"Occupation" and the Movement of People within the Japanese Empire: An Exploration of Migration between the Japanese Southern Frontier and Colonial Taiwan, the 1920s−1930s

Abstract:  Although there have been few studies on Yaeyama (the southern end of Ryukyu Archipelago) locals' migration during the pre Asia-Pacific period, a significant number of people went from there to colonial Taiwan, in particular during the 1920s and 1930s. In this paper, I discuss why many locals of Yaeyama worked in colonial Taiwan by analysing narratives of former migrants in autobiographies and my own interview research. First, this paper demonstrates how Yaeyama locals' attitudes to "work" and "occupation" were converted into more modern attitudes between the 1900s and the 1920s. Yaeyama locals often mention there being "no jobs" in their home islands, which justified their decision to go to Taiwan; but the discourse of "unemployment" should not be understood as a mere reflection of Yaeyama's economic condition, but also as a mark of change in people's attitude to the world. Since "work" and "occupation" are not just a matter of economic necessity, it could be said that Yaeyama locals searched for jobs in Taiwan not strictly in terms of economic profitability. Yaeyama locals went to colonial Taiwan, in search of "employment"; this action was closely associated with a financial motive, but it also implies development of self-worth as a social being. Although Yaeyama locals in Taiwan sometimes suffered ethnic discrimination from Japan proper, they were usually treated better than Taiwanese; Colonial Taiwan was an attractive destination to Yaeyama locals not only because Taiwan was more affluent and modernized, but also there were more opportunities for them to achieve social promotion in the context of the Japanese Empire.