The First National Census Poster is Interesting
The national census is conducted every five years, in years ending in 0 and 5. Last year, 2020, was one of those years, and it was the first time that responses could be submitted online. I also submitted my response online for the first time on that occasion.
The national census began in Japan in 1920 (Taisho 9), 100 years ago. Now, what was the census like 100 years ago? There is a place where you can find out. It is the "Statistics Museum" located on the premises of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Statistics Bureau. It is in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, which is actually right near the school where I work.
The poster for the "First National Census" displayed there is interesting. What makes it interesting is that almost all the kanji have "something like furigana" attached to them. By "something like," I mean they are not providing the "reading," but rather "making the meaning easy to understand" for them.
Let's transcribe the full text from the poster on the upper left, excluding the heading, here.
Survey Items
1. Name
2. Status in Household
3. Gender
4. Date of Birth
5. Marital Status
6. OccupationandOccupational Status
7. Place of Birth
8. Family RegisterorNationality
Thissurveyhas absolutely no relationto the imposition of taxes, the search for criminals, or|family register residencyso please feel free to report the truth.
I assume this was out of consideration for people who could not read kanji, but they are using Japanese words (Yamato kotoba = native Japanese words) as much as possible instead of Sino-Japanese words (Kango = compound words = on-yomi words). That point feels very fresh. From a modern perspective, I think it is actually quite stylish.
One more excerpt from the poster on the upper right:
Actual stateof society
Currentsituation
Accurately
Submit
Let's go further.
On the poster on the upper left,
Declaration form paper
Declaration form
By the way, on that poster,
Those who cannot write at allwill have it written for them
there is a kind message. On the other hand, on the poster on the upper right,
To miss this surveyis a disgrace to the nation
there is also a stern message. I feel the era in many ways.
By the way, in this article, I called the four items above "posters," but I suspect such a word probably didn't exist back then. So, what were things like the above called at that time?
I thought it might be "advertisement," but then I wondered again why they would add such "something like furigana" for people who couldn't read kanji, and then I thought maybe it was a "harigami (posted paper)".
It is a small facility with almost no general visitors, but I enjoyed it more than expected.
※ I immediately tried using the "ruby function" that has become experimentally available.
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~ Appreciation of Kanji ~ ▷ Learn kanji by writing with a brush pen ┌ --- Face ▷ Kanji is free ▽ How kanji are made ┼ Parent, Fake, Love ▷ The First National Census poster is interesting └ -- Discuss