Hitoshi Yamakawa

Who was Hitoshi Yamakawa?

Hitoshi Yamakawa was a Japanese socialist intellectual. He played a leading role in founding the the Japanese Communist Party in 1922. He was also one of the founders of Rono-ha, a group of Marxist thinkers opposed to the Comintern. His most famous work was the essay "A change of course for the proletarian movement" where he advocated direct political action and better coordination with the labour movement while criticising the Anarchist movement for failing to achieve any lasting results. He is remembered in Japan today for being instrumental in introducing Marxism and Socialism to Japanese thinkers.