Rising prices, lost jobs and falling farm incomes hurt people in different ways, and all made party politicians look weak.
Inflation is a rise in prices in general. During and after the First World War, living costs in Japan rose. In 1918, rice riots showed the anger over expensive food, while some businesses made big profits. The 1923 earthquake and a banking crisis in 1927 added to insecurity. Workers could lose their jobs or face uncertain pay.
The countryside had its own tensions. A tenant farmer rented land from a landlord, its owner. Rent disputes set the farmer's need to keep enough income against the landlord's demand for payment. Rural people were not all the same: owning land, renting it, or growing different crops changed how hard a crisis hit.
The Depression began in 1929. Foreign buyers bought much less Japanese silk. Families who raised silk cocoons earned far less, but rent and debt repayments stayed high. Falling sales also put jobs at risk. This was a different problem from before: now people suffered because what they sold earned less, not because prices rose.
Hard times made party leaders look unable to protect ordinary people, especially as they seemed close to big business. Ultranationalists offered an alternative: strong national leadership and expansion abroad to gain markets, land and resources. Unhappy people listened. But this did not prove conquest was necessary, or that hardship made war automatic.
- Rice riots, 1918
- Anger over the high price of food.
- Depression, 1929
- Silk prices fall and farm families suffer.
- Ultranationalist promise
- Strong leaders and expansion abroad.
Worked example: Why a lower price can still hurt
A family earns its money by selling silk cocoons. Silk prices fall in the Depression.
- They sell the same amount but earn less.
- Rent and debt repayments do not fall as much.
- Less money is left for food, so they lose trust in leaders who cannot help.
Watch out for this
Falling prices in the Depression must have helped families after the earlier inflation.
Families who sold silk earned less, while rent and debts stayed high. Lower prices hurt sellers.
Check your understanding
How did the Depression hurt silk-producing families?
- Silk prices rose so fast that no one could buy it.
- Foreign buyers bought more silk than families could make.
- Silk prices fell, but rent and debts did not fall as much.