Misplaced Pages

#394605

81-608: The site of the building was historically occupied by the Sanno Hotel, which was one of the leading luxury hotels in Tokyo at the time of its opening in 1932. The hotel served as the headquarters for dissident military units during the February 26 Incident in 1936, and as a United States Armed Forces family housing, billeting and lodging facility from 1946 to 1983. In October 1983, the site was returned to its original owner, Anzen Motor Car Co., and

162-526: A document in which they made numerous demands of the army, including: As Minister of War (1924–27, 1929–31), Ugaki had overseen a reduction in size and modernization of the army. He had also failed to back the March Incident plotters (who had hoped to make him prime minister). Minami, Muto, Nemoto and Katakura were all prominent members of the Tōsei-ha faction. Katakura was also partly responsible for reporting

243-421: A group of young Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) officers with the goal of purging the government and military leadership of their factional rivals and ideological opponents. Although the rebels succeeded in assassinating several leading officials (including two former prime ministers ) and in occupying the government center of Tokyo , they failed to assassinate Prime Minister Keisuke Okada or secure control of

324-399: A lengthy gunfight. A policeman notified Makino and his party of the attack and led them to a rear entrance. The assassins fired upon the group as they left, but did not realize that Makino had managed to escape. Kōno was wounded in the chest during the gunfire and one policeman, Yoshitaka Minagawa, was killed. As Kōno was carried from the fighting, the assassins set fire to the building. Hearing

405-588: A long history of factionalism among its high-ranking officers, originally stemming from domainal rivalries in the Meiji period . By the early 1930s, officers in the high command had become split into two main informal groups: the Kōdō-ha "Imperial Way" faction led by General Sadao Araki and his ally General Jinzaburō Mazaki , and the Tōseiha "Control" faction identified with General Tetsuzan Nagata . The Kōdō-ha emphasized

486-553: A member of the Kokutai Genri-ha and a friend of Mazaki, murdered Nagata in his office in retaliation. Aizawa's public trial, which began in late January 1936, became a media sensation , as Aizawa and the Kokutai Genri-ha leadership, in collusion with the judges, turned it into a soapbox from which their ideology could be broadcast. Aizawa's supporters in the mass media praised his "morality and patriotism", and Aizawa himself came to be seen as "a simple soldier who sought only to reform

567-586: A prominent member of the civilian nationalist societies that proliferated in Japan from the late 1920s. He referred to the army group as the Kokutai Genri-ha ( 国体原理派 , "National Principle") faction. Involved at least to some extent in most of the political violence of the period, following the March and October incidents of 1931, the army and navy members of the group split and largely ended their association with civilian nationalists. Despite its relatively small size,

648-510: A single shot, Kōno believed Makino had shot himself inside the burning building. The men took Kōno to a nearby military hospital where all were arrested by military police . At approximately 10:00, Kurihara and Nakahashi boarded three trucks with sixty men and traveled from the Prime Minister's Residence to the offices of the Asahi Shimbun , a prominent liberal newspaper. Charging into

729-517: A small group to attack the nearby residence of Fumio Gotō, the Home Minister . Gotō was not home, however, and escaped the attack. This attack appears to have been the result of an independent decision by Suzuki rather than part of the officers' overall plan, however. The Imperial Palace learned of the uprising when Captain Ichitarō Yamaguchi, a supporter of rebel officers and duty officer for

810-530: A strong military could be built to defend Japan against outside powers. Almost all leaders in the military were ex - samurai or descendants of samurai , and shared a common set of values and outlooks. A major factor in the political power of the military was its complete freedom from civilian control , as guaranteed under the Meiji Constitution . In 1878, the Imperial Japanese Army established

891-618: A strong skepticism for political party politics and representative democracy . However, rather than the confrontational approach of the Imperial Way Faction, which wanted to bring about a revolution (the Showa Restoration ), the Control Faction foresaw that a future war would be a total war , and would require the cooperation of the bureaucracy and the zaibatsu to maximize Japan's industrial and military capacity. Although

SECTION 10

#1732848820395

972-622: A table nearby. The soldiers then boarded their trucks and left, taking their two wounded to a hospital, then assuming a position in northern Nagatachō. Captain Shirō Nonaka took nearly a third of all the rebels' troops, 500 men from the 3rd Infantry Regiment, to attack the headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, located directly south of the Imperial Palace, with the goal of securing its communication equipment and preventing

