In 1928, the celebrated poet Akiko Yosano was invited to travel through Northeast Asia by the South Manchurian Railway Company.
This quasi-governmental organization often issued such invitations to famous folk, not only as a means of publicizing the railway itself but also as a way of validating Japanese military adventures in Manchuria.
The largest coup was Japan's most famous author, Soseki Natsume, who had been induced to take to the rails in 1909 and publish the results. Aware that he was being used for political purposes, the author of "Botchan" turned jocular, as a ploy to distance himself from his subject matter, and in the end exposed the whole set-up.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.