早期日人的客家認知主要沿襲清代臺灣方志及西方文獻的看法，對於客家印象來源概分為兩大類：一、為史料文獻，二、為實際接觸的經驗。日警依實際管理客家聚落的經驗有較完整的客家記錄。民間日人的客家認知原則上仍建立在官方論述的基礎下，但對於客家觀察的面向則較官方廣泛，期間報紙與雜誌對客家有深淺不一報導，顯示日人對於客家的生活、文化、產業等興趣。日人的臺灣客家社會印象則是由日本殖民者以選擇、形塑、收編等方式所形成的客家印象。新竹地方政府發行《警友》機關報的方式，投入地方事物報導與警察專業領域探討。作為試驗的先鋒性質刊物，除建構知識體系外，更可藉此訓練殖民官吏自身專業與地方瞭解，甚至形成政策。隨著總督府對臺深入的統治，沿山地區的客家族群也成為官方重視對象，如何建立客家知識將攸關日後地方統治之優劣，而客語學習成了客家知識體的重要架構。《警友》本身為地方政府刊物，其論述多為官方說法，在地方統治層面，可以窺探出當時地方官員對新竹地區的看法，以及政策如何影響地方。新竹地方政府管理新竹地區的兩大系統，主要以警察體係與街庄役場來動員或組織民眾，而警察可謂殖民政府治理臺灣的主幹，透過各項主兼辦業務來管理民眾。從《警友》的警察客語會話教材，隠約的透露了殖民管理者細緻的操作痕跡，經由各項業務推動樹立了警察「文明」與「權威」的形象，這些形象來源基礎是來自於「知識」的掌握，透過對人的掌握與法規的運用，由上往下地對臺人進行規訓與改造。As for Japanese citizens living in Taiwan, their understandings about the Hakka ethnicity were based on impressions derived from the Taiwan Chronicle and those from the West. This research looks into sources of two main categories: historical documentations, as well as Japanese’ impressions on the Hakka ethnicity coming from daily experiences in living with the Hakka people. Especially the Japanese police who had real-life interactions with the Hakka people so as to acquire much more complete records on their lives and culture. Over all, the Japanese hold positive impressions on the Hakka society, such had been selected and shaped by the Japanese colonialists in forming an upbeat image on the Hakka ethnicity.The HsinChu state local government published an official newspaper “The Friend of Police” to report local business and to study the professional field of the police. As an experimental vanguard newspaper, not only did it construct a knowledge system but it also helped to train colonial governors to be more professional and know better about their local areas, which gradually built into a policy. As the colonial governors got into the rule of Taiwan deeper and deeper, the ethnic group of Hakka living in the mountain region became the main subject of study. Whether the governors could build a Hakka knowledge system or not was concerned with the success in their governance, and the learning of Hakka language became the important framework of the Hakka knowledge system. “The Friend of Police” was in itself an official mouthpiece which was mainly written in the point of view of the governors. Thus we can get a glimpse of the Japanese governors’ viewpoints at that time and how the policies made an impact on the local people.Looking into the Hakka language teaching materials for the police, we can see the Japanese colonials’ subtle intervention in Taiwan people’s life, which not only represented their natural mind but also displayed their image of authority during the procedure of enforcing the law. Such entire image came from having the knowledge of their colonial subjects in hand. By the use of control, and with the help of manipulating the law, Taiwanese were thus disciplined and reformed by the Japanese.