1053-459: Is a Japanese term having two separate meanings. Its first meaning is a reference to the Japanese military leadership which exploited its privileged status to vie against the civilian government for control over the nation's policies (particularly during the early Shōwa era ). It also refers to competing political factions or cliques within the Japanese military itself. The term came into common use in

1134-583: The hokushin-ron strategy of a preemptive strike against the Soviet Union and the opposing Control Faction , which sought to impose greater discipline over the Army and war with China as a strategic imperative. Fundamental to both factions, was the common belief that national defense must be strengthened through a reform of national politics. Both factions adopted some ideas from totalitarian , fascist and state socialist political philosophies, and espoused

1215-520: The Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan was located on the 4th to 6th floors until March 2016. The "Skylobby" at the 27th floor has restaurants and a closed observation deck . February 26 Incident The February 26 incident ( 二・二六事件 , Ni Ni-Roku Jiken , also known as the 2–26 incident ) was an attempted coup d'état in the Empire of Japan on 26 February 1936. It was organized by

1296-706: The Imperial Japanese Army General Staff office, modeled after the Prussian General Staff . This office was independent of, and equal to (and later superior) to the Ministry of War of Japan in terms of authority. The Imperial Japanese Navy soon followed with the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff . These General Staff offices were responsible for the planning and execution of military operations, and reported directly to

1377-459: The Imperial Palace . Their supporters in the army made attempts to capitalize on their actions, but divisions within the military, combined with Imperial anger at the coup, meant they were unable to achieve a change of government. Facing overwhelming opposition as the army moved against them, the rebels surrendered on 29 February. Unlike earlier examples of political violence by young officers,

1458-606: The Meiji Restoration of 70 years earlier. By rising up and destroying the "evil advisers around the Throne ", the officers would enable the Emperor to re-establish his authority. The Emperor would then purge those who exploited the people, restoring prosperity to the nation. These beliefs were strongly influenced by contemporary nationalist thought, especially the political philosophy of the former socialist Ikki Kita . Almost all of

1539-561: The Prime Minister of Japan 's official residence (Sōri Kantei), across the street to the northeast, and the Diet Building . As a consequence, windows of the tower in the direction of the Prime Minister's residence are all locked, and the residence is designed with a barrier wall and no windows facing the tower. To achieve the building's height while obeying floor area ratio limitations under local zoning laws, air rights were bought from

1620-429: The Prime Minister's Residence and forced its guards to open the gates. Upon entering the compound and attempting to find the prime minister, however, they were fired upon by four policemen. All four were killed after wounding six of the rebel soldiers, but the gunfire succeeded in warning Okada of the danger. He was taken into hiding by his brother-in-law, Colonel Denzō Matsuo. Matsuo, who was said to have resembled Okada,

1701-540: The Taishō period (1912-1926). From the formation of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy following the Meiji Restoration , the military had a very strong influence over the civilian government. The early Meiji government viewed Japan as threatened by western imperialism , and one of the prime motivations for the Fukoku Kyohei policy was to strengthen Japan's economic and industrial foundations, so that

SECTION 20

#1732848820395

1782-631: The Washington Naval Treaty of 1923, which split the Navy down in the middle in terms of the pro-Treaty Treaty Faction and anti-Treaty Fleet Faction . Just as the Army overcame issues with residual feudalism, problems began to arise between rival cliques of officers who claimed to represent the “true will” of the Emperor. In basic terms, these cliques fell under the Imperial Way Faction with many young activists who were strongly supportive of

1863-423: The kokutai , stabilize national life, and fulfill national defense." The Emperor refused and demanded that Kawashima suppress the uprising. When the remaining members of Okada's government, unaware that he was alive, attempted to resign that afternoon, Hirohito told them he would not allow it until the uprising had been suppressed. Gunbatsu Gunbatsu ( 軍閥 , lit.   ' military clique ' )

1944-524: The 1st Infantry Regiment, informed his father-in-law, General Shigeru Honjō , the Emperor's chief aide-de-camp and member of the Kōdō-ha, at about 05:00. Honjō then contacted his subordinates and the chief of the military police and headed to the palace. The Emperor himself learned of the incident at 05:40 and met with Honjō shortly after 06:00. He told Honjō to end the incident, although he was not specific as to how. With Saitō dead and Suzuki gravely wounded,

