several thousand acres of oak trees. Therefore, the strength of a navy was mainly measured by the number of warships, because it was difficult to quickly replace lost sailing warships."

However, the power revolution brought about by the steam engine led navies down the path to ironclad warships. The steel needed for a modern warship weighing tens of thousands of tons can now be produced by industrialized nations in less than a week. This means that true naval powers are inevitably industrial giants, and wars between these industrialized nations will no longer be won by the destruction of existing fleets, but rather by the number of warships under construction on the slipways.

Of course, warships are just machines, and machines cannot operate on their own. They require people to operate them, and the efficiency of skilled professionals in operating machines is several times or even dozens of times that of non-professionals.

After we defeated the Qing navy and the Russian navy, the remaining naval powers, Britain, France, Germany and the United States, were all naval powers with strong industrial strength. Therefore, the competition and even war between us and these naval powers will not be decided by one or two naval victories. Whoever exhausts their resources first in the war will be defeated.

Faced with this new adversary, our first priority is to strengthen our domestic industrial capacity, which is the goal of the new naval strategy. Our second priority is to improve combat efficiency, that is, to use less resources to consume more of the adversary's resources, rather than seeking victory in one or two decisive battles.

To improve the production efficiency of machines, the first step is to enhance the technical skills of workers, the second is to improve the management level of the management team, and the last is to create a good production atmosphere. This is the specialization and professionalization of labor in factory production.

Naval professionalization advocates for the specialization and specialization of naval officers and soldiers, enabling them to maintain high effectiveness in combat and ensuring that lost personnel can be quickly replenished…

Arima Ryōtachibana pondered for a moment and then said, "So, if the navy of the past was like a fine sword crafted by a master craftsman, then the navy of the future should be like the officer's swords mass-produced in arsenals. Although the quality may not be as good as the former, the advantage lies in the quantity and low cost?"

Lin Xinyi nodded in agreement, saying, "Minister Arima's analogy is very apt; that's pretty much the gist of it."

After a moment of silence, Arima spoke again and asked, "So how do you plan to promote the reform of the navy's professionalization?"

Akiyama Saneyuki responded without hesitation: "The idea of ​​Shingi is to take advantage of the opportunity of the first part to review the post-war period, to unite the section chiefs and other officers in various departments to discuss the issue of naval professionalization. If we can gain the support of the majority, then we will report to the superiors in the name of the section chiefs' joint meeting."

Arima thought for a moment and then said, "For discussions about issues concerning the future of the Navy, it's clearly not convincing enough for just the section chiefs to discuss it. I think the ministerial level should also discuss this issue, and we should also contact the fleet, since they understand the benefits of professionalization better than the officers in the central ministries..."

Arima Ryotachibana's words drew Sato Tetsutaro's attention several times. It was clear he didn't want the leadership of the Navy's professionalization to fall entirely into the hands of the First Division. Sato Tetsutaro immediately regretted his loose tongue. If he had privately inquired about this matter with Akiyama and made it a reality, then the leadership of the Navy's professionalization would have been entirely in the hands of the First Division, which would indeed be of great help to him as the newly appointed commander.

However, he also understood why Arima had intervened. Like himself, Arima hoped to achieve something after taking office, at least not be overly suppressed by the academic subjects led by Hayashi Shinji. The issue of naval professionalization was indeed a bit too much for the academic subjects, but for Arima Ryotachibana and himself, this issue was exactly the direction they should be researching.

Since Lin Xinyi has undoubtedly claimed the theory of naval professionalization as his own, it's only fair that whoever grabs it first gets to claim it. If they can truly translate the direction of naval professionalization into concrete policy, then their ministerial positions will be truly secure.

However, Arima was backed by powerful figures like Togo Heihachiro and Saito Minoru, so Sato Tetsutaro couldn't compete with him. He could only try to get a share of the profits and prevent Arima from pocketing all the benefits.

Perhaps out of consideration for the fact that the original creator, Hayashi Shin-yi, was still present, Arima remained quite restrained. He quickly discussed with Sato Tetsutaro how to contact the ministers to discuss the issue of naval professionalization, without intending to kick the Operations Department aside.

With a common topic, the four of them became more relaxed and intimate in their conversation, and the banquet ended when the moon was high in the sky.

Chapter 597

Yokota & Co. gradually developed from a traveling film screening business run by Yokota Einosuke in Kyoto before the Russo-Japanese War. In February 1897, Inaba Katsutaro screened a film in Osaka and brought Lumière's cinematographer to Japan to shoot films, marking the first time Japanese people had come into contact with the film industry.

