Saburo Shimada

A journalist and politician during the Meiji and Taisho periods. His pen name was Numanami. He was from Shizuoka Prefecture. He was born on November 7, 1851, to a shogunate retainer family. He studied at Numazu Military Academy, Daigaku Nanko, and the English School attached to the Ministry of Finance. In 1872 (Meiji 5), he became a translator for the Yokohama Mainichi Shimbun and was adopted by Shimada Toyohiro, the company's general representative. He was appointed as a senior clerk in the Senate and a senior clerk in the Ministry of Education, but resigned in 1881 due to the Meiji 14th year political upheaval. In the same year, he rejoined the Tokyo Yokohama Mainichi Shimbun and was in charge of editorial matters. He also participated in the founding of the Constitutional Reform Party as a senior member of the Ohmeisha Society. He was baptized by Uemura Masahisa in 1886, and thereafter engaged in editorial and political activities from the standpoint of Christian humanitarianism. He was particularly active in the movement to abolish prostitution. He was elected in the first general election for the House of Representatives (1890), and was active as a parliamentary politician from then until his death from illness. He was known as an eloquent speaker, and his speech in the denunciation of the Siemens Scandal is famous. He initially belonged to the Progressive Party, but later began to act independently. At the end of the Meiji period, he was active in public speaking out against the Ashio Copper Mine Pollution Scandal and labor issues, but the Tokyo Mainichi Shimbun (the successor to the Yokohama Mainichi Shimbun) struggled financially, and he sold it in 1908 (Meiji 41). He then devoted himself to parliamentary activities and social movements. He died on November 14, 1923.

[Teruo Ariyama]

"The Complete Works of Shimada Saburo, edited by Kinoshita Naoe et al., 5 volumes (1924-1925, Dosho Publishing Association/Reprint and expanded edition, 1989, Ryukei Shobo)" ▽ "Shimada Saburo, by Takahashi Masao (1954, Christian Historical Society)" ▽ "Shimada Saburo, by Katakozawa Chiyomatsu (included in "Three Generations of Commentators 4," 1963, Jiji Press)" ▽ "The Life of Shimada Saburo, by Takahashi Masao (1988, Mahoroba Shobo)" ▽ "Shimada Saburo and Modern Japan, by Inoue Tetsuhide (1991, Akashi Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治・大正期の新聞記者、政治家。号は沼南。静岡県出身。嘉永(かえい)5年11月7日、幕府御家人(ごけにん)の家に生まれる。沼津兵学校、大学南校、大蔵省附属英学校に学ぶ。1872年（明治5）『横浜毎日新聞』翻訳記者となり、同社社員総代島田豊寛(とよひろ)の養子となる。元老院大書記生、文部大書記官に就官したが、明治十四年の政変（1881）により下野。同年『東京横浜毎日新聞』に再入社、言論を担当した。また嚶鳴社(おうめいしゃ)幹部として立憲改進党の創立にも参画。1886年植村正久(うえむらまさひさ)から受洗し、以後はキリスト教的人道主義の立場から言論・政治活動を展開した。とくに廃娼(はいしょう)運動には力を尽くした。第1回衆議院議員総選挙（1890）に当選、以来病没するまで議会政治家としても活躍。雄弁家として知られ、シーメンス事件弾劾演説は有名。当初は進歩党に所属したが、のちには単独行動をとるようになった。明治末期には足尾銅山鉱毒事件や労働問題で活発な言論活動を行ったが、『東京毎日新聞』（『横浜毎日新聞』の後身）の経営は苦しく、1908年（明治41）手放した。その後は議会活動と社会運動に専念した。大正12年11月14日死去。

［有山輝雄］

『木下尚江他編『島田三郎全集』全5巻（1924～1925・同書刊行会／復刻増補版・1989・龍渓書舎）』▽『高橋昌郎著『島田三郎』（1954・基督教史学会）』▽『片子沢千代松著『島田三郎』（『三代言論人集4』所収・1963・時事通信社）』▽『高橋昌郎著『島田三郎伝』（1988・まほろば書房）』▽『井上徹英著『島田三郎と近代日本』（1991・明石書店）』

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