Hibiya incendiary incident

The Hibiya incendiary incident (日比谷焼打事件, Hibiya yakiuchi jiken), also known as the Hibiya riots, was a major riot that occurred in Tokyo, Japan, from 5 to 7 September 1905.^[1] Protests by Japanese nationalists in Tokyo in Hibiya Park against the terms of the Treaty of Portsmouth ending the Russo-Japanese War escalated into a violent two-day citywide riot when the police attempted to suppress the protests. The Hibiya incendiary incident resulted in the death of 17 rioters, led to the collapse of the government of Katsura Tarō, and is considered the first event of the Era of Popular Violence. Over 2000 rioters were later arrested for their involvement, with 104 being tried and 87 found guilty.

Background

The

On 5 September 1905, the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed after a month of negotiations between Japan and Russia and officially ended the Russo-Japanese War in a Japanese victory. A diverse assortment of Japanese activist groups called for a rally at Hibiya Park, in central Tokyo, to protest what was seen as the humiliating terms of the treaty, which was announced earlier that day. The activists and protesters were largely ignorant of the actual war situation, with many viewing the terms of the treaty accepted by the Japanese government as excessively lenient towards Russia, which had been decisively defeated. The protesters were especially incensed that Japanese territorial gains in the northern half of Sakhalin would be returned to Russia and that the Russian government would not pay any war reparations to Japan.^[1]

Riots

A crowd of protestors against the government began to gather at Hibiya Park early in the evening of 5 September, only to find that the

On 6 September, the government declared martial law to restore order.

Aftermath

Before order was finally restored on 7 September, angry mobs had destroyed or damaged more than 350 buildings, including 70 percent of the police boxes in the city. Casualties included 17 people killed, and over 450 policemen, 48 firemen, and civilians injured. Over 2000 were arrested for participation in the riots, with 104 being tried and 87 found guilty. News of the violence in Tokyo touched off similar disturbances in Kobe and Yokohama and stimulated hundreds of nonviolent rallies, speeches, and meetings throughout Japan for several months. Martial law would be abolished on 29 November.

The Hibiya riots and the subsequent unrest directly contributed to the collapse of

The Hibiya Incendiary Incident marks the beginning of a period in Japanese history that historians call the Era of Popular Violence (民衆騒擾期, minshū sōjō ki). Over the next 13 years Japan, would be rocked by a series of violent protests (nine different riots in Tokyo alone) that culminated in the rice riots of 1918.

Notes

Bibliography

• Shumpei Okamoto: The Emperor and the Crowd: the Historical Significance of the Hibiya Riot; In:
  ISBN 0-691-10137-X