2025-460: The 25th. The uprising was planned in a series of meetings held between 18 and 22 February by Nishida, Yasuhide Kurihara, Teruzō Andō, Hisashi Kōno, Takaji Muranaka and Asaichi Isobe. The plan decided upon was relatively simple. The officers would assassinate the most prominent enemies of the kokutai , secure control of the administrative center of the capital and the Imperial Palace , then submit their demands (the dismissal of certain officers and

2106-640: The 3rd Imperial Guard (see below). Captain Kiyosada Kōda, accompanied by Muranaka, Isobe, and others, led 160 men to seize control of the Minister of War's residence, the Ministry of War itself and the General Staff Office . Once this had been accomplished, they entered the residence and asked to see Minister Kawashima. When they were admitted to see him at 06:30, they read their manifesto aloud and handed him

2187-443: The 3rd Infantry Regiment (the largest source of troops) was essential to the plot, so Muranaka and Nonaka spoke with him repeatedly, ultimately wearing down his resistance. February 26 was chosen because the officers had been able to arrange to have themselves and their allies serve as duty officers on that date, facilitating their access to arms and ammunition. The date also allowed Mazaki to testify at Aizawa's trial as scheduled on

2268-530: The Emperor and left for the Imperial Palace. Captain Hisashi Kōno commanded a team consisting of seven members, including six civilians, to attack Makino, who was staying at Kōfūsō, part of the ryokan Itōya in Yugawara , Kanagawa Prefecture , with his family. Arriving at 05:45, they stationed two men outside, then entered the inn with weapons drawn, at which point policemen stationed inside opened fire, beginning

2349-596: The Emperor's chief remaining advisors were Kōichi Kido , Chief Secretary to the Lord Keeper ; Kurahei Yuasa, Minister of the Imperial Household ; and Vice-Grand Chamberlain Tadataka Hirohata. These officials met after learning of the attacks from Suzuki's secretary. They took a hard line, advising the Emperor that he should demand that efforts be concentrated on suppressing the uprising and that he must not accept

2430-503: The Emperor, Destroy the Shogunate ". Allies were also to display a three-sen postage stamp when approaching the army's lines. The night of 25 February brought heavy snowfall to Tokyo. This heartened the rebel officers because it reminded them of the 1860 Sakuradamon Incident in which shishi (political activists with ambitions) assassinated Ii Naosuke , the chief adviser to the Shōgun, in

2511-546: The Kokutai Genri-ha faction was influential, due in no small part to the threat it posed. It had sympathizers among the general staff and the Imperial Family , most notably Prince Chichibu , the Emperor's brother (and, until 1933, his heir), who was friends with Nishida and other Kokutai Genri-ha leaders. Despite being fiercely anti-capitalist , the faction had also managed to secure irregular funding from zaibatsu leaders who hoped to shield themselves. The exact nature of

Sanno Park Tower - Misplaced Pages Continue

2592-410: The Kokutai Genri-ha, were arrested for planning a coup with a group of military cadets. Muranaka and Isobe admitted discussing such a coup, but denied having any plans to actually carry it out. The military court investigating the incident found there was insufficient evidence to indict , but Muranaka and Isobe were suspended by the army. The two were convinced that the incident was a Tōsei-ha attack on

2673-631: The Military Academy Incident. When Isobe encountered him outside the Ministry of War later that morning, he shot him (non-fatally) in the head. During this period, a number of officers sympathetic to the rebels were admitted, including General Mazaki, General Tomoyuki Yamashita , General Ryū Saitō and the Vice-Minister of War, Motoo Furushō . Saitō praised the young officers' spirit and urged Kawashima to accept their demands. Shortly before 09:00, Kawashima stated that he needed to speak with

2754-407: The Prime Minister's Residence. 1st Lieutenant Motoaki Nakahashi of the 3rd Imperial Guard assembled 135 men and, telling his commanders that they were going to pay their respects at Yasukuni Shrine (or Meiji Jingū ; sources differ), marched to Takahashi's personal residence. There he split his men in half and took one group to attack the residence while having the other stand guard outside. After

2835-657: The Righteous Army was 1,558 men. An official count of 1,483 was given at the time; this number excludes the 75 men who participated in Nakahashi's attempt to secure the Imperial Palace (see below). The coup leaders adopted the name "Righteous Army" ( 義軍 , gigun ) for this force and the password "Revere the Emperor, Destroy the Traitors" ( 尊皇討奸 , Sonnō Tōkan ) , adopted from the Meiji Restoration-era slogan, "Revere

