was an
Okinawan Marxist
Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...
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 Rev ...
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, ...
. 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-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...
. 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 T ...
. 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.
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 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.
[
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See also
* Japanese dissidence during the Shōwa period
* Hotsumi Ozaki
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