was a Japanese
far right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
and
ultra nationalist politician who founded secret societies called
Genyosha (''
Black Ocean Society'') and
Kokuryukai (''
Black Dragon Society
The , or the Amur River Society, was a prominent paramilitary, ultranationalist group in Japan.
History
The ''Kokuryūkai'' was founded in 1901 by martial artist Uchida Ryohei as a successor to his mentor Mitsuru Tōyama's '' Gen'yōsha''. ...
''). Tōyama was an
Anti Communist and a strong proponent of
Pan Asianism.
Early life
Tōyama was born to a poor ''
samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
'' family in
Fukuoka City in
Kyūshū
is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...
. In his youth, he fought in the
Saga Rebellion
The was an 1874 uprising in Kyūshū against the new Meiji government of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Saga no ran" in . It was led by Etō Shinpei and Shima Yoshitake in their native domain of Hizen province, Hizen.
Background
Fo ...
of 1874.
In 1881, Tōyama became one of the founders of the ''Genyosha'', a secret society whose agenda was to agitate for Japanese military expansion and conquest of the
Asian continent. The society attracted disaffected ex-
samurai
The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
, and also figures involved in organized crime to assist in its campaigns of violence and assassination against
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
politicians
A politician is a person who participates in policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles or duties tha ...
. In 1889, Tōyama and the ''Genyosha'' were implicated in the attempted assassination of
foreign minister
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
Ōkuma Shigenobu
Marquess was a Japanese politician who served as the prime minister of Japan in 1898, and from 1914 to 1916.
Born in the Saga Domain, Ōkuma was appointed minister of finance soon after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, aided by his friendship w ...
.
Covert government cooperation

Tōyama was both a founder and one-time head of the ''
Black Dragon Society
The , or the Amur River Society, was a prominent paramilitary, ultranationalist group in Japan.
History
The ''Kokuryūkai'' was founded in 1901 by martial artist Uchida Ryohei as a successor to his mentor Mitsuru Tōyama's '' Gen'yōsha''. ...
''.
Immediately prior to the start of the
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
, Tōyama organized the ''
Tenyukyo'', a secret society and
paramilitary
A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934.
Overview
Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
force that operated in
Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
prior to the arrival of the
Imperial Japanese Army
The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
, making detailed topographic maps, scouting out Chinese and Korean military installations and deployment, and arranging for logistic support. Along with ''Genyosha'' operatives in Korea and Manchuria, the ''Tenyukyo'' provided interpreters and guides to the regular Japanese army after their invasion.
Tōyama was a strong supporter of Japanese control over
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...
, and joined forces with the anti-Russian ''
Tairo Doshikai'' movement in 1903. He also supported the Chinese republican revolutionaries against the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
and gave considerable support to
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...
. When the
Chinese revolution began in 1911, he went to China in person as an advisor and to personally oversee Genyosha activities and to provide assistance to Sun Yat-sen.
Following the Chinese revolution, Tōyama officially retired, and apparently refused to play an active role in the
Black Dragon Society
The , or the Amur River Society, was a prominent paramilitary, ultranationalist group in Japan.
History
The ''Kokuryūkai'' was founded in 1901 by martial artist Uchida Ryohei as a successor to his mentor Mitsuru Tōyama's '' Gen'yōsha''. ...
(''Kokuryu-Kai'') that he helped create as a successor to the ''Genyosha''. He remained an influential behind-the-scenes figure in Japanese politics during the following years.
Influence in nationalist Japan
In the 1930s, he was considered as a superpatriot by a large section of the Japanese public, including the military. In 1932, after the assassination of several "liberal" political figures, and following rumors that then Premier Saito and others were to be assassinated in turn, the government had Tōyama's house raided and searched, and his son arrested - leading to a momentary pacification of the situation.
Legacy
Although Tōyama remained a private citizen all his life, he was known as the "Shadow Shogun," "Spymaster," and "The Boss of Bosses," because of his tremendous covert influence on the nationalist politics and the ''
yakuza
, also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...
'' crime syndicates. He also wrote an influential book on the "Three Shu" (
Katsu Kaishū,
Takahashi Deishu, and
Yamaoka Tesshū). Despite his ultranationalism, Tōyama was paradoxically on good terms with
Onisaburo Deguchi, Japan's most fervent
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...
. Tōyama was a charismatic, complex, and controversial figure in his lifetime, and remains so to this day.
He died in 1944 at his summer home on
Gotemba,
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...
, at the base of
Mount Fuji
is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...
.
Radio Tokyo announced that funeral services lasting more than three hours were held for him in Tokyo.
[Associated Press, "State Funeral Given Black Dragon Chief", ''The San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Thursday 12 October 1944, Volume 51, page 11.]
See also
* ''
Black Dragon Society
The , or the Amur River Society, was a prominent paramilitary, ultranationalist group in Japan.
History
The ''Kokuryūkai'' was founded in 1901 by martial artist Uchida Ryohei as a successor to his mentor Mitsuru Tōyama's '' Gen'yōsha''. ...
''
References
Obituary; Oct 6, 1944, The New York Times pg. 23
Joseph C. Grew, ''Ten years in Japan'' p 69 ASIN: B0006ER51M
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toyama, Mitsuru
1855 births
1944 deaths
Japanese politicians
People from Fukuoka
Pan-Asianists
Anti-American sentiment in Japan
Burials at Aoyama Cemetery