The Mouth of Humanity - Kakushi Society and the Aesthetics of Drifting in the Early Showa Era

The Mouth of Humanity - Kakushi Society and the Aesthetics of Drifting in the Early Showa Era

Ningi" or "mentsu" (mentsu = to get along) in the Kaguishi society meant more than mere greetings. For the lower class laborers and transients, many of whom had no schooling and could not read or write, it was a means of self-introduction and proof of identity among their peers.

Koichiro Sakata's speech is a typical example: "My name is Haigo, and I am from Ginkojo, Kumamoto, Higo," he says in a high voice, and then describes his current situation: "I wear bleached cotton wrapped high on my chest in snow shoes and live temporarily under the roof of Tokyo, in the woods of Waseda. He added his own nickname, "Kochan, a.k.a. Sagariya," which added a humorous touch of humanity to the formal tone of his speech.

This exchange flourished from the end of the Taisho era (1912-1926) to the beginning of the Showa era (1926-1989). It was a time of urban turmoil after the Great Kanto Earthquake and the upsurge of labor disputes, when craftsmen and day laborers were drifting across the country to make a living. For these people, who were easily alienated from the state and capital, the safety net they used to survive was to identify with each other and take care of each other. Especially in the 1920s, when martial law and security laws were being strengthened, it was necessary to instantly gauge who was a friend and who was an outsider, and the oral tradition played a role in this.

Furthermore, this mentsuu was not just a pastime, but also had an entertaining quality that elicited laughter and sympathy from the listeners. As records show that Takenaka Rō and film director Fukasaku Kinji laughed out loud when they saw the performance, the mix of formal beauty and folk humor was a kind of stage that reflected a part of the popular culture of the time.

In other words, the exchange of ningi and mentsu was not merely a form of verbal communication, but a unique culture established by socially unstable perfume makers, and can be understood as the wisdom of survival cultivated in the context of a time of discrimination and oppression.