However, the films at this time were quite in line with the Japanese translation of them – "movie photography," a video recording natural scenery or clips of people in the streets, without any specific storyline. But the Japanese quickly combined film with geisha performances, and thus, films with storylines emerged.

Yokota Einosuke joined forces with Makino Shozo, the owner of the Senbonza Theater in Kyoto, to start filming stories that developed from Kabuki plays, which led to his rise to fame. In the industry, Yoshizawa Shoten was second only to Yoshizawa Shoten, which had developed from selling Western equipment to film screening and filming.

The reason why Yokota Trading Company, rather than Yoshizawa Stores, became the main partner of the Naval Culture Section was because Yokota Einosuke had established a relationship with Ito Hirobumi. Yokota Trading Company produced a documentary film about Ito Hirobumi traveling with the Korean royal family, which was intended to be shown in Korea to quell the Korean people's resentment towards Japan's control over the Korean king.

The film was quite effective. Many anti-Japanese armed groups that claimed to be loyal to the monarch lost their confidence after watching it. After all, the Confucian scholars said that the Korean king did not agree to the Japan-Korea protection agreement and that it was a conspiracy between the Five Traitors and the Japanese. However, seeing the close relationship between the Korean royal family and Ito Hirobumi, the claim that the monarch was deceived by treacherous officials was untenable.

However, the film had a greater impact on young students than on others. Many young students lost their loyalty to the King of Han and began to seriously examine the shortcomings of Confucianism itself. The traditional status of Confucianism in the country began to waver. This was something that the Enlightenment Party had never done. Faced with this situation, many renowned Confucian scholars had to stand up and show a more radical anti-Japanese stance in an attempt to regain the young people's confidence in Confucianism.

Yokota Einosuke was unaware that his assistance in filming "A Week in Korea" would cause such a profound ideological upheaval among the Korean public, but it did further solidify his belief that the film industry had a bright future. What used to be merely street-level promotional photo shoots targeting children had, with the increasing richness of the films' content, become increasingly attractive to young people, drawing them to dedicated screening venues.

Therefore, after the Navy announced that it would film a major naval battle, he racked his brains to establish connections with the Navy. However, Yokota Einosuke did not expect that it was not only film professionals who believed that the film industry had great potential, but also that some people in the Navy thought so and regarded the filming of the major naval battle as an opportunity to promote the development of the film industry.

This idea naturally received a positive response from Einosuke Yokota. He had long had many ideas about the film industry, but due to the limited resources of Yokota & Co., the film industry had only recently begun to move away from street entertainment. Although it was profitable, it had not yet developed to a level that would truly attract attention. Therefore, his ideas could only be shelved.

However, once the Navy got involved in promoting the development of the film industry, many of Yokota's and other filmmakers' ideas could gradually become reality. After all, the military was the real power in the country, and the Navy was quite wealthy. Many obstacles that were insurmountable for them were not problems for the Navy.

Thus, before the film about the naval battle could be officially shot, a major film production company—Nippon Action Photo Co., Ltd.—headed by Yokota & Co. and Yoshizawa Shoten, was established. The company name was given by Hayashi Nobuyoshi, the head of the Cultural Affairs Department. However, what was disadvantageous for Yokota Einosuke was that the Cultural Affairs Department instructed Yoshizawa Shoten to send someone to manage the finances, while the film production company was managed by literary figures such as Kinoshita Naoe. As the president, Yokota Einosuke could only be responsible for film distribution and setting up the theater chain.

Although Yokota Einosuke and his group felt aggrieved, they had no choice but to submit to the Navy's overwhelming power. The reason Lin Xinyi made this arrangement was that street vendors were an important part of yakuza organizations in this era, and filmmakers like Yokota, who had risen through the ranks from street screenings, actually had yakuza backgrounds. Their only concern in developing the film industry was profitability.

Lin Xinyi hoped the film could reform the Japanese people's mindset, rather than having these yakuza figures cater to the violent and sexual desires of the Japanese. He naturally couldn't allow Yokota and his associates to turn Nikkatsu into a personal money-making tool. Yokota and his gang's yakuza background might make the zaibatsu wary, but when faced with a violent institution like the military, they could only be tamed like sheepdogs.

The Naval Cultural Division also had decisive power over the location of the film studio. Yokota Shokai and Yoshizawa Shoten both wanted to place the film studio in the Asakusa area, since Asakusa was the most developed area for the entertainment industry in Tokyo. They always felt that the film studio, like theater troupes and geisha districts, should be as close to the consumer population as possible. In other words, in their view, movies were still not for ordinary people, but for the entertainment of the wealthy and leisurely class.

