Police Regulation and Reactivity - Contradictions between the perfumed society and power in the 1920s

Police Regulation and Reactivity - Contradictions between the perfumed society and power in the 1920s

In the 1920s, the society of perfumers was active in urban festivals, fairs, and entertainment venues, but its fate was always highly dependent on police regulations. Just as bad weather could affect their stalls, they were subject to the instability that a single decision by the police could make their business unviable. If a stall featured dangerous or objectionable material, it would be subject to immediate restrictions, and in some cases, the stall would be suspended or even cracked down on. The vendors had no way to defy their "superiors," and maintaining a relationship with the police was essential to their day-to-day livelihood.

This structure shows the weakness of the society of perfume makers, which essentially forced them to be subordinate to authority. Because the police were not merely a security agency, but functioned as a power apparatus that controlled the social order, the perfume makers had no choice but to accept its control in order to survive. As a result, the perfume makers were sometimes mobilized as "subcontractors" for the authorities, and this took on a reactionary aspect. For example, when socialist rallies or labor disputes took place, they were sometimes restricted from engaging in activities in which they shared an interest with the police.

At the time, Japan was in the midst of the afterglow of the Taisho democracy, but with the policy of strengthening public security after the Great Kanto Earthquake and the strengthening of the operation of the Security Police Law, repression of socialist movements was intensifying. While the Kakushi society was on the periphery of the situation, carrying on the entertainment of the common people, it had no choice but to accept the monitoring and regulation of state power, resulting in a contradiction that was incompatible with the ideals of freedom and equality espoused by socialist ideology.

Thus, while respecting their own chivalrous ethics and mutual support, the perfume makers were forced to live under the control of the police power in their daily lives. This contradiction was symbolic of the reactionary nature of the KAGUGUSHI society.