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Paper short abstract

Oka Asajirō (1868–1944) was a zoologist who nevertheless authored extensive critiques on social issues. My paper focuses on Oka's essay "From Monkey Troop to Republic" (1924), examining the originality of his work and its position within the intellectual climate following the First World War.

Paper long abstract

Oka Asajirō (1868–1944) was a zoologist who studied embryology and genetics in Germany at the end of the 19th century, specialising in invertebrates. As a professor at Tokyo Higher Normal School, he played a significant role in designing the biology curricula in secondary education. He was also known for developing artificial languages and promoting Esperanto. Oka published books aimed at the general reader to disseminate Darwin's theory of evolution, and, despite not being a specialist in sociology or politics, authored wide-ranging critiques of social issues in journals and newspapers. The breadth of his influence is evident from the high regard by socialists such as Ōsugi Sakae, radical nationalist Kita Ikki's harsh criticism of Oka’s Lectures on Evolutionary Theory (1904), and the fact that Sasaki Takayuki, a conservative politician close to Emperor Meiji, published an essay expressing both approval and criticism.

My paper focuses on Oka's essay “From Monkey Troop to Republic” (1924) and the book of the same name (1926), which centered on this piece. Using the term “republic” in a book title during this period, coinciding with the enactment of the Peace Preservation Law, was unusual and even politically perilous. Oka conceives of the collective national entity as a type of “biological organization”. This organization evolves or degenerates according to its fitness to circumstances. He contrasted monarchical and republican forms of government, capitalist competition and communal mutual aid, elite rule and mass action, arguing that these differences represented distinct strategies adopted by the organic body of the nation to adapt to its environment. According to Oka, these strategic differences were reflected in the diversity of political systems, in competition and cooperation among members, and in the relationship between leaders and followers.

I aim to clarify the distinctive character of Oka compared to other Japanese political and social theorists, and to consider the impact of social commentary by a scientist in the post-First World War period.