However, Lin Xinyi opposed this idea. He believed that film art is different from ordinary entertainment. Films do not require live performances; they can be filmed far from consumers and then presented to the audience for enjoyment. Therefore, European operas encounter cultural barriers when they come to Japan, and Japanese dramas when they go abroad, making it difficult for them to become popular. But films do not have this problem; even just watching the exotic scenes in a film is enough to attract many people.

Ultimately, Hayashi Shin-yi made the forceful decision to locate the film studio in Urata-cho, south of Shinagawa. As a region that developed after the railway construction, land prices there were much lower than in Asakusa. Furthermore, Urata-cho had many small workshops nearby, which were very helpful for making film props. The only inconvenience was for the kabuki actors who participated in film production part-time.

However, Lin Xinyi argued that film actors should not necessarily be Kabuki performers, and demanded that female roles be played by women. This meant separating Kabuki from the film industry, making film an independent storyteller rather than a Kabuki performance. The Navy Cultural Affairs Department, through the East Asia Cultural and Arts Foundation, injected 10 yen in capital, acquiring a 40% stake and becoming the largest shareholder. Therefore, Lin Xinyi's proposal was approved.

On this day, Lin Xinyi went to the Putian Film Studio to inspect the construction progress and discussed the script for the naval battle with Kinoshita Naoe and others. Lin Xinyi's evaluation of the script was that the main plot was not prominent enough and it did not clearly explain why the war broke out. Kinoshita and others focused too much on the cruelty of the war.

Lin Hsin-yi said, "Film is an art of viewing. The appeal of the visuals is the primary element. Thoughts can only be savored after watching the film. If the audience wants to leave before even finishing the film, how can they understand the ideas we want to express through the film? Film is not a novel and does not need to show too much intellectual content. Thinking should be the audience's business, not the director's responsibility to think for the audience."

War is indeed cruel, but this cruelty should be shown visually, not told to the audience by you. Movies are ultimately entertainment, not classroom lectures; excessive didacticism only annoys viewers. Such dialogue is also unappealing to those who dub lines in theaters.

Therefore, I suggest reducing the number of dialogue scenes and showcasing anti-war lines through visuals rather than directing them onto the screen. Furthermore, while some may want to demonstrate the might of the Imperial Navy by investing in this naval battle film, I maintain that the film's main theme should be the irreconcilable conflict between Western colonialism and the spirit of independence of Eastern nations…”

While Kinoshita Naoe and others held Hayashi Nobuyoshi in high esteem politically, not everyone could promote socialism in the navy without being labeled a sabotage element. They were merely promoting socialism among the public, yet they were already being watched by the Ministry of Home Affairs. If Hayashi hadn't swiftly decided to disband the civilian news agency, many of them would have been implicated in the Kotoku Shusui case and recorded by the police.

Although the Heimin Shinbun (People's News Agency) was not established for a long time, it had in fact become the leading organization of Japanese socialists. Socialist activists from all over the country corresponded with the Heimin Shinbun. If the Heimin Shinbun had not been dissolved and those correspondences destroyed in time, then when the police came to the door, these letters and the list of people would have been in the hands of the Ministry of Home Affairs. This would undoubtedly be a sword of Damocles for Japanese socialist activists.

However, the police's prosecution of Kotoku Shusui and others is now limited to a very narrow scope. Because the police don't have enough information, the punishment for Kotoku Shusui and others is not overly severe; they are only prohibited from continuing to operate the People's News Agency. However, under Lin Xinyi's arrangement, the socialist activists who broke away from the People's News Agency quickly dispersed into various news media and agricultural, industrial, and commercial organizations. The influence of these dispersed socialist activists is actually more widespread than before.

However, regarding literary matters, Kinoshita and the others felt they had more authority to speak than Hayashi Shin-yi, a soldier. But during today's script discussion meeting, they discovered that Hayashi Shin-yi possessed profound insights into literature, particularly film literature. After all, film literature was a completely new concept for them. In fact, Japanese literature before the Meiji Restoration was a rather narrow field; Japanese intellectuals who hadn't experienced the Renaissance wouldn't have considered the changes in the fate of the nation, society, and the individual.

The Meiji Restoration government established universities that learned from the West, and such Western literary ideas began to have a significant impact on Japanese literature. However, this government-driven cultural endeavor focused more on praising the nation, war, and the great era, and reflections on war and similar themes were not welcomed by the public.

Before Japan declared war on Russia, a nearly unanimous mainstream public opinion in Japan supported the war. Intellectuals who opposed the war not only became a minority in society, but also faced insults and threats from the public. Some even had to leave Japan because their lives were threatened.