2916-677: The appointment of a new cabinet led by Mazaki). They had no longer-term goals, believing that those should be left to the Emperor. It is believed that they were prepared to replace Hirohito with Prince Chichibu if necessary, however. The young officers believed they had at least tacit approval for their uprising from a number of important IJA officers after making a number of informal approaches. These included Araki, Minister of War Yoshiyuki Kawashima , Jinzaburō Mazaki , Tomoyuki Yamashita , Kanji Ishiwara , Shigeru Honjō and their own immediate commanders, Kōhei Kashii and Takeo Hori. Kawashima's successor as Minister of War later remarked that if all

2997-519: The army and the nation according to the true National Principle." The Kokutai Genri-ha had long supported a violent uprising against the government. The decision to finally act in February 1936 was caused by two factors. The first was the decision announced in December 1935 to transfer the 1st Division, to which most of the Kokutai Genri-ha's officers belonged, to Manchuria in the spring. This meant that if

3078-588: The attack on Saitō, twenty men led by 2nd Lieutenant Tarō Takahashi and 2nd Lieutenant Yutaka Yasuda boarded two trucks and headed to Watanabe's residence in Ogikubo , on the outskirts of Tokyo, arriving shortly after 07:00. Despite the two hours that had passed since the other attacks, no attempt had been made to warn Watanabe. As the men attempted to enter the front of the residence, they were fired upon by military police stationed inside. Yasuda and another soldier were wounded. The soldiers then forced their way in through

3159-480: The attack was only canceled after the officers assigned to carry it out (teachers at a military school in Toyohashi , Aichi Prefecture ) could not agree over the use of cadets in the operation. From 22 February on, the seven leaders managed to convince eighteen other officers to join the uprising with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) were informed on the night of 25 February, hours before

3240-541: The attack) of the need to utilize troops in any potential coup attempt. The ringleaders of the incident, as in the previous March and October incidents, received relatively light punishments. The direct prelude to the February 26 Incident, however, was the 1934 Military Academy Incident (November Incident) and its consequences. In this incident, Captain Takaji Muranaka and Captain Asaichi Isobe, prominent members of

3321-474: The attacks started. Although the officers insisted that all NCOs participated voluntarily and any orders given were merely pro forma , many of the NCOs argued later that they had been in no real position to refuse to participate. The soldiers themselves, 70% of whom were less than a month out of basic training , were not told anything before the coup began, though many were (according to the officers) enthusiastic once

Sanno Park Tower - Misplaced Pages Continue

3402-515: The attacks, so he found Nakahashi's arrival unsurprising. Nakahashi was assigned to help secure the Sakashita Gate, the main entrance to the grounds directly in front of the Kyūden (the Emperor's residence). Nakahashi's plan had been to secure the Sakashita Gate, then use flashlights to signal the nearby rebel troops at police headquarters to join him. Having gained control over access to the Emperor,

3483-446: The building, the officers forced the newspaper employees to evacuate while yelling that the attack was "divine retribution for being an un-Japanese newspaper". They then overturned and scattered the newspaper's type trays (containing 4,000 different characters) on the floor, temporarily preventing the newspaper from publishing. Following the attack the men distributed copies of the uprising's manifesto to nearby newspapers and returned to

3564-473: The coup attempt had severe consequences. After a series of closed trials, nineteen of the uprising's leaders were executed for mutiny and another forty were imprisoned. The radical Kōdōha faction lost its influence within the army, while the military, now free from infighting, increased its control over the civilian government, which had been severely weakened by the assassination of key moderate and liberal-minded leaders. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) had

3645-520: The disloyal and unrighteous who threaten the kokutai, if we do not cut away the villains who obstruct the Emperor's authority, who block the Restoration , the Imperial plan for our nation will come to nothing [...] To cut away the evil ministers and military factions near the Emperor and destroy their heart: that is our duty and we will complete it. Seven targets were chosen for assassination for "threatening

3726-416: The dispatch of the police's Emergency Service Unit ( 特別警備隊 , Tokubetsu Keibi-tai ) . They met no resistance and soon secured the building, possibly due to a police decision to leave the situation in the hands of the army. Nonaka's group was as large as it was because they were intended to move on to the palace itself. After the occupation of the police headquarters, 2nd Lieutenant Kinjirō Suzuki led

