Tatenokai

Tatenokai
楯の會
Other nameShield Society
Leader
Yukio Mishima
Dates active1968–1970
CountryJapan
AllegianceEmperor of Japan
IdeologyJapanese nationalism
Ultranationalism
Traditionalism
Anti-communism
Monarchism
Political positionFar-right
Minzoku-ha (Japanese new right)
StatusDissolved
Size100

The Tatenokai (楯の会, 楯の會) or Shield Society was a private militia in Japan dedicated to traditional Japanese values and veneration of the Emperor. It was founded and led by author Yukio Mishima. The private militia was officially founded in 1968 for the purpose of preventing indirect aggression by proponents of foreign ideology seeking to destroy Japanese traditional culture, and protecting the dignity of the Emperor as a symbol of Japan's national identity.

The name of Tatenokai comes from two classical waka, one from the 7th century Asuka period and the other from the 19th century Edo period, which express the determination to become a shield to protect the Emperor.

Background

The Tatenokai was a militia organization that took over from its predecessor, the "Japan National Guard" (祖国防衛隊, Sokoku Bōeitai), which was founded in 1967. The original members were the staff of New Right monthly magazine Controversy Journal (論争ジャーナル, Ronsō jaanaru) and several Waseda University students. They had enlisted in the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) with Yukio Mishima in 1967, and after changing its name to Tatenokai, the group gradually increased its membership by allowing new students to enlist in the JSDF.

The Tatenokai was officially founded on October 5, 1968. Mishima decided to increase the size of the private army due to his growing alarm over the scale of left-wing protests in Japan and to this end placed recruitment advertisements in right-wing newspapers. Membership ultimately rose to 100 members, most of whom were students at Waseda University. Along with outdoor activities, the members, who joined voluntarily, were subjected to rigorous physical training that included kendo and long-distance running.

Origin of the Name

The name "Tatenokai" (楯の会) was inspired by two traditional Japanese waka poems: A poem from the "Poems of Defenders" (防人の歌, Sakimori no uta) series included in the Man'yōshū, and a poem by 19th century poet Tachibana Akemi.

今日よりは　顧みなくて　大君の　醜の御楯と　出で立つ我は

(Kyō yori wa　Kaeri minakute　Ōkimi no　Shiko no mi-tate to　Idetatsu ware wa)

From today onwards / without any regard for myself, / I set out to become, / (although my shield may be insignificant) / a strong shield for the Great Lord Emperor. — Imamatsuribe no Yosō (今奉部與曾布), "Poem of a Defender" (防人の歌, Sakimori no uta)
大皇の　醜の御楯と　いふ物は　如此る物ぞと　進め真前に

(Ōkimi no　Shiko no mi-tate to　Iu mono wa　Kakaru mono zo to　Susume masaki ni)

For the Great Lord Emperor / (although my shield may be insignificant) / thinking this is what a strong shield should be / I bravely forge ahead. — 橘曙覧 (Tachibana Akemi)

Initially, they planned to write the name "Mitatekai" (御楯会) in all kanji, like the "Mitategumi" (御楯組), a sonnō jōi organization active in Chōshū Domain during the Bakumatsu (end of the Edo period), however, some members felt that using only kanji was too stiff, so they decided to add the hiragana "no" (の) to make it "Tatenokai" (楯の会) to add a softer nuance.

1970 coup attempt

On November 25, 1970 Mishima and four Tatenokai members briefly seized control of the Japan Self-Defense Force's headquarters and attempted to rally the soldiers to stage a coup d'état, and unsuccessfully tried to inspire the JSDF to rise up and overthrow Article 9 of the 1947 Constitution to restore autonomous national defense and the divinity of the emperor, after which Mishima and Masakatsu Morita, the Tatenokai's student leader, committed seppuku (ritual suicide). The rest of the members, around 90 people, were not informed about Mishima's plan at all.

Participants

Inspired Events

On 3 March 1977, four Japanese nationalists took 12 hostages at the Keidanren Kaikan (headquarters of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations), spreading leaflets at the scene that denounced big business. The hostages were released, unharmed, after an eleven-hour standoff during which the hostage-takers spoke for more than three hours to Mishima's widow, Yōko. Two of the hostage-takers – Yoshio Itō (伊藤好雄) and Shunichi Nishio (西尾俊一) – were former members of the Tatenokai. This incident is called the "Japan Business Federation attack incident" (経団連襲撃事件, Keidanren shugeki jiken) in Japan.

