Imperial Way Faction
Encyclopedia
The was a political faction
in the Imperial Japanese Army
, active in the 1920s and 1930s and largely supported by junior officers aiming to establish a military government, that promoted totalitarian
, militarist
, and expansionist
ideals. It was never an organized political party
and had no official standing within the Army.
, communism
and anarchism
, whereas the industrial and financial leaders of Japan continued to get wealthier through their inside connections with politicians and bureaucrats. The military was considered "clean" in terms of political corruption
, and elements within the army were determined to take direct action to eliminate the perceived threats to Japan created by the weaknesses of liberal democracy
and political corruption.
and his protégé Jinzaburō Masaki. Araki was a noted political philosopher within the Army, who linked the ancient bushido
code of the samurai
with ideas similar to European fascism
to form the ideological basis of his philosophy, which linked the Emperor
, the people
, land
and morality
as one and indivisible.
The Kōdōha envisioned a return to an idealized pre-industrialized, pre-westernized Japan, in which the state was to be purged of corrupt bureaucrats, opportunistic politicians, and greedy zaibatsu
capitalists. The state would be run directly by Emperor Hirohito in a "Showa Restoration
" assisted by the military. Domestically, the state would return to the traditional values of Japan, and externally, war with the Soviet Union was not only unavoidable, but necessary to eliminate the threat posed by communism
. In a news conference in September 1932 Araki first mentioned the word "Kōdōha" ("The Imperial Way"), from which his movement received its popular name.
Araki became Minister of War in the cabinet
of Prime Minister Inukai
in 1931, and Mazaki became Vice Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. Both began to purge followers of their rival General Kazushige Ugaki from important posts in both the ministry and the general staff. Whereas Ugaki was pushing for a modernization of the military in terms of materials and technology, Araki and his followers argued that the spiritual training, or élan
, of the Army was more important.
and Hideki Tōjō
, created the Tōseiha
group, a loose faction united mostly by their opposition to Araki and his Kōdōha.
Fundamental to both factions, however, 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 a strong skepticism of political party
politics and representative democracy
. However, rather than the confrontational approach of the Kōdōha, which wanted to bring about a revolution, the Tōseiha 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. Whereas the Kōdōha was strongly supportive of the strike north strategy of a preemptive strike
against the Soviet Union, the Tōseiha favored a more cautious defense expansion.
, who had Tōseiha sympathies.
In November 1934, a plot by Kōdōha Army officers to murder a number of important politicians was discovered before it could be implemented. The Tōseiha faction forced the resignation of Mazaki from his position as Inspector General of Military Education
(the third most powerful position in the Japanese Army hierarchy) for his complicity in the plot, and demoted some 3,000 other officers.
In retaliation, a Kōdōha officer, Saburo Aizawa
, murdered Tōseiha leader General Tetsuzan Nagata in the Aizawa Incident. Aizawa's military tribunal
was held under the jurisdiction of the First Infantry Division in Tokyo, whose commander, General Heisuke Yanagawa
, was a follower of Araki. The trial thus became a vehicle by which the Kōdōha was able to denounce the Tōseiha, portray Aizawa as a selfless patriot, and Nagata as an unprincipled power-mad schemer.
At the climax of the Aizawa trial, in order to reduce tensions on the Tokyo area, the First Infantry Division was ordered from Tokyo to Manchuria
. Instead, this caused the situation to escalate further, as the Kōdōha decided that the time was right for direct action, and backed the First Infantry Division in an attempted coup d'état
. The failure of this February 26 Incident
of 1936 resulted in the almost complete purge of Kōdōha members from top army positions and the resignation of Kōdōha leader Sadao Araki.
Thus, after the February 26 Incident, the Kōdōha effectively ceased to exist, and without the Kōdōha, the Tōseiha lost most of its raison-d'etre. Although Tōseiha followers gained control of the Army, the Kōdōha ideals of spiritual power and imperial mysticism remained embedded in the army, as did its tradition of insubordination of junior officers (gekokujo
), and resurfaced with the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War
in 1937.
