Kokuhonsha

The nihongo|National Foundation Society|国本社|Kokuhonsha was a nationalist political society in late 1920s and early 1930s Japan.

History

The "Kokuhonsha" was founded in 1924 by conservative Minister of Justice and President of the House of Peers, Kiichirō Hiranuma. [Bix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, page 164] . It called on Japanese patriots to reject the various foreign political “-isms” (such as socialism, communism, Marxism, anarchism, etc.) in favor of a rather vaguely defined “Japanese national spirit” ("kokutai"). The name “"kokuhon"” was selected as an antithesis to the word “"minpon"”, from "minpon shugi", the commonly-used translation for the word “democracy”, and the society was openly supportive of totalitarian ideology. [Reynolds, Japan in the Fascist Era, page 76] The elder statesman Saionji Kinmochi publicly criticized the organization of promoting Japanese fascism.

Membership of the "Kokuhonsha" included many of Hiranuma's colleagues from the Ministry of Home Affairs, important businessmen, as well as some of the most powerful generals and admirals, including generals Sadao Araki, Jinzaburō Masaki, Makoto Saitō, and Yamakawa Kenjirō with war hero and admiral Tōgō Heihachirō serving as honorary Vice Chairman. [Sims, Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000, page 182 ] By 1936, it claimed to have a membership of over 200,000 in 170 branches [Neary, The State and Politics in Japan, page 29] . The "Kokuhonsha" published a newspaper, and acted as Hiranuma's political support group.

However, after Hiranuma was appointed President of the Privy Council, he no longer needed the support of a political action group. The February 26 Incident of 1936, during which time many prominent members expressed support for the insurrectionists, provided Hiranuma with an excuse to order the organization dissolved. [Neary, The State and Politics in Japan, page 29]

References

*cite book
last = Bix
first = Herbert B
year = 2001
title = Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan
publisher = Harper Perennial
location =
id = ISBN 0-06-093130-2
*cite book
last = Neary
first = Ian
authorlink =
year = 2002
title = The State and Politics in Japan
publisher = Polity
location =
id = ISBN 0745621341
*cite book
last = Reynolds
first = E. Bruce
authorlink =
year = 2004
title = Japan in the Fascist Era
publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
location =
id = ISBN 140396338X
*cite book
last = Sims
first = Richard
authorlink =
year = 2001
title = Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000
publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
location =
id = ISBN 0312239157

ee also

*List of Japanese nationalist movements and parties

Notes