Hist 381 February 26 Incident (Ni-ni roku jiken)
The Young Officers' Manifesto included language like:
"The unique quality of our kokutai, which came into existence with the establishment of the state by Emperor Jimmu, and was fully expressed in the Meiji Restoration, should now be strengthened and expanded. Recently, evil and selfish people have encroached upon the authority of the emperor, caused the utmost misery to our people, and brought humiliation by foreign powers upon our country. These selfish people, namely the genrô, the senior stateemen, the military cliques, the bureaucrats, and the party politicians, have, by signing the London Naval Treaty of 1930, and by dismissing Inspector General of Military Education Mazaki, have usurped His Majesty's right of supreme command...."
The punishment handed down to the 2.26 Incident's instigators was severe, with the rebellious officers and those who influenced them ideologically KITA Ikki and NISHIDA Mitsugi, receiving death sentences. In the subsequent purge of the military, many officers, including those supporting the Imperial Way Faction, were transferred to the reserves, giving the control of the military to the more Control Faction. The terror spawned by the coup, furthermore, ended up casting a dark shadow on the political world, strengthening the voice of the military in the nation's political affairs.
Army officers were divided between those whose education had ended at the Army Academy (a secondary school) and those who had advanced on to the prestigious Army War College. The latter group formed the elite of the officer corps, while officers of the former group were effectively barred by tradition from advancement to staff positions. A number of these lesser-privileged officers formed the army's contribution to the young, highly politicized group often referred to as the "young officers" (青年将校 seinen shōkō).
The direct prelude to the coup, however, was the 1934 Military Academy Incident (November Incident) and its consequences. In this incident Capt. Takaji Muranaka and Capt. Asaichi Isobe, prominent members of the Kokutai Genri-ha, were arrested for planning a coup with a group of military cadets. Muranaka and Isobe admitted discussing such a coup, but denied having any plans to actually carry it out. The military court investigating the incident found there was insufficient evidence to indict, but Muranaka and Isobe were suspended by the army. The two were convinced that the incident was a Tōsei-ha attack on the young officers and began circulating a pamphlet calling for a "housecleaning" of the army and naming Nagata as the "chief villain". They were then expelled from the army.
It was at this time that the last Kōdō-ha officer in a prominent position, Gen. Mazaki, was forced from office. The young officers were enraged by Mazaki's removal because, having become disillusioned with Araki for his failures to overcome resistance in the cabinet during his time as War Minister, Mazaki had become the focus of their hopes. Muranaka and Isobe released a new pamphlet attacking Nagata for the dismissal, as did Nishida.
On 12 August 1935, in the "Aizawa Incident", Lt. Colonel Saburō Aizawa, a friend of Mazaki, murdered Nagata in his office in retaliation. Aizawa's public trial (which began in late January 1936) became a media sensation as Aizawa and the Kokutai Genri-ha leadership, in collusion with the judges, turned it into a soapbox from which their ideology could be broadcast. Aizawa's supporters in the mass media praised Aizawa's "morality and patriotism", and Aizawa himself came to be seen as "a simple soldier who sought only to reform the army and the nation according to the true National Principle.
Also killed was Gen. Jōtarō Watanabe. he had replaced Mazaki as Inspector General of Military Education and was also faulted for his support for the "organ theory" of the kokutai, and his refusal to resign despite his insuitability.
The Palace learned of the uprising when Capt. Ichitarō Yamaguchi, a supporter of rebel officers and duty officer for the 1st Infantry Regiment, informed his father-in-law Gen. Shigeru Honjō, the Emperor's chief aide-de-camp and member of the Kōdō-ha, at about 05:00. Honjō then contacted his subordinates and the chief of the military police and headed to the Palace. The Emperor himself learned of the incident at 05:40 and met with Honjō shortly after 06:00. He told Honjō to end the incident, although he was not specific as to how
They took a hard line, advising the Emperor that he should demand that efforts be concentrated on suppressing the uprising and that he must not accept the resignation of the current government, as doing so would "effectively be granting victory to the rebel army". It was after hearing this advice that Hirohito hardened his position.
Kawashima met with the Emperor at 09:30 after his meeting with the rebel officers at the Ministry of War. He read the officers' manifesto and demands aloud and then recommended the Emperor form a new cabinet to "clarify the kokutai, stabilize national life, and fulfill national defense." The Emperor refused and demanded that Kawashima suppress the uprising. When the remaining members of Okada's government, unaware that he was alive, attempted to resign that afternoon, Hirohito told them he would not allow it until the uprising had been suppressed.
The Naval Staff had taken a dim view of the uprising, at least partly due to the attacks on three admirals (Okada, Saitō, and Suzuki). It summoned the 1st Fleet to Tokyo on the 26th. By the afternoon of the 27th, 40 warships were stationed in Tokyo Bay and IJN marines had been dispatched to defend naval installations in the city.
By the morning of the 29th, the rebel army of less than 1,500 was surrounded by more than 20,000 government troops and 22 tanks. The general attack was planned for 09:00. By 05:30 all civilians in the surrounding areas had been evacuated.
From 08:00 the army began a major propaganda push towards the rebel troops. Three planes scattered leaflets from the air, a giant ad balloon adorned with the words "The Imperial Command has been issued, do not resist the Army colors!" was suspended nearby, and a series of radio broadcasts were made over NHK. The broadcasts and leaflets assured soldiers it was not too late to return to their units and informed them of the imperial command (the broadcasts would cause later problems, for they had promised all crimes would be forgiven). These efforts, together with the hopeless odds, had a devastating effect. Desertions began shortly after midnight; by 10:00, many were gone.
Realizing the hopelessness, by noon all the officers except for Andō had released their soldiers. Finally, at 13:00 Andō ordered his men to leave and unsuccessfully attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head. The rest assembled at the Ministry of War. There they met Yamashita and Ishiwara, who suggested that they commit suicide. They allowed the men to keep their sidearms and left. Col. Nobutoki Ide, a member of the General Staff and Nonaka's former commander, came to the building and called for Nonaka to come outside. Shortly afterwards, Nonaka shot himself. Isobe claimed that Nonaka was forced to commit suicide in an attempt to pressure the rest of the officers to do the same. The final rebel officer to commit suicide was Kōno, still hospitalized from the failed attack on Makino, who stabbed himself with a knife a week later. The remaining officers were arrested by the military police at 18:00. They were all stripped of their ranks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_Incident