3807-414: The elite of the officer corps, while officers of the former group were effectively barred by tradition from advancement to higher-level staff positions. A number of these lesser-privileged officers formed the army's contribution to the young, highly politicized group often referred to as the "young officers" ( 青年将校 , seinen shōkō ) . The young officers believed that the problems facing the nation were

3888-570: The emperor. As the Chiefs of the General Staff were not cabinet ministers, they did not report to the Prime Minister of Japan , and were thus completely independent of civilian oversight or control. The Army and the Navy also had decisive say on the formation of (and survival of) any civilian cabinet. Since the law required that the posts of Army Minister and Navy Minister be filled by active-duty officers nominated by their respective services, and since

3969-505: The government's official tally of rebel forces. 1st Lieutenant Naoshi Sakai led 120 men from the 3rd Infantry Regiment to Saitō's private residence in Yotsuya . A group of the soldiers surrounded the policemen on guard, who surrendered. Five men, including Sakai, entered the residence and found Saitō and his wife Haruko on the second floor in their bedroom. They shot Saitō, who fell to the ground dead. His wife covered him with her body and told

4050-637: The hotel was closed, being replaced by the New Sanno Hotel in the Minami-Azabu area of Tokyo. The site was then vacant until 1996 as various re-development plans led by Mitsubishi Estate failed to materialize; at one time the building was designed to have over fifty floors. Construction on the site began in 1996 and was completed in January 2000. Just at the foot of the Hie Shrine , the skyscraper overlooks both

4131-473: The importance of Japanese culture, spiritual purity over material quality, and the need to attack the Soviet Union ( Hokushin-ron ), while the Tōsei-ha officers, who were strongly influenced by the ideas of the contemporary German general staff, supported central economic and military planning ( total war theory), technological modernization, mechanization and expansion within China ( Nanshin-ron ). The Kōdō-ha

SECTION 50

#1732848820395

4212-420: The kokutai": The first four mentioned in the above list survived the attempted coup. Saionji, Saitō, Suzuki and Makino were targeted because they were the most influential Imperial advisers. Okada and Takahashi were moderate political leaders who had worked to restrain the military. Finally, Watanabe was targeted as a member of the Tōsei-ha and because he had been involved with Mazaki's removal. Saionji's name

4293-424: The law also required that the prime minister resign if he could not fill all of his cabinet posts, both the Army and the Navy had final say on the formation of a government, and could bring down the cabinet at any time by withdrawing their minister and refusing to nominate a successor. Although this tactic was actually used only once (ironically to prevent General Kazushige Ugaki from becoming prime minister in 1937),

4374-439: The men smashed their way into the compound, confused servants led Nakahashi and Lieutenant Kanji Nakajima to Takahashi's bedroom. There, Nakahashi shot the sleeping Takahashi with his pistol while Nakajima slashed him with his sword. Takahashi died without waking. Once Takahashi was dead, Nakahashi sent the group that had participated in the attack to join the troops already at the Prime Minister's Residence. He then accompanied

4455-503: The name of the Emperor. The rebel troops, divided into six groups, assembled their troops and left their barracks between 03:30 and 04:00. The attacks on Okada, Takahashi, Suzuki, Saito, the Ministry of War and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police headquarters occurred simultaneously at 05:00. The attack on Okada consisted of 280 men from the 1st Infantry Regiment led by 1st Lieutenant Yasuhide Kurihara. The troops surrounded

4536-473: The nation. He then ordered his men to salute Suzuki and they left to guard the Miyakezaka junction north of the Ministry of War. Suzuki, although seriously wounded, would survive. Andō had visited Suzuki at his home in 1934 to suggest that Araki be appointed prime minister following Saitō's resignation. Suzuki had rejected the suggestion, but Andō had come away with a favorable impression of Suzuki. Following

4617-595: The neighboring Hie Shrine. Pagani , an Italian sports car manufacturer, authorized Japanese dealer is located in the Sanno Park Tower Annex. The headquarters of the largest mobile carrier in Japan, NTT docomo , are located on the 7th to 9th and 27th to 44th floors. The lower floors house Tokyo offices of several multinational corporations , such as Lazard , Deutsche Bank , DuPont , Cushman & Wakefield , Philip Morris , Standard Chartered , Munich Re , Estée Lauder and Canonical . The headquarters of