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
in the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
, active in the 1920s and 1930s and largely supported by junior officers aiming to establish a military government, that promoted totalitarian
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
, militarist
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
, and expansionist
Expansionism
In general, expansionism consists of expansionist policies of governments and states. While some have linked the term to promoting economic growth , more commonly expansionism refers to the doctrine of a state expanding its territorial base usually, though not necessarily, by means of military...
ideals. It was never an organized political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
and had no official standing within the Army.
Background
The economic growth Japan had enjoyed during World War I ended in the early 1920s with the Shōwa financial crisis. Social unrest increased with the increasing polarization of society, with the labor unions increasingly influenced by socialismSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, whereas the industrial and financial leaders of Japan continued to get wealthier through their inside connections with politicians and bureaucrats. The military was considered "clean" in terms of political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
, and elements within the army were determined to take direct action to eliminate the perceived threats to Japan created by the weaknesses of liberal democracy
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
and political corruption.
Origins
The founders of the Kōdōha were Sadao ArakiSadao Araki
Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army before World War II. A charismatic leader and one of the principal nationalist right-wing political theorists in the late Japanese Empire, he was regarded as the leader of the radical faction within the politicized Japanese Army and served as...
and his protégé Jinzaburō Masaki. Araki was a noted political philosopher within the Army, who linked the ancient bushido
Bushido
, meaning "Way of the Warrior-Knight", is a Japanese word which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and...
code of the samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
with ideas similar to European fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
to form the ideological basis of his philosophy, which linked the Emperor
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
, the people
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
, land
Landform
A landform or physical feature in the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography...
and morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
as one and indivisible.
The Kōdōha envisioned a return to an idealized pre-industrialized, pre-westernized Japan, in which the state was to be purged of corrupt bureaucrats, opportunistic politicians, and greedy zaibatsu
Zaibatsu
is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.-Terminology:...
capitalists. The state would be run directly by Emperor Hirohito in a "Showa Restoration
Showa Restoration
The Shōwa Restoration was promoted by Japanese author Kita Ikki, with the goal of restoring power to the newly enthroned Japanese Emperor Hirohito and abolishing the liberal Taishō democracy. The aims of the "Showa Restoration" were similar to the Meiji Restoration as the groups who envisioned it...
" assisted by the military. Domestically, the state would return to the traditional values of Japan, and externally, war with the Soviet Union was not only unavoidable, but necessary to eliminate the threat posed by communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. In a news conference in September 1932 Araki first mentioned the word "Kōdōha" ("The Imperial Way"), from which his movement received its popular name.
Araki became Minister of War in the cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
of Prime Minister Inukai
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
in 1931, and Mazaki became Vice Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. Both began to purge followers of their rival General Kazushige Ugaki from important posts in both the ministry and the general staff. Whereas Ugaki was pushing for a modernization of the military in terms of materials and technology, Araki and his followers argued that the spiritual training, or élan
Élan
Élan Corporation plc is a major drugs firm based in Athlone, County Roscommon, Ireland which has major interests in the United States. In the late 1990s its value on the Irish Stock Exchange reached over €20bn. It has secondary listings on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange....
, of the Army was more important.
Opposition
Kazushige Ugaki, along with Hajime Sugiyama, Koiso Kuniaki, Yoshijirō Umezu, Tetsuzan NagataTetsuzan Nagata
-External links:...
and Hideki Tōjō
Hideki Tōjō
Hideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944...
, created the Tōseiha
Toseiha
' was a political faction in the Imperial Japanese Army, active in the 1920s and 1930s.Led by General Kazushige Ugaki, along with Hajime Sugiyama, Koiso Kuniaki, Yoshijirō Umezu, Tetsuzan Nagata and Hideki Tōjō, the Tōseiha was a grouping of officers united primarily by their opposition to the...
group, a loose faction united mostly by their opposition to Araki and his Kōdōha.
