Yoshiro Sakatani, a Member of the House of Peers, the Imperial Diet, and Korean Affairs Expert (Chōsentsu) and Japanese Rule of Korea

International Journal of Korean History > Volume 18(1); 2013 > Article

Articles

International Journal of Korean History 2013;18(1): 121-153.

Hyoung-sik Lee

Research Professor, Asian Cultural Studies Research Institute, Gachon University

이형식

가천대학교 아시아문화연구소 연구교수

ABSTRACT

This paper checks to see the relationship between Yoshiro Sakatani, a leading Korean affairs expert in the House of Peers, and Japan’s rule of Korea. There were many Korean affairs experts in the House of Peers, who had been directly or indirectly involved in the rule of Korea, including ex-bureaucrats in the Governor-General’s Office, chiefs of financial institutions in Korea, those in financial circles, such as the Bank of Korea or Doyo Takushoku, and businessmen who invested in Korea. They criticized or supported the policies of the Governor-General’s Office, while deliberating on the Governor-General’s Office’s budget and laws enacted by it. Koreans attempted to engage in lobbying activities, such as complaints or appeals, through an informal network of these Korean affairs experts. Sakatani had not maintained direct relationships with Korea, but came to be involved in Korean affairs due to his father-in-law Eiichi Shibusawa, who made lots of investments in Korea. As a proponent of the policy for gradual assimilation between Korea and Japan, Sakatani held a view that matters concerning finance, banking, telecommunications, and postal service, which were under the control of the Governor-General’s Office, should be transferred to the relevant ministries of the home government. His view was quite similar to that of Interior Minister Takashi Hara, who intended to restrict the Governor-General’s administrative rights and reinforce the government’s control over the Governor-General’s Office. Upon Sakatani’s inauguration as the Chairman of the Central Korea Association, a lobbyist organization for Japanese in Korea, consisting of both Koreans and Japanese, in Korea asked him to settle the following problems for them: a plan for an increase of rice production, construction of railroads, rice/grain control, relocation of the Inch’?n Stock Exchange, provision of relief supplies to Koreans in Manchuria, the municipal ordinance on the tenant farming, and suspension of publication of Tonga Ilbo. Sakatani tried to stabilize the rule of Korea by accommodating such complaints and appeals by mitigating the confrontation between colonists and the people in the colony, where the public opinion was little heeded due to the lack of political rights granted to Koreans. In addition, he spoke up for the interest of Japanese in Korea or Japanese investing in Korea in such matters as a plan for an increase in rice production, the construction of railroads, and the control of rice/grains produced in Korea in Japanese political circles.

Keywords: Yoshiro Sakatani, the House of Peers, Korean affairs experts, relocation of the South Ch’ungch’ŏng Provincial Office, Koreans’ right to takepart in political affairs

국문초록

본 논문에서는 귀족원의 대표적인 ‘조선통’인 사카타니 요시로와 조선통치와의 관계를 살펴보았다. 제국의회 귀족원에는 전직총독부관료나 조선은행, 동양척식주식회사와 같은 금융계 인사 등 조선통치에 직접적인 관련을 맺거나, 조선에 자본을 투자하면서 조선통치에 대한 지식을 축적한 많은 ‘조선통’들이 존재했다. 이들은 귀족원예산위원회와 조선관련법률 특별위원회를 중심으로 조선총독부 예산과 조선관련법률을 심의하면서 총독부의 조선통치정책을 비판하거나 옹호하면서 총독부를 견제하거나 후원하였다. 조선사회는 이러한 ‘조선통’이라는 비공식적 네트워크(informal network)를 통해서 진정, 청원, 교섭과 같은 식민지 로비(colonial lobby)를 시도하였다. 이 가운데 사카타니는 조선과 직접적인 관계를 맺고 있지 않았지만, 장인인 시부사와 에이이치가 조선에 많은 투자를 하고 있어서 조선문제에 관여하게 되었다. 사카타니는 점진적인 내지연장주의자로 조선총독부의 재정, 은행, 전신, 우편을 내각이 일원적으로 관리할 것을 주장하였다. 조선총독의 행정권을 제한하고 총독에 대한 내각의 통제를 강화하려는 하라 다카시의 통치방침과 매우 유사한 조선 통치관을 보유하고 있었다. 재조일본인과 조선인이 재조일본인의 로비단체인 중앙조선협회 회장에 취임한 사카타니에게 산미증식계획, 철도부설, 미곡통제, 인천증권거래소 이전문제, 재만조선인 구제문제, 조선소작령, 동아일보 정간문제 등 조선의 각종 현안의 해결을 청원, 진정하였다. 사카타니는 조선사회의 진정, 청원, 로비를 적극적으로 수용하여 참정권이 시행되지 않아 민의의 반영이 극도로 제한된 조선통치에서 식민지권력과 조선사회의 대립을 완화시켜 조선통치를 안정시키려 했다. 뿐만 아니라 산미증식계획, 철도부설, 조선미통제와 같이 재조일본인, 조선에 투자한 일본 자본의 이해를 일본정계에서 대변하였다.

주제어: 사카타니 요시로, 귀족원, 조선통, 충남도청이전문제, 조선인참정권