was an Okinawan

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

artist,

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

member, and a member of Richard Sorge's spy ring.

Early life

Miyagi was born in Okinawa in 1903. When he was sixteen, he went to California after contracting

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. He arrived in Los Angeles in 1926, where he worked as an artist and ran the Owl Restaurant. Miyagi was aware of the exploitation of Okinawan farmers by the Japanese, and witnessed similar treatment of Japanese by Americans. In 1931 Miyagi became a member of the Japanese Section of the

CPUSA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

, but was never an active party member. In 1927, he married a Japanese girl, and in 1932 he and his wife rented a flat in West Los Angeles.

Career

In 1932, he was asked to return to Japan on a mission for the

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

. On October 24, 1933, he left San Pedro on the ''Buenos Aires Maru'', bound for

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

. He expected to return to the United States. While in Japan, Miyagi established a network of informants, which included a secretary to an Imperial Army general. Miyagi translated Japanese reports and newspaper articles into English for

Richard Sorge Richard Sorge (russian: Рихард Густавович Зорге, Rikhard Gustavovich Zorge; 4 October 1895 – 7 November 1944) was a German-Azerbaijani journalist and Soviet military intelligence officer who was active before and during Wo ...

Capture and death

By 1941, all the members of Sorge's spy ring had been rounded up, and they had all made confessions. Miyagi died in

Sugamo Prison Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima ward of Tokyo, Japan. History Sugamo Prison was originally built in 1 ...

in Tokyo in the middle of his trial in 1943. He was 40 years old. The

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

(Second Class) was posthumously awarded to Yotoku Miyagi in 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miyagi, Yotoku 1903 births 1943 deaths People from Okinawa Island Japanese emigrants to the United States Spies who died in prison custody Japanese spies for the Soviet Union World War II spies for the Soviet Union Prisoners who died in Japanese detention Japanese people who died in prison custody

Early life

Career

Capture and death

See also

References