Notable members other than those involved in the Mishima Incident

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Sakimori" (防人) were soldiers stationed in Kyushu during the ancient Asuka and Heian periods to guard against incursions by the Tang dynasty and Silla. The defenders numbered about 3,000, and most of them were from the eastern part of Japan (東国, Azuma no kuni; present-day Kantō region).
  2. ↑ The meaning of "ugly" (醜, shiko) here expresses a feeling of self-deprecation and humility.

References

  1. ↑ Bornoff, Nicholas, ed. (1991). Pink Samurai: The Pursuit and Politics of Sex in Japan. p. 432.
  2. ↑ A.J. Jongman. Political Terrorism: A New Guide to Actors, Authors, Concepts, Data Bases, Theories, and Literature. Taylor & Francis. p. 597. Shield Society (Tatenokai): Extreme right-wing organization established in 1967 which had been disbanded after the suicide of its leader, the well-known writer Yukio Mishima.
  3. ↑ Huw Lemmey; Ben Miller (30 May 2023). Bad Gays: A Homosexual History. Verso Books. p. 234-235. When this campaign was unsuccessful, he instead began to recruit right-wing students to form a new far-right militia. He called this group the Tatenokai, or the 'Shield Society'.
  4. ↑ Mishima, Yukio (21 January 1970). 「変革の思想」とは―道理の実現 [What is "Thought of Revolution": Realization of the Reason]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). collected in Complete36 2003, pp. 30–38 (of that in pp.33–35)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 O-Encyclo 1976, pp. 246–247
  6. ↑ Ando 1998, pp. 259–261
  7. ↑ Mishima, Yukio (November 1968). 「楯の会」のこと [About the "Tatenokai"]. Pamphlet Celebrating the First Anniversary of the Founding of the "Tatenokai" (in Japanese). collected in Complete35 2003, pp. 720–727 (of that in pp.724–725), Suzuki 2005, pp. 72–80 (of that in pp.77–78)
  8. ↑ Encyclo 2000, pp. 210–211, 519–520, 523–524
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jurō 2005, pp. 164–165
  10. 1 2 Suzuki 2005, p. 38
  11. 1 2 Suzuki 2005, pp. 15–22
  12. 1 2 Jannarone, Kimberly (2015). Vanguard Performance Beyond Left and Right. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780472119677.
  13. 1 2 Manyo-kado 2001, pp. 224–225
  14. ↑ Manyo5-iwa 2015, pp. 232–233
  15. 1 2 Hosaka 2001, p. 149
  16. 1 2 Ando 1998, pp. 267–268
  17. ↑ Chōkitsu Kurumatani (車谷長吉) Yukio Mishima's suicide (Shincho30 2000, pp. 220–223)
  18. 1 2 Encyclo 2000, pp. 604–606
  19. ↑ Suzuki 2005, pp. 108–109
  20. 1 2 3 Nakamura 2015, pp. 26–32
  21. 1 2 Inuzuka 2020, pp. 3–20
  22. ↑ Nakamura 2015, pp. 32–36
  23. 1 2 3 Azusa 1996, p. 233
  24. 1 2 Nathan-j 2000, p. 319, Nathan-e 1975, p. 262, Nathan-e 2000, p. 262
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Date 1972, pp. 64–67
  26. 1 2 3 Jurō 2005, p. 17
  27. 1 2 3 Nishi 2020, pp. 166–169
  28. 1 2 Nishi 2020, pp. 169–176
  29. ↑ Date 1972, pp. 130–133, 247–252
  30. 1 2 Nishi 2020, pp. 158–166
  31. ↑ White, Edwin Q. (4 March 1977). "Japanese gunmen hold 12 hostages for 11 hours". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  32. 1 2 Complete42 2005, pp. 344–345
  33. 1 2 Murata 2015, pp. 290–298
  34. ↑ Hosaka 2001, pp. 223–226
  35. ↑ Shinohara 2017, p. 271
  36. ↑ Yamadaira 2004, pp. 123–127
  37. ↑ Murata 2015, pp. 194–198
  38. ↑ Hosaka 2001, pp. 31–34
  39. ↑ Hosaka 2001, p. 43

Sources