The occurred on November 25, 1970, when the Japanese author Yukio Mishima committed seppuku (ritual suicide) after calling on the Japan Self-Defense Forces to stage a coup d'état to abolish Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and appealing to his own ideas and beliefs about reconstructing true national autonomy., The incident is sometimes called the , after the private militia led by Mishima whose members took part.
The incident shocked Japan and made international headlines because of such a renowned author's unprecedented actions. Mishima's death was seen to mark the end of an era.Inuhiko Yomota The man who drove a wedge into time. (of that in pp.206–209) It also had a major impact on Japan's political climate, including the rise to the New Right, which grew out of minzoku-ha. The alienated Emperor: Yukio Mishima and New right – Paragraph 1. A survey conducted by the monthly magazine Bungei Shunjū in 2000 on the "20 Greatest Events of the 20th Century," the Mishima Incident was ranked second, ahead of global events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall.Preface.
While the incident constituted a political protest meant to demonstrate their political vision, judicial investigations and Mishima's suicide notes reveal that the action itself was not intended to effect a government overthrow or a seizure of power. Even so, the incident is considered to possess significant historical importance and to have exerted a lasting impact on Japanese society.
Incident Visit and restraint of commander
Around 10:58 am on November 25, 1970, Yukio Mishima (age 45), along with four Tatenokai members Masakatsu Morita (age 25), , , and Hiroyasu Koga (age 23) passed through the , the main gate of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force by car, arriving at the front entrance that led to the Commandant General's office on the second floor of the Eastern Army Headquarters. Guided by Major , who met them there, they went up the front staircase, then escorted to the Commandant General’s office by Colonel , Chief of the Administration Division of the Eastern Army HQ.
This visit had been booked in advance on November 21, and Sergeant of the Operations Office had contacted the guard post via internal line to give them a free passage. The gatekeeper, Sergeant , simply exchanged salutes with Mishima in the passenger seat and he was allowed through.
Led to the reception area and invited to take a seat, Mishima called out the names of Morita and the three others one by one keeping them standing at attention and introduced them to the Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General , as "outstanding members" to be honored. He explained his reason for bringing the four along in the office, saying, "I brought these men today because during the trial enlistment in November, they selflessly carried an injured comrade on their backs all the way down the mountain. I will commend them at today's regular meeting at , so I brought them here hoping to introduce them to you first. Since we have our meeting today, we came in formal uniform."
As General Mashita and Mishima were conversing on the sofa facing each other, the topic turned to the Japanese sword Mishima had brought with him. When Mashita asked, "Is it genuine?" and "Don't the police question you for carrying such a ?", Mishima replied, "This guntō (ceremonial sword) features a blade of , remounted with military fittings. Would you like to see the certificate of authenticity?" and showed him the document inscribed with .
Mishima unsheathed his sword and asked Masayoshi Koga (nickname "Chibi-Koga") for a tenugui (traditional towel) to wipe off the oil, saying, "Koga, a handkerchief", which was a prearranged signal to begin action. However, as Mashita made an unexpected move heading toward his desk while saying, "How about ?" Chibi-Koga lost sight of his task and had no choice but to approach Mishima and hand him a tenugui. Unable to find a suitable chirigami tissue, Mashita returned to the sofa and sat down next to Mishima to look at the sword.
Mishima wiped the blade with a tenugui and handed the sword over to Mashita. After seeing the hamon (edge pattern), Mashita nodded and said, "It's a fine katana. This katana crest is indeed the ," and returned it to Mishima before returning to his seat. It was now about 11:05 am. Mishima wiped the blade again, handed the tenugui to Chibi-Koga who had stepped up beside him, and sheathed the sword to its scabbard with a sharp click of the tsuba, signaling the instruction to him with a glance.
Taking that as a signal, Chibi-Koga, who was pretending to return to his seat, quickly went behind the General Mashita and covered the General Mashita's mouth with the tenugui he was holding, after which Masahiro Ogawa and Hiroyasu Koga (nickname "Furu-Koga") next tied the General Mashita to a chair with thin rope and restrained him. Chibi-Koga, who was given another tenugui by Furu-Koga, gagged the General Mashita while saying, "I won't gag you so to stop breathing," and pointed a tantō (short blade) at him.
General Mashita, initially thinking that everyone was joking about how strong they had become during ranger training, said, "Mr. Mishima, stop joking," but Mishima, with his sword still drawn, glared at General Mashita with a serious expression, so the General Mashita realized that something was not right. Meanwhile, Masakatsu Morita had barricaded the main entrance to the Commandant General's office, and the three entrances to the Chief of Staff's office and the Vice Chief of Staff's office, all of which had double doors, with desks, chairs, flower pots, etc.
