Gen'yōsha
The Dark/Black Ocean Society (
Foundation as the Koyōsha
Founded as the Koyōsha by Hiraoka Kotarō (1851–1906), a wealthy ex-
Foundation as the Gen'yōsha
In 1881, the Koyōsha changed its direction again. The February 1881 founding charter of the Gen'yōsha described its ideals as (1) respect the imperial house (2) love your home region and (3) firmly defend and protect the people's rights.[2]: 167 However, its true agenda was to agitate for Japanese military expansion and conquest of the Asian continent. The true agenda was reflected in its new name of Gen'yōsha, taken after the Genkainada strait which separates Japan from Korea.[3]
The tactics which the Gen'yōsha was prepared to use to achieve its goals were also far from peaceful. It began as a
The Gen'yōsha was a major force in the
In 1889, the Gen'yōsha strongly criticized the unequal treaty revision plan drafted by foreign minister Ōkuma Shigenobu. Gen'yōsha militant Kurushima Tsuneki attempted to kill Ōkuma by throwing a bomb under his carriage.[2]: 251–253 After the bomb detonated, and apparently believing he had succeeded, Kurushima bowed and killed himself by stabbing himself twice in the neck.[2]: 253 Ōkuma survived, and his left leg was amputated at the hip following two operations.[2]: 253
In the election of 1892, the Gen'yōsha mounted a campaign of intimidation and violence with the tacit support of the Matsukata administration to influence the outcome of the election.
One of the primary targets of the Gen'yōsha were the many
The Gen'yōsha not only provided funds and weapons to the secret societies, but also arranged for refuge in Japan for leaders targeted by the Qing government. The Gen'yosha established a large network of brothels across China (and later throughout Southeast Asia) to provide meeting locations, and also to gather information. In addition to being a profitable side-business, the brothels provided opportunities to gather useful information for the later
Another sphere of Gen'yōsha activity was
Originally ignored by the Japanese military, during the First Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War, both the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy found the Gen'yōsha's extensive intelligence gathering network throughout East Asia to be invaluable. The Gen'yōsha network was also useful for the military in conducting sabotage activities behind enemy lines.
After the annexation of Korea in 1910, the Gen'yōsha continued to support efforts towards Pan-Asianism. Domestically, it formed a political party called the Dai Nippon Seisantō ("Greater Japan Production Party") to combat the influence of socialism in worker trade unions.
Towards its later years, the Gen'yōsha was far removed from its origins as a
The Gen'yōsha was disbanded by the
Nationalism
The primary English-language text on the Gen'yōsha presents the group as ultranationalistic.[2]: 167 Academic Mark W. Driscoll writes that even that text recognizes that the Gen'yōsha did not want Emperor Meiji's power to expand and in 1881 the organization's position was simply that the imperial household should be respected.[2]: 167 Writing in 1935, Yumeno Kyūsaku stated that the early Gen'yōsha were not nationalistic.[2]: 168
The Gen'yōsha was considered to be an ultranationalist group by General Headquarters in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.[7]
Legacy
The Gen'yōsha was the forerunner of a number of organizations which inherited and developed its ideology. It also set the stage for the post-World War II ties between
Although modern yakuza share many of Gen'yōsha's political and social philosophies, and although many of Gen'yōsha's members were drawn from yakuza ranks, the Gen'yōsha was primarily a political organization that often used criminal means to attain its goals, and was not a yakuza itself, as some authors have claimed.[8]
In popular fiction
Part of its role in Korean history (and its methods for gathering information) is fictionalised in the 2018 South Korean TV series, Mr Sunshine.[9]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 1841769339.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4780-1121-7.
- ^ Victor, The Pearl Harbor Myth, Rethinking the Unthinkable, page 128
- ^ Harries, Soldiers of the Sun, The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army
- ISBN 0618531467.
- ISBN 9780815325253.
- ^ 玄洋社社史編纂会 1977 『玄洋社社史』近代資料出版会=History of Genyosha(written in Japanese)
- ^ "Yakuza: la mafia del Sol Levante". L'Indro (in Italian). 2018-08-08. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ^ Oh Young-jin (2018-10-14). "[FICTION VS. HISTORY] The fact and fiction in 'Mr. Sunshine' : Historical sweep is captured but some anachronisms and motivations irk viewers". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
Bibliography
- Min, Anchee (2003). The Last Empress. Boston: ISBN 0618531467.
- Gordon, Andrew (2003). A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present. Oxford: ISBN 0195110617.
- ISBN 978-3826049095.
- Victor, George (2005). The Pearl Harbor Myth, Rethinking the Unthinkable. Lincoln, Nebraska: ISBN 1597970425.
- Crowdey, George (2006). The Enemy Within, A History of Espionage. Oxford: ISBN 1841769339.
External links
- Media related to Genyosha at Wikimedia Commons