Gondō Seikyō

Gondō Seikyō

Gondō Seikyō ( Japanese 権 藤 成 卿 , first name also read Seikei or Nariaki ; born April 13, 1868 in Fukuoka Prefecture ; died July 9, 1937 ) was a Japanese thinker and writer on the right wing during the Meiji , Taishō and early Shōwa period .

life and work

Gondō Seikyō became an advocate of Japanese expansion after an extensive trip to Korea and China in 1886. He therefore joined the Amur League and was editor of the magazine "Tōa geppō" (東 亜 月報), a monthly magazine for the Far East.

In 1902 he settled in Tokyo and came into contact with Kita Ikki , Ōkawa Shūmei and other right wing thinkers. He joined the "Rōsōkai" (老僧 会), a study group that dealt with national problems, then founded in 1920 the "Jichi gakkai" (自治 学会). As a proponent of agrarian nationalism (農 本 主義, Nōhon shugi), Gondō thought of a state made up of self-governing village communities, free from bureaucracy and monopoly capitalism, under the direct rule of the emperor. His supporters took part in the peasant protest movements that developed in the late 1920s due to the economic difficulties in the countryside.

Gondo's ideas had a major impact on the radical nationalist movements of the early 1930s. He was even suspected of being involved in two far-right attacks in 1932, the "Blood League" attack and the May 15 incident .

Gondō's works include titles such as “Kōmin jichi hongi” (皇 民 自治 本義) - “Basic principles of self-government of the imperial subjects” - from 1920 and “Jichi mimpan” (自治 民 範) - “Instructions of the people to self-government”.

Remarks

1. ↑ The Blood League incident (血盟 団 事件, Ketsumeidan jiken), carried out in early 1932 by young farmers from Ibaraki Prefecture , was directed against people who were perceived as exploiters. Inoue Junnosuke and Dan Takuma were murdered.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Gondō Seikyō . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X
• Hunter, Janet: Gondō Seikyō . In: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Kodansha International, 1984. ISBN 4-7700-1193-8 .

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Gondō is the family name, Seikyō the first name.