Fight with the staff officers Major Yasuharu Sawamoto, who was waiting for the right time to serve tea, noticed a noise coming from the Commandant General's room, and Colonel Isamu Hara, who received the report from Sawamoto, went out into the hallway and peeked into the room through the frosted glass window at the front entrance (a strip of cellophane tape had been applied to make it slightly more transparent), where he saw the Tatenokai members standing behind the General Mashita. The General looked as if he was receiving a massage, but his movements were unnatural, so when Hara tried to enter, he found the door locked.
Colonel Hara threw himself against the door, creating a gap of about 20 to 30 centimeters. "Don't come in! Don't come in!" cried Masakatsu Morita from inside the room, and a Demands letter was slid out from under the door. After reading it, Colonel Hara and his staff immediately reported to Vice Chief of Administration Major General and Vice Chief of Defense Colonel that "Mishima and his members have occupied the Commandant General's office and have confined the General Mashita." An was made to the staff, and a subordinate of Major Sawamoto contacted the .
Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel were the first to rush in after using their back to break down the barricade protecting the door to the Chief of Staff's office which led to the left of the Commandant General's office. Mishima immediately drew his military sword, Seki Magoroku, and slashed at their backs and other parts of their bodies. He then fought back against Colonel Hara, Sergeant , Sergeant , and others who had charged in with bokkens, shouting "Get out! Don't get in the way!" and "Read the demand!" When fighting back, Mishima lowered his hips and drew his sword closer to him, and instead of swinging it down from above, he slashed with the tip of the blade. The melee left a sword cut near the door handle. The time was about 11:20 am.
While the five men were retreating, seven more men, Colonel , Lieutenant Colonel , Major , Captain , non-commissioned officer , Colonel Hidenobu Yoshimatsu, and Major General Akira Yamazaki, rushed in one after another from the side of the Vice Chief of Staff's office. Vice Chief of Defense Colonel Yoshimatsu said, "What are you doing? Let's talk it out," but the fight continued. Hiroyasu Koga threw small tables and chairs at the men, and Masahiro Ogawa fought back with a .
Morita also fought back with his tantō, but Major Terao ripped it away from him. Mishima quickly supported, slashing at Terao and Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi, who had dragged Morita to the ground.Katsumi Terao The man slashed by Yukio Mishima. (of that in pp.50–55) When Colonel Kiyono threw an ashtray at Chibi-Koga, who was keeping tabs on the General Mashita, prompting Mishima to slash at Kiyono. Kiyono fought back by throwing a globe, but stumbled and fell. Major General Yamazaki was also slashed, and the JSDF staff officers decided to retreat for the time being, out of concern for the General Mashita's safety. Eight JSDF staff officers were injured in the brawl.
At 11:22 am, an emergency 110 call was placed from the Eastern Army Headquarters to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Command Center. By 11:25 am, the TMPD Public Security Bureau's "Public Security Division 1" which was originally under normal conditions, for the left-wing extremism's acts of violence Countermeasures Division had established a temporary headquarters in the Public Security Bureau Director-General's office and contacted the relevant agencies, and dispatched 120 Riot Police Unit members to JGSDF Camp Ichigaya.
The staff members who had retreated outside broke the window of the Commandant General's office from the hallway at around 11:30 am to discuss with Mishima. Lieutenant Colonel was the first to show his face through the window, and was cut on the forehead by a flagpole that had been thrust out from inside. Then Lieutenant Colonel Yoshimatsu tried to persuade Mishima through the window, but Mishima said, "If you accept this Demands, we will spare General Mashita's life," and threw the Demands letter, which had the same contents as the one Morita had slid out from under the door into the hallway, through the broken window into the hallway.
The Demands mainly contained the following statements:
The senior staff officers decided to accept Mishima's Demands, and at around 11:34 am, Lieutenant Colonel Yoshimatsu told Mishima, "We have decided to assemble the JSDF personnel." Mishima asked him, "Who are you? What authority do you have?" When Colonel Yoshimatsu introduced himself as "the Vice Chief of Defense and the highest authority on the scene," Mishima looked a little relieved, looked at his watch, and said, "Assemble all the JSDF personnel by 12:00 pm."
While waiting for the JSDF personnel to assemble, Mishima ordered Morita to read the Demands to General Mashita as well. General Mashita, whose hands had gone numb, had them loosen the thin rope slightly, then tried to persuade Mishima by saying, "Why are you doing this? Do you hate the JSDF or me? Depending on the content, I may give the speech on your behalf." Mishima replied with points similar to his Geki, which was stating that if things continued as they were, Japan would become a mercenary of the United States forever, and said, "I don't hate either the JSDF or you. As long as they don't interfere, I won't kill you." He then said, "I have come today to give the JSDF the greatest stimulus and spur them into action."
Whether Mishima actually smoked an Imperial gift cigarette Onshi no Tabako in the Commandant General's office remains unknown. However, two days prior, remarking, "We should at least have enough time to smoke a cigarette at the scene," he had handed the members the Onshi no Tabako he received at the autumn 1966 , instructing them to pack them into the attaché case along with the other items.