was an

ultranationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...

secret society established by young officers within the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

in September 1930, with the goal of reorganizing the state along

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

militarist Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mil ...

ic lines, via a military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

if necessary. Their avowed goal was a

Shōwa Restoration The was promoted by Japanese author Kita Ikki in the 1930s, with the goal of restoring power to the newly enthroned Emperor Shōwa and abolishing the liberal Taishō democracy. The aims of the "Shōwa Restoration" were similar to the Meiji Rest ...

, which they claimed would restore

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

to his rightful place, free of

party politics A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

and evil

bureaucrats A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", w ...

in a new

military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the ...

. The ''Sakurakai'' was led by

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

Kingoro Hashimoto was a soldier in the Imperial Japanese Army and politician. He was famous for having twice tried to stage a coup against the civilian government in the 1930s. Early career Hashimoto was born in Okayama City, and a graduate of the 23rd class o ...

, then chief of the Russian section of the

Imperial Japanese Army General Staff The , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army. Role The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs ...

and Captain Isamu Cho with the support of Sadao Araki. The society began with about ten members, active-duty field grade officers of the Army General Staff, and expanded to include regimental-grade and company-grade officers, so that its membership increased to more than 50 by February 1931, and possibly up to several hundred by October 1931.Beasley, ''The Rise of Modern Japan'' One prominent leader was

Kuniaki Koiso was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army, Governor-General of Korea and Prime Minister of Japan from 1944 to 1945. After Japan's defeat in World War II, he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. Early l ...

, future

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of S ...

. Members of the Sakurakai held meetings in a

dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...

led by

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in aroun ...

founder

Morihei Ueshiba was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher/Old Teacher (old as opposed to ''waka (young) sensei'')". The son of a landowner from Tanabe, Ueshiba st ...

at the headquarters of the

Oomoto ''Chōseiden'' in Ayabe , also known as , is a religion founded in 1892 by Deguchi Nao (1836–1918), often categorised as a new Japanese religion originated from Shinto. The spiritual leaders of the movement have always been women within t ...

religion in Ayabe. Twice in 1931 (the March Incident and the

Imperial Colors Incident The , also known as the , was an abortive coup d'état attempt in Japan on 21 October 1931, launched by the ''Sakurakai'' secret society within the Imperial Japanese Army, aided by civilian ultranationalist groups. Background and History Having ...

), the ''Sakurakai'' and civilian ultranationalist elements attempted to overthrow the government. With the arrest of its leadership after the Imperial Colors Incident, the ''Sakurakai'' was dissolved. Many of its former members migrated to the '' Toseiha'' faction within the Army.

References

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Notes

{{Authority control Politics of the Empire of Japan Far-right politics in Japan Japanese militarism Political parties established in 1930 Japanese secret societies Fascism in Japan

See also

References

Notes