4698-450: The officers did not strike before then, any possible action would be delayed by years. The second was Aizawa's trial. The impact of his actions had impressed the officers, and they believed that by acting while his trial was still in progress, they could take advantage of the favorable public opinion it was engendering. The decision to act was initially opposed by Nishida and Kita when they learned of it. The pair's relationship with most of

4779-422: The officers had become relatively distant in the years leading up to the uprising, and they were against direct action . However, once it was clear that the officers were determined to act anyway, they moved to support them. Another barrier to be overcome was opposition to the involvement of troops from Teruzō Andō, who had sworn an oath to his commander not to involve his men in any direct action. Andō's position in

4860-488: The officers who had supported the rebels had been forced to resign, there wouldn't have been enough high-ranking officers left to replace them. The young officers prepared an explanation of their intentions and grievances in a document entitled "Manifesto of the Uprising" ( 蹶起趣意書 , Kekki Shuisho ) , which they wanted to be handed to the Emperor. The document was prepared by Muranaka, but written in Shirō Nonaka's name as he

4941-401: The police on guard, then a group entered the building. After Suzuki was discovered in his bedroom, he was shot twice (sources differ as to who fired the shots). Andō then moved to deliver a coup de grace with his sword, when Suzuki's wife pleaded to be allowed to do it herself. Believing Suzuki to be mortally wounded, Andō agreed. He apologized to her, explaining that it was done for the sake of

SECTION 60

#1732848820395

5022-488: The radical officers. The years leading up to the February 26 Incident were marked by a series of violent outbursts by the young officers and their fellow nationalists against political opponents. Most notable was the May 15 Incident of 1932, in which young naval officers assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi . This incident is significant because it convinced the young army officers (who were aware of, but not involved in,

5103-440: The rear entrance, where they encountered Watanabe's wife standing outside their bedroom on the second floor. Shoving her aside, they found Watanabe using a futon for cover. Watanabe opened fire with his pistol, whereupon one of the soldiers fired a burst at him with a light machine gun . Takahashi then rushed forward and stabbed Watanabe with his sword. Watanabe's nine-year-old daughter, Kazuko, witnessed his death as she hid behind

5184-525: The rebels would then be able to prevent anyone but Honjō and others they approved of from seeing him. Nakahashi had difficulty contacting his allies, however, and by 08:00 Honma had learned of his involvement in the uprising. Nakahashi was ordered at gunpoint to leave the palace grounds. He did so, joining Kurihara at the Prime Minister's Residence. His soldiers remained at the gate until they were relieved at 13:00, at which point they returned to their barracks. For this reason, these 75 soldiers were not included in

5265-490: The relationship between the Kōdō-ha and the Kokutai Genri-ha was complicated, with historians treating the two factions either as the same entity or as two groups forming a larger whole. However, contemporary accounts and the writings of members of the two groups make clear they were actually distinct groups in a mutually beneficial alliance. The Kōdō-ha shielded the Kokutai Genri-ha and provided it with access, while they in exchange benefited from their perceived ability to restrain

5346-429: The remaining group of men onward to the Imperial Palace. Nakahashi and his 75 men entered the palace grounds using the western Hanzō Gate at 06:00. Nakahashi's unit was the scheduled emergency relief company ( 赴援隊 , fuentai ) , and he told the commander of the palace guard, Major Kentarō Honma, that he had been dispatched to reinforce the gates because of the attacks earlier that morning. Honma had been informed of

5427-407: The resignation of the current government, as doing so would "effectively be granting victory to the rebel army". It was after hearing this advice that Hirohito hardened his position. Kawashima met with the Emperor at 09:30 after his meeting with the rebel officers at the Ministry of War. He read the officers' manifesto and demands aloud and then recommended the Emperor form a new cabinet to "clarify

5508-477: The result of Japan straying from the kokutai ( 国体 ) (an amorphous term often translated as "national polity", it roughly signifies the relationship between the Emperor and the state). To them, the "privileged classes" exploited the people, leading to widespread poverty in rural areas, and deceived the Emperor, usurping his power and weakening Japan. The solution, they believed, was a " Shōwa Restoration " modeled on

5589-440: The rivalry and lack of cooperation between the two main branches of the Japanese military. With the senior officer class dominated by men who were not hesitant to use nepotism and favoritism, promising young officers from other parts of Japan were denied promotion and their skills and ideas were not heeded. This created tremendous resentment, leading to the formation of a secret society, The Double Leaf Society , whose avowed goal