It could be argued that if the People's News Agency had been forcibly dissolved by the government rather than by its own volition, many people might have lost hope in the socialist movement. After all, many people study socialism with the aim of making Japan a better country, not to destroy it. For these people, socialist theory is a stepping stone to the ruling class, not because it is the truth.

Although the elimination of such opportunists from socialist activities is a good thing for true socialists, when the public has little understanding of socialism and capitalism, even opportunists become an important channel for popularizing socialist knowledge among the people. If a social theory cannot be understood by the public, then that social theory cannot guide social practice, and the public will lose the opportunity to correctly understand the reality of society.

For example, the current support of the Japanese people for the war is not based on the fact that Russia is essentially a colonial aggressor in the East. Otherwise, the Japanese people would not be supporting the war against Russia while also celebrating the signing of the Japan-South Korea protection agreement, which is also a form of Japanese colonial invasion of the Korean Peninsula.

The inability to correctly distinguish the essential consequences of a war of aggression is evident in the fact that while the Japanese people celebrated the signing of the Japan-Korea Protection Agreement, they also complained about their increasingly difficult lives, while landlords and zaibatsu (financial conglomerates) grew ever wealthier. These Japanese clearly failed to understand that Japan's colonial actions in Korea benefited the zaibatsu and the military, while the manpower and resources expended in occupying the Korean Peninsula were distributed equally among every citizen. This is the fundamental reason why, although Japan gained control of the Korean Peninsula, its people felt their lives were deteriorating.

Those who believe that a strong nation guarantees the happiness of its people, or that Yamato nationalism can make every Yamato person a member of the ruling class, are merely daydreams. In Ito Hirobumi's view, even Korean landowners were more suitable to be his own people than the Japanese proletariat. His land reform in Korea only confiscated some land from anti-Japanese elements and the imperial family; he still recognized the land ownership of most Korean landowners.

Those Japanese farmers who hoped to be allocated land after the country occupied the Korean Peninsula soon discovered that such a good thing simply did not exist. Only the nobility, military officers, and zaibatsu could get a share of the wealth plundered from Korea. As for ordinary Japanese farmers, apart from a very few who were allocated land, most of them were simply taken to Korea by zaibatsu and the military to work as tenant farmers. Most of their profits from the Korean land had to be handed over to the government, and they also had to worry about being attacked by Korean farmers.

However, Japanese farmers did not awaken to this reality. They still believed that annexing the Korean Peninsula was a good thing, and even thought that Manchuria should belong to Japan because Japanese people shed blood there. Faced with this lower class of Japanese society, still largely isolated from information, telling them what the reality of society is was clearly more important than telling them what the truth is.

The strength of Kinoshita and others lies in their degree of idealism, but this is also their weakness. Idealism is quite attractive to college students and intellectuals, but for the proletariat who have been engaged in long-term manual labor, what they need is entertainment to relieve fatigue during their meager rest time, not to use that rest time to think and make their minds even more exhausted.

The script discussion naturally resulted in Lin Xinyi gaining the upper hand. Even disregarding his veto power over the naval battle script as the naval representative, no one could refute his interpretation of the film's artistic merit. By the end of the script meeting, Kinoshita and the others acknowledged that Lin Xinyi was indeed qualified to express his opinions on the film's literary and artistic merit, and was not merely a representative of the naval-supervised film studio.

After the meeting, Kinoshita Naoe accompanied Hayashi Shin-yi to the rooftop, where they observed the scenery of Urata-cho and its surroundings. Looking at the rows of wooden rooftops stacked like fish scales, Hayashi Shin-yi remarked with emotion, "Kamata-cho developed because of the opening of the railway. Western machinery was introduced to Japan from Yokohama, and the first place it affected was Kamata-cho, which was closer to Yokohama. Many small workshop owners learned their skills in Yokohama. Perhaps this place will become a true industrial center in the future."

Kinoshita Naoe nodded in agreement, saying, "That's true. Although it's not as lively as Asakusa, the workers here have considerable spending power. The theater we built in the town has already opened and is almost always packed every night. Yokota suggested that we should open two or three more theaters so that we can cover the studio's daily expenses."

Lin Xinyi shook his head and said, "I don't recommend building a theater nearby in the short term. That would be stealing our own business. It's better to have people pre-sell movie tickets than to have an empty theater. I'm in contact with Tokyo Electric Power Company to build a power grid in the Shinagawa and Kamata areas. Once we have a power grid, the residents here will have more entertainment options in the evenings, and they won't be so focused on going to the movies."