Revolt in Japan: The Young Officers and the February 26, 1936 Incident

by Ben-Ami Shillony

"Revere the Emperor, Destroy the Traitors"―armed with this slogan, on February 26, 1936. Rebellious Japanese troops led by members of the Young Officers' Movement seized the center of Tokyo and murdered several prominent officials. The Young Officers wanted a "Showa Restoration" whereby political and economic power would be restored to the Emperor and people. The privileged classes were to be abolished, wealth redistributed, and the state, rather than big business, was to control the economy. Although the rebellion was suppressed in four days, it dramatized ideological clashes and factional strife within the Imperial Army and the tensions between civil and military authorities.

The incident still stirs emotions in Japan and fascinates Japanese writers; Mishima Yukio, the famous novelist who committed suicide by seppuku in 1970, was a great admirer of the Young Officers. This exciting account by Ben-Ami Shillony includes the first full examination of the backgrounds and ideologies of the leaders, and discusses the crucial roles of such figures as the Emperor himself and his brother Prince Chichibu.

Originally published in 1973.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Genres: History, Japan, Government

278 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Revolt in Japan" seeks to answer a rather difficult question: was the February 26 incident a prelude to the Pacific War or something else entirely? For Shillony the revolt is catalyzing, but more importantly it is symbolic of the overarching political dysfunctions that would propel Japan into war and destruction. The onset of the 20th century as well as Japan's ascent into great power status brought significant political, cultural, and economic changes that Tokyo struggled to assimilate. We should not dwell on these issues -- which were by no means totally unique to Japan -- as much as the unique climate of paramilitary terror they stimulated.

The Meiji restoration, as others such as Danny Orbach have observed, planted a time bomb within the architecture of the Japanese state. The Emperor's will took predominance over any other form of authority, but the Emperor was also aloof from politics. Thus, anyone could claim to act in his name and emulate the samurai revolt that had destroyed the shogunate and ushered in the Meiji era. Attempts to naturalize imperial authority, such as one scholar's controversial declaration of the Emperor as an "organ" of the state, were bitterly resisted at best and violently opposed at worst. February 26 was the true culmination of a recurring series of terrorist incidents in the interwar era, and a part of the factional disputes between reactionary prewar elements in the Japanese military.

Shillony describes with great care and precision the ideological beliefs of the rebels, their relation to other factions, and the known unknowns and ambiguities in the revolt's development and execution. The rebels had an incoherent and idiosyncratic mixture of ideological beliefs that isolated them from both other reactionaries and Japan's leftist and anarchist undergrounds, pursuing their own way to the bitter end. The failure of the revolt -- and the following political mythologization of the rebels -- played into the hands of the militarists that would take Japan to war. The rebels, had they lived to see the consequences of their actions, would likely have been scandalized. However, it is unclear that Japan would have been much better off if their insurrection had somehow improbably succeeded.

Shillony closes the book on a note of absurdity. One of the few concrete grievances that motivated the uprising -- rural poverty -- was ultimately rectified by the American postwar occupation. As an anime character might say, "NANI???"

[Brett Fujioka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only comprehensive English language book devoted to a failed coup attempt that not only fascinated radicals and intellectuals in Japan on almost every ideological spectrum of (their) politics, but also changed the trajectory of Japanese history in the early 20th century for the worse. (Ex. the Populism of the radicals was culturally and materially aligned with Marxists and Leftists, but their ultra-nationalism and reactionary values fell under the Right-Wing spectrum of politics). The number of pop cultural artifacts that have consciously invoked the incident are endless. There's high likelihood that even non-Japanese language speakers have loose exposure to art that's loosely inspired by the attempted insurrection.

[Jiaxu Yao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential read for understanding the relationships across various politico-military factions in pre-war Japan; would be better if there is a clearer way to keep note of the numerous personalities which appear frequently herein.