Kyodo Printing Dispute

In 1926 (Taisho 15), a major dispute led by the Japanese Council of Trade Unions broke out at Kyodo Printing Co., Ltd. (2,300 employees). The company's workers were the core of the Council of Kanto Publishing Workers' Union, but in order to weaken their power, the company announced to 250 people that it would halve production and not pay the wages they had made up. When the union refused and resolved to go on strike, the company announced the closure of the factory and the dismissal of 1,894 employees, and the union went on strike on January 20th. At the time, the Japanese Communist Party was in the process of being rebuilt, and its leaders, including Watanabe Masanosuke, set up hideouts and adopted new tactics such as organizing activists into "cells." While labor unions, consumer unions, and left-wing cultural organizations nationwide supported the party, the company tried to resume work by bringing in gangsters and temporary workers from the factory, leading to a fierce clash between labor and management, with some strikers dropping out and others becoming employed due to poverty. On March 18, the union lost the case, agreeing to a retirement allowance of 120,000 yen, 10,000 yen in dispute expenses, and reemployment of 200 employees, but the company also suffered a setback, such as downsizing its operations. The novel "A Town Without the Sun" by Tokunaga Sunao, which is based on this dispute, is famous.

[Hiroshi Matsuo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1926年（大正15）共同印刷株式会社（従業員2300人）で起こった日本労働組合評議会指導の大争議。同社の労働者は評議会関東出版労働組合の中堅であったが、会社はその力をそぐため、250人に操業の半減とその分の賃金の不払いを発表し、組合が拒否しスト断行を決議するや、工場閉鎖、1894人の解雇を発表し、組合は1月20日ストに突入。おりから日本共産党の再建が進行中で、渡辺政之輔(まさのすけ)らその指導者がアジトを設け、活動分子を「細胞」に組織するなどの新戦術が採用された。全国的に労働組合、消費組合、左翼文化団体などが支援する一方、会社は暴力団や臨時職工を工場に入れて作業の再開を図るなど、労使の激突となり、争議団から生活困窮による脱落者・就業者も現れた。3月18日、組合は退職金12万円、争議費用1万円、再雇用200人などの条件で敗北したが、会社も事業を縮小するなどの打撃を受けた。この争議を題材にした徳永直(すなお)の小説『太陽のない街』は有名。

［松尾　洋］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例