Tatenokai

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.^[2][3][4] It was founded and led by author Yukio Mishima.^[3] 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.^[5][3][6]

Tatenokai
楯の會
Also known as	Shield Society
Leader	Yukio Mishima
Dates of operation	1968–1970
Country	Japan
Allegiance	Emperor of Japan
Ideology	Japanese nationalism Ultranationalism[1] Traditionalism Anti-communism Monarchism
Political position	Far-right
Major actions	"Mishima Incident" (25 November 1970)
Status	Dissolved
Size	100
Means of revenue	Privately funded

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.^[3][7][8]

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.^[3] 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.^[9] They had enlisted in the Japan Self-Defense Forces 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.^[9]

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.^[10] Along with outdoor activities, the members, who joined voluntarily, were subjected to rigorous physical training that included kendo and long-distance running.^[10]

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^[a] included in the Man'yōshū, and a poem by 19th century poet Tachibana Akemi.^[3][7][8]

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)^[b]

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)^[7]

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)^[13]

Regarding the writing, initially, they planned to write the name "Mtatekai" (御楯会) in all kanji, like the "Mitategumi" (御楯組), a Sonnō jōi organization of the Chōshū Domain at the Bakumatsu (end of the Edo period),^[14][15] 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.^[14][13]

1970 coup attempt

Main article: Yukio Mishima § Coup attempt and suicide

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,^[16][17] after which Mishima and Masakatsu Morita, the Tatenokai's student leader, committed seppuku (ritual suicide).^[17] The rest of the members, around 90 people, were not informed about Mishima's plan at all.^[18]

Participants

• Yukio Mishima, Leader
  • Born: January 14, 1925 - Died: November 25, 1970

• Masakatsu Morita, Student leader, Waseda University
  • Born: July 25, 1945 - Died: November 25, 1970
  • 1st generation member, the leader of 1st team
  • Morita was born in Yokkaichi-shi, Mie Prefecture, he lost his father and mother to illness one after another when he was a toddler (the year he turns 3 years old), and was raised by his brother, who was 16 years older than him, and other his older sisters.^[19][20] When his older brother and sisters got married, he was left in the care of his childless aunt, and when the aunt's husband died, he grew up living with his aunt in an outhouse on his older brother's house.^[19] Morita grew up to be a cheerful and lively person,^[19] but his high school diary was filled with his having a romantic notion of death, and his longing for his mother and father, who were likely living happily together in heaven.^[21][20]

• Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義), Kanagawa University
  • Born: July 31, 1948 -
  • 2nd generation member, the leader of 5th team
  • His nickname was "Chibi-Koga", to distinguish him from Koga (古賀), whose surname has the same pronunciation.^[22][23] Further, he was short in height, and the kanji character "small", "little" (小, ko) in "koga" (小賀), so, by extension "tiny", "shorty" (チビ, chibi).^[23]
  • Chibi-Koga was born in Arida-shi, Wakayama Prefecture and lost his father due to illness at a young age.^[24][25][26] His mother was a follower of Seicho-no-Ie, a new religion,^[24][25][26] so he also began attending training sessions for the religion and becoming a follower of it when he was in junior high school.^[24][26]

• Hiroyasu Koga, Kanagawa University
  • Born: August 15, 1947 -
  • 2nd generation member, the vice leader of 5th team
  • His nickname was "Furu-Koga".^[22] The kanji character "old" (古, ko) in "koga" (古賀) can also be read as "furu i" (古い) in kun'yomi.
  • Furu-Koga was born in Takigawa-shi, Hokkaido, and his father, a former elementary school principal, was a lecturer at Seicho-no-Ie headquarters,^[24][25][27] so he started participating in training sessions and becoming a believer in the religion in high school.^[24][27]

• Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋), Meiji Gakuin University
  • Born: May 15, 1948 - Died: November 26, 2018
  • 3rd generation member, the leader of 7th team
  • He was tall and had a small moustache.^[22]
  • Ogawa was born in the Sanbu-gun, Chiba Prefecture, and grew up with a father who was a former police officer and a mother who was a former teacher, as a boy interested in the Emperor and Japanese history.^[28][29] Ogawa was usually quiet boy, but had an inner fortitude, and was a member of the cheerleading squad (応援団, Ōendan) at high school and university.^[29]

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 Ito and Shunichi Nishio – were former members of the Tatenokai.^[30][31][32] This incident is called the "Japan Business Federation attack incident" (経団連襲撃事件, Keidanren shugeki jiken) in Japan.^[31][32]

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.^[11][7] 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).^[11][7]
2. The meaning of "ugly" (醜, shiko) here expresses a feeling of self-deprecation and humility.^[12][7]