Fundamental to both factions, however, 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 a strong skepticism of political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
politics and representative democracy
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
. However, rather than the confrontational approach of the Kōdōha, which wanted to bring about a revolution, the Tōseiha foresaw that a future war would be a total war
Total war
Total war is a war in which a belligerent engages in the complete mobilization of fully available resources and population.In the mid-19th century, "total war" was identified by scholars as a separate class of warfare...
, and would require the cooperation of the bureaucracy and the zaibatsu
Zaibatsu
is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.-Terminology:...
to maximize Japan's industrial and military capacity. Whereas the Kōdōha was strongly supportive of the strike north strategy of a preemptive strike
Preemptive strike
A preemptive strike refers to a surprise attack launched with the stated intention of countering an anticipated enemy offensive. Preemptive strike may also refer to:...
against the Soviet Union, the Tōseiha favored a more cautious defense expansion.
Decline
After the Manchurian Incident, the two cliques struggled against each other for dominance over the military. The Kōdōha was initially dominant, however; after the resignation of Araki in 1934 due to ill health, the Kōdōha began to suffer a decline in its influence. Araki was replaced by General Senjuro HayashiSenjuro Hayashi
was an Imperial Japanese Army commander of the Chosen Army of Japan in Korea during the Mukden Incident and the invasion of Manchuria, and a Japanese politician and the 33rd Prime Minister of Japan from February 2, 1937 to June 4, 1937.-Biography:...
, who had Tōseiha sympathies.
In November 1934, a plot by Kōdōha Army officers to murder a number of important politicians was discovered before it could be implemented. The Tōseiha faction forced the resignation of Mazaki from his position as Inspector General of Military Education
Inspectorate General of Military Training
The was responsible for all non-military aviation training of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was headed by an Inspector general who was responsible for overseeing technical and tactical training, and who reported directly to the Emperor of Japan via the Imperial General Headquarters rather than to...
(the third most powerful position in the Japanese Army hierarchy) for his complicity in the plot, and demoted some 3,000 other officers.
In retaliation, a Kōdōha officer, Saburo Aizawa
Saburo Aizawa
Saburo Aizawa was a Japanese soldier born in Iwate Prefecture.He reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He assassinated Tetsuzan Nagata with his sword on August 12, 1935, because he was reputedly putting the Army "in the paws of high finance"...
, murdered Tōseiha leader General Tetsuzan Nagata in the Aizawa Incident. Aizawa's military tribunal
Military tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
was held under the jurisdiction of the First Infantry Division in Tokyo, whose commander, General Heisuke Yanagawa
Heisuke Yanagawa
- Notes :...
, was a follower of Araki. The trial thus became a vehicle by which the Kōdōha was able to denounce the Tōseiha, portray Aizawa as a selfless patriot, and Nagata as an unprincipled power-mad schemer.
At the climax of the Aizawa trial, in order to reduce tensions on the Tokyo area, the First Infantry Division was ordered from Tokyo to Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
. Instead, this caused the situation to escalate further, as the Kōdōha decided that the time was right for direct action, and backed the First Infantry Division in an attempted coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. The failure of this February 26 Incident
February 26 Incident
The was an attempted coup d'état in Japan, from February 26 to 29, 1936 carried out by 1,483 troops of the Imperial Japanese Army. Several leading politicians were killed and the center of Tokyo was briefly occupied by the rebelling troops...
of 1936 resulted in the almost complete purge of Kōdōha members from top army positions and the resignation of Kōdōha leader Sadao Araki.
Thus, after the February 26 Incident, the Kōdōha effectively ceased to exist, and without the Kōdōha, the Tōseiha lost most of its raison-d'etre. Although Tōseiha followers gained control of the Army, the Kōdōha ideals of spiritual power and imperial mysticism remained embedded in the army, as did its tradition of insubordination of junior officers (gekokujo
Gekokujo
is a Japanese term variously translated as the lower rules the higher or the low overcomes the high. The phenomenon became prevalent during the Warring States period , starting with the Ōnin War when the power of the Muromachi Shogunate ended in factional strife and the burning of Kyoto...
), and resurfaced with the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
in 1937.