The , or the Amur River Society, was a prominent paramilitary,

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 ...

group in Japan.

History

The ''Kokuryūkai'' was founded in 1901 by martial artist

Uchida Ryohei Uchida (written: 内田 lit. "within ricefield") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Aguri Uchida (born 1949), a Japanese watercolour painter * Akiko Uchida (born 1985), a Japanese volleyball player * Asahi Uchida (born ...

as a successor to his mentor Mitsuru Tōyama's ''

Gen'yōsha The was an influential Pan-Asianist group and secret society active in the Empire of Japan, and was considered to be an ultranationalist group by General Headquarters in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Foundation as the ...

''. Its name is derived from the translation of the Amur River, which is called Heilongjiang or "Black Dragon River" in Chinese (黑龍江 ^?), read as ''Kokuryū-kō'' in Japanese. Its public goal was to support efforts to keep the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

north of the Amur River and out of East Asia. The ''Kokuryūkai'' initially made strenuous efforts to distance itself from the criminal elements of its predecessor, the ''Gen'yōsha''. As a result, its membership included Cabinet Ministers and high-ranking military officers as well as professional intelligence operatives. However, as time passed, it found the use of criminal activities to be a convenient means to an end for many of its operations. The Society published a journal, the ''Kokuryū Kaiho'' (Amur Bulletin) and operated an espionage training school, from which it dispatched agents to gather intelligence on Russian activities in Russia,

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and China.

Ikki Kita was a Japanese author, intellectual and political philosopher who was active in early Shōwa period Japan. Drawing from an eclectic range of influences, Kita was a self-described socialist who has also been described as the "ideological father ...

was sent to China as a special member of the organization. It also pressured Japanese politicians to adopt a strong foreign policy. The ''Kokuryūkai'' also supported

Pan-Asianism Satellite photograph of Asia in orthographic projection. Pan-Asianism (''also known as Asianism or Greater Asianism'') is an ideology aimed at creating a political and economic unity among Asian peoples. Various theories and movements of Pan-Asi ...

, and lent financial support to revolutionaries such as Sun Yat-sen and Emilio Aguinaldo. During the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

annexation of Korea Annexation ( Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal ac ...

and

Siberian Intervention The Siberian intervention or Siberian expedition of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers, Japan, and China to support White Russian f ...

, 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 Emperor o ...

made use of the ''Kokuryūkai'' network for

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

and assassination. They organized Manchurian guerrillas against the Russians from the Chinese

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

s and bandit chieftains in the region, the most important being Marshal

Zhang Zuolin Zhang Zuolin (; March 19, 1875 June 4, 1928), courtesy name Yuting (雨亭), nicknamed Zhang Laogang (張老疙瘩), was an influential Chinese bandit, soldier, and warlord during the Warlord Era in China. The warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to ...

. The Black Dragons waged a very successful

psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and M ...

campaign in conjunction with the Japanese military, spreading disinformation and propaganda throughout the region. They also acted as interpreters for the Japanese army. The ''Kokuryūkai'' assisted the Japanese spy, Colonel Motojiro Akashi. Akashi, who was not directly a member of the Black Dragons, ran successful operations in China, Manchuria, Siberia and established contacts throughout the Muslim world. These contacts in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

were maintained through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The Black Dragons also formed close contact and even alliances with

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

sects throughout Asia. During the 1920s and 1930s, the ''Kokuryūkai'' evolved into more of a mainstream political organization, and publicly attacked liberal and leftist thought. Although it never had more than several dozen members at any one time during this period, the close ties of its membership to leading members of the government, military and powerful business leaders gave it a power and influence far greater than most other ultranationalist groups. In 1924, retired naval captain Yutaro Yano and his associates within the Black Dragon Society invited

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 ...

leader Onisaburo Deguchi on a journey to

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. Onisaburo led a group of Oomoto disciples, including

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 ...

. Initially directed only against Russia, in the 1930s, the ''Kokuryūkai'' expanded its activities around the world, and stationed agents in such diverse places as

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, throughout

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, as well as

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The ''Kokuryūkai'' was officially disbanded by order of the American Occupation authorities in 1946. According to Brian Daizen Victoria's book, ''Zen War Stories'', the Black Dragon Society was reconstituted in 1961 by

Ōmori Sōgen was a Japanese Rinzai Rōshi, a successor in the Tenryū-ji line of Rinzai Zen, and former president of Hanazono University, the Rinzai university in Kyoto, Japan. He became a priest in 1945. Biography Ōmori Sōgen was a teacher of Kashima ...

as the Black Dragon Club (''Kokuryū-Kurabu'') with the aim to "succeed to the spirit of the rewarBlack Dragon Society and promote the hōwarestoration." According to Victoria, the Kokuryū-Kurabu never attracted more than 150 members.