5670-564: The soldiers, "Please kill me instead!" They pulled her off and continued to fire at Saitō. Haruko was wounded by a stray bullet. Following Saitō's death, two officers led a group of men to attack General Watanabe. The rest left to assume a position northeast of the Ministry of War. Captain Teruzō Andō led 200 men of the 3rd Infantry Regiment to Suzuki's private residence just across from the Imperial Palace in Kōjimachi . They surrounded and disarmed

5751-491: The threat always loomed large when the military made any demands on the civilian leadership. Between 1885 and 1945, generals and admirals held 15 of the 30 premierships, and 115 of the 404 civilian cabinet posts. The military also had a broad political power base via the Imperial Military Reservist's Association and other political organizations, including nationalist political parties and secret societies. From

5832-536: The time of its formation following the Meiji Restoration , the Japanese military was riven by numerous internal divisions. One of the most serious issues facing the Japanese military was interservice rivalry created by residual feudal sentiments. The Army officer class was dominated by men from the former Chōshū domain , and the Navy was likewise dominated by men from the former Satsuma domain . This created two major issues: Chōshū and Satsuma were historically enemies, and their traditional enmity came to be reflected on

5913-401: The uprising began. The bulk of the Righteous Army was made up of men from the 1st Division 's 1st Infantry Regiment (11th and MG companies; 456 men) and 3rd Infantry Regiment (1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th, and MG companies; 937 men). The only other significant contribution was 138 men from the 3rd Imperial Guard Regiment . Including officers, civilians and men from other units, the total size of

5994-454: The young officers and began circulating a pamphlet calling for a "housecleaning" of the IJA and naming Tetsuzan Nagata as the "chief villain". They were then expelled from the IJA. It was at this time that the last Kōdō-ha officer in a prominent position, General Jinzaburō Mazaki, was forced out of office. The insidious and cantankerous Mazaki was generally disliked by his colleagues and his removal

6075-483: The young officers' subordinates were from poor peasant family or working class , and believed that the young officers truly understood their predicaments and spirits. The loose-knit young officers group varied in size, but is estimated to have had roughly 100 regular members, mostly officers in the Tokyo area. Its informal leader was Mitsugi (Zei) Nishida. A former IJA lieutenant and disciple of Kita, Nishida had become

6156-527: Was dominant in the IJA during Araki's tenure as Minister of War from 1931 to 1934, occupying most significant staff positions, but many of its members were replaced by Tōsei-ha officers following Araki's resignation. IJA officers were divided between those whose education had ended at the Army Academy (an undergraduate academy) and those who had advanced on to the prestigious Army War College (a graduate school for midlevel officers). The latter group formed

6237-478: Was not purely political but the young officers were enraged because, having become disillusioned with Araki for his failures to overcome resistance in the cabinet during his time as War Minister, Mazaki had become the focus of their hopes. Muranaka and Isobe released a new pamphlet attacking Nagata for the dismissal, as did Nishida. On 12 August 1935, in the Aizawa Incident , Lieutenant-Colonel Saburō Aizawa,

6318-449: Was the highest-ranking officer involved in the plot. The document was entirely in line with Kokutai Genri-ha ideals, blaming the genrō , political leaders, military factions, zaibatsu , bureaucrats and political parties for endangering the kokutai through their selfishness and disrespect for the Emperor and asserting the need for direct action: Now, as we are faced with great emergencies both foreign and domestic, if we do not execute

6399-405: Was then discovered and killed by the troops. The soldiers compared Matsuo's wounded face to a picture of the prime minister and concluded that they had succeeded in their mission. Okada escaped the next day, but this fact was kept a secret and he played no further role in the incident. After Matsuo's death, Kurihara's men assumed guard positions around the compound. They were joined by sixty men from

6480-520: Was to break the Chōshū stranglehold on the Army. It was not until the Taishō period that graduates from the Army Staff College and Imperial Japanese Army Academy began to undermine the Chōshū hold over the Army leadership. The Imperial Japanese Navy was slightly more open than the Army in terms of promotion of qualified senior staff. However, the major political issue within the Navy centered around

6561-416: Was ultimately removed from the list, though the reasons why are disputed. Some of the officers' allies argued that he should be left alive to be used to help convince the Emperor to appoint Mazaki as prime minister, and this is commonly given as the reason. However, Isobe testified later that he had rejected these suggestions and continued to make arrangements for the attack on Saionji. According to his account,

#394605