were removed from positions of authority. The incident failed to accom-
plish its specific objectives, but greatly encouraged the trend towards to-
talitarianism and Army control.

GONDŌ SEIKYŌ or NARIAKI (1868-1937) A widely travelled historian and right-
wing activist, Mr. Gondō participated in the Chinese revolution of 1911
when he was in Shanghai. After returning to Tokyo he wrote "The Princi-
ples of Autonomy under the Emperor." The foremost spokesman of a purely
agrarian nationalism in the 1920s, Gondō demanded a return to agrarian
autonomy and an agrarian-centred economy. His thinking was influential
among the younger officers.

GOTŌ AKINORI One of the activists in the May 15 Incident of 1932 in which the
Prime Minister, Mr. Inukai, was assassinated.

GREAT JAPAN PRODUCTION PARTY (DAI NIHON SEISAN TŌ) In June 1931 this
party was formed in an effort to unify all elements of the extreme right-
wing movement. It claimed a membership of 100,000 soon after its found-
ing. The party's programme emphasized a strong foreign policy under the
banner of "Greater Japan." It was also responsible for bringing or establish-
ing labour unions and organizations within the rightist fold.

HASHIMOTO KINGORŌ (1890-1957) Army officer and leader of an extremist young
officers' association in the 1930s. A militant xenophobe, Hashimoto was
responsible for the shelling of H.M.S. Ladybird and U.S.S. Panay on the
Yangtse in 1937. He organized various ultra-nationalist societies in the late
1930s. In 1948 he was sentenced to life imprisonment as a Class A war
criminal, but he was released in 1955.

HEAVEN-SENT SOLDIERS' UNIT INCIDENT (SHIMPEI TAI JIKEN) An ambitious
military-civilian attempt in 1933 to carry out the objectives of the May 15
Incident of 1932 by assassinating a number of leading figures. The police
heard about the plot and arrested the conspirators in time.

INOUE NISSHŌ (b.1886) A priest of extreme rightist beliefs, who before turning
to Buddhism had spent most of his life on the continent as a secret agent
for the Japanese army. On his return to Japan he organized several extreme
nationalist societies. The most important of these was the Blood Pledge
Corps, which was responsible for the killing in 1932 of the Finance Minis-
ter and of the director of Mitsui. As a result he was sentenced to life im-
prisonment; but he was released in 1940 on a general amnesty.

INUKAI TSUYOSHI or KI (1885-1932) Prominent political leader who became Prime
Minister in 1931 and who was assassinated in the following year in the
May 15 Incident.

JAPANISM (NIHONSHUGI) A vague term, used mainly by people of strong nationalist
persuasion to emphasize the uniqueness and superiority of Japan's social,
political and cultural heritage. In the 1930s Japanism, with its stress on self-
sacrifice and loyalty to the family and State, was frequently contrasted with
the "egoism" and individualism of democracy.

KAWAKAMI JŌTARŌ (b.1889) A Christian and a founder of the Japan Labour-
Farmer Party in 1926, Kawakami was subsequently active in the socialist
movement up to the present.

KITA IKKI (1884-1937) Leading right-wing revolutionary and writer. He was a
powerful advocate of national socialism and is frequently described as the
founder of modern Japanese fascism. He demanded a radical change in Jap-
anese society and the promotion of revolution in Asia under the aegis of
Japan. Kita was executed after the failure of the February Incident of 1936,
on which he was believed to have had great influence. The "General Out-

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