Activities in the United States

The Ethiopian Pacific Movement and the Peace Movement of Ethiopia (both

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

black nationalist organizations) claimed they were affiliated with the Black Dragon Society.Kearney, Reginald (1998)
''African American Views of the Japanese: Solidarity or Sedition?''
New York: SUNY Press
p. 77.
/ref> As part of their effort to support such organizations, the Black Dragon Society sent an agent, Satokata Takahashi, to promote

pan-Asianism Satellite photograph of Asia in orthographic projection. Pan-Asianism (''also known as Asianism or Greater Asianism'') is an ideology aimed at creating a political and economic unity among Asian peoples. Various theories and movements of Pan-Asi ...

and claim that Japan would treat them as racial equals. He would become a patron of Elijah Muhammed and the Nation of Islam, as well as the

Pacific Movement of the Eastern World The Pacific Movement of the Eastern World (PMEW) was a 1930s North American based pro-Japanese movement of African Americans which promoted the idea that Japan was the champion of all non-white peoples. The Japanese ultra-nationalist Black Dragon ...

Sankichi Takahashi was an Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy. After the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 Takahashi, an important figure of the IJN's Fleet Faction, made a swift career, from commander of an obsolete cruiser in 1923 to commander of the Combined Fle ...

may have also been a member. Mittie Maude Lena Gordon, who lead the Peace Movement of Ethiopia, claimed to be personally affiliated with the ''Kokuryūkai''. On March 27, 1942,

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agents arrested members of the Black Dragon Society in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. In the

Manzanar Manzanar is the site of one of ten American concentration camps, where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II from March 1942 to November 1945. Although it had over 10,000 inmates at its peak, it was one ...

Internment Camp, a small group of pro-Imperial Japanese flew Black Dragon flags and intimidated other Japanese inmates. Inada, Lawson Fusao (2000). ''Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese American Internment Experience''. Berkeley: Heyday Books, on behalf of the

California Historical Society The California Historical Society (CHS) is the official historical society of California. It was founded in 1871, by a group of prominent Californian intellectuals at Santa Clara University. It was officially designated as the Californian state ...

. pp. 161-162.

Notes

References

* Deacon, Richard (1983). ''Kempei Tai: A History of the Japanese Secret Service''. New York: Berkley Publishing Company. . * Jacob, Frank (2012). ''Die Thule-Gesellschaft und die Kokuryûkai: Geheimgesellschaften im global-historischen''. Würzburg:

Königshausen & Neumann Königshausen & Neumann is a publisher based in Würzburg, Germany. The publishing house was founded in 1979 by Johannes Königshausen and Thomas Neumann. It focuses on the humanities and publishes book titles in the field of philosophy, literature ...

. . * Jacob, Frank, ed. (2012). ''Geheimgesellschaften: Kulturhistorische Sozialstudien'' (''Secret Societies: Comparative Studies in Culture, Society and History''). Würzburg:

. . * Jacob, Frank (2014). ''Japanism, Pan-Asianism and Terrorism: A Short History of the Amur Society (The Black Dragons), 1901-1945''. Palo Alto:

Academica Press Academica Press is a scholarly and trade publisher of non-fiction, particularly research in the social sciences, humanities, education, law, public policy, international relations, and other disciplines. Founded by Robert Redfern-West and managed ...

. . * Kaplan, David, and Alec Dubro (2004). ''Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld''. Berkeley:

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facult ...

. pp. 18–21. . * Polmar, Norman, and Thomas B. Allen (1997). ''Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage''. New York:

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

. . * Saaler, Sven (2011)
"The Kokuryûkai, 1901-1920" (Chapter 10).
In: Saaler, Sven, and Christopher W. A. Szpilman, eds. ''Pan-Asianism: A Documentary History, Vol. 1: 1859-1920''. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 121–132. * Saaler, Sven (2014)
"The Kokuryûkai (Black Dragon Society) and the Rise of Nationalism, Pan-Asianism, and Militarism in Japan, 1901-1925."
'' International Journal of Asian Studies'', vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 125–160. .

External links

''The "Black-Dragon" Statement of Japanese Policy in China as a Result of the European War'' (1914)
{{Authority control Politics of the Empire of Japan Far-right politics in Japan Political organizations based in Japan Japanese militarism Political parties established in 1901 Organizations disestablished in 1946 Japanese-American history Internment of Japanese Americans 1901 establishments in Japan 1946 disestablishments in Japan Japanese secret societies Pan-Asianism Fascism in the United States Fascism in Japan

History

Activities in the United States

See also

Notes

References

External links