1936 Tokyo revolt
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In February 1936, a military revolt took place in Tokyo over the issue of Japanese policy towards China.
History
Tensions had been rising between Japan and China since the former power invaded the north Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. After consolidating their gains into the puppet state of Manchukuo, factions of the Japanese government and the Imperial Army were divided on what course of action should be taken.
One faction, the Kodo Ha, favoured further expansion of the Japanese Empire into China. The other faction, the Tosei Ha, was also expansionist but thought it better to adhere to the formal rules of engagement, and was wary of the Soviet Union to the north.
With local commanders in Manchukuo sympathetic to the Kodo Ha, a series of political murders and assassinations took place between 1933 and 1935. Many government ministers, including prime ministers, were among the victims of this violence as the Kodo Ha sought to exert its influence on government policy.
Eventually, the Kodo Ha launched a revolt in Tokyo itself, which was engineered by the Sakura Kai. The First Infantry Division, in support of the Kodo Ha, deployed onto the streets, murdering many politicians and civil servants in a bid to assume power of Japan's military government.
The revolt was eventually put down by imperial order. As a result, the Tosei Ha remained largely in control of the army and government policy. However, the ideals of the Kodo Ha survived in the Manchukuo commanders. Their remaining influence was significant enough that the Tosei Ha were pressured to make changes to their policy. In July 1937, the commanders and the Sakura Kai provoked a fight against Chinese soldiers at Marco Polo Bridge. With their armies in action, the government was forced to move onto a war footing, bringing about the true beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Among the ministers killed in the revolt were the brothers of Ishiguro Takashi, a soldier in the army. The experience caused him to desert the army and flee to Shanghai, where he assumed a new identity as a Hong Kong-born nightclub owner named Woo, as well as the vigilante Yan Cheh. Woo sought to unite China to face the Japanese after war broke out between the two, and avenge the deaths of his brothers at the hands of the "traitors" in the Imperial Army. (PROSE: The Shadow of Weng-Chiang)
Behind the scenes
- In the real world, the revolt is known as the February 26 Incident, after the date on which it broke out. The text in The Shadow of Weng-Chiang gives it no name in-universe, nor does it explicitly date the coup as taking place on 26 February, though it does refer twice to the event as a "revolt", with an additional reference to the First Infantry Division having "revolted".
