Editing Tatenokai

{{Short description|Nationalist private militia in Japan (1968–70)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox militant organization
| name = Tatenokai
| other_name = Shield Society 
| native_name = {{lang|ja|楯の會}}
| image = 
| image_size = 
| caption =
| active = 1968–1970
| country = {{flag|Japan}}
| allegiance = {{Flagicon image|Flag of the Japanese Emperor.svg}} [[Emperor of Japan]]
| ideology = [[Japanese nationalism]]<br>[[Ultranationalism (Japan)|Ultranationalism]]<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Nicholas |editor-last=Bornoff |title=Pink Samurai: The Pursuit and Politics of Sex in Japan |date=1991 |page=432 }}</ref><br>[[Traditionalist conservatism|Traditionalism]]<br>[[Anti-communism]]<br>[[Monarchism]]
| position = [[Far-right]]
| crimes = "[[Yukio Mishima#Coup attempt and ritual suicide|Mishima Incident]]" (25 November 1970)
| status = Dissolved
| size = 100
| financing = Privately funded
| leader = [[Yukio Mishima]]
| identification_symbol = 
| identification_symbol_label = 
| identification_symbol_2 =
| identification_symbol_3 =
| identification_symbol_4 =
}}

The {{Nihongo|'''Tatenokai'''|楯の会, 楯の會}} or '''Shield Society''' was a [[private militia]] in Japan dedicated to traditional Japanese values and veneration of the [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]].<ref name="henkaku">{{cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=1970-01-21 |script-title=ja:「変革の思想」とは―道理の実現 |trans-title=What is "Thought of Revolution": Realization of the Reason |language=ja |journal=[[Yomiuri Shimbun]] }} collected in {{Harvnb|complete36|2003|pp=30–38}} (of that in pp.33–35)</ref><ref name="o-ency-tate">{{Harvnb|O-Encyclo|1976|pp=246–247}}</ref><ref name="ando-tate">{{Harvnb|Ando|1998|pp=259-261}}</ref> It was founded and led by author [[Yukio Mishima]].<ref name="o-ency-tate"/> The private militia was officially founded in 1968 for the purpose of preventing [[aggression|indirect aggression]] by proponents of foreign ideology seeking to destroy Japanese traditional culture, and protecting the dignity of the Emperor as a symbol of Japan's national identity.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=1968 |script-title=ja:「楯の会」のこと |trans-title=About the "Tatenokai" |language=ja |journal=Pamphlet Celebrating the First Anniversary of the Founding of the "Tatenokai" }} collected in {{Harvnb|complete35|2003|pp=720–727}} (of that in pp.724–725), {{Harvnb|Suzuki|2005|pp=72–80}} (of that in pp.77–78)</ref><ref name="o-ency-tate"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=210–211, 519–520, 523–524}}</ref>

The name of Tatenokai comes from two classical ''[[Waka (poetry)|waka]]'', one from the [[7th century]] [[Asuka period]] and the other from the [[19th century]] [[Edo period]], which express the determination to become a shield to protect the Emperor.<ref name="o-ency-tate"/><ref name="juro-4-na">{{Harvnb|Jurō|2005|pp=164–165}}</ref><ref name="higun-na">{{Harvnb|Suzuki|2005|p=38}}</ref>

== Background ==
The Tatenokai was a militia organization that took over from its predecessor, the {{Nihongo|"Japan National Guard"|祖国防衛隊|Sokoku Bōeitai|}}, which was founded in 1967.<ref name="o-ency-tate"/> The original members were the staff of [[minzoku-ha|New Right]] monthly magazine {{Nihongo|''Controversy Journal''|[[:ja:論争ジャーナル|論争ジャーナル]]|Ronsō jaanaru|}} and several [[Waseda University]] students.<ref name="suzu1-mochi">{{Harvnb|Suzuki|2005|pp=15–22}}</ref> They had enlisted in the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] with Yukio Mishima in 1967, and after changing its name to Tatenokai, the group gradually increased its membership by allowing new students to enlist in the JSDF.<ref name="suzu1-mochi"/>

The Tatenokai was officially founded on October 5, 1968. Mishima decided to increase the size of the private army due to his growing alarm over the scale of [[1968–1969 Japanese university protests|left-wing protests in Japan]] and to this end placed recruitment advertisements in right-wing newspapers. Membership ultimately rose to 100 members, most of whom were students at Waseda University.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Vanguard Performance Beyond Left and Right|last=Jannarone|first=Kimberly|date=2015|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=9780472119677|location=Ann Arbor|pages=95}}</ref> Along with outdoor activities, the members, who joined voluntarily, were subjected to rigorous physical training that included kendo and long-distance running.<ref name=":0" />

== Origin of the Name ==
The name "Tatenokai" (楯の会) was inspired by two traditional Japanese ''[[Waka (poetry)|waka]]'' poems: A poem from the {{Nihongo|"Poems of Defenders"|[[:ja:防人歌|防人の歌]]|Sakimori no uta|}} series{{efn|{{Nihongo|"Sakimori"|[[:ja:防人|防人]]}} were soldiers stationed in [[Kyushu]] during the ancient [[Asuka period|Asuka]] and [[Heian period]]s to guard against incursions by the [[Tang dynasty]] and [[Silla]].<ref name="manyo-kado">{{Harvnb|Manyo-kado|2001|pp=224–225}}</ref><ref name="juro-4-na"/> The defenders numbered about 3,000, and most of them were from the {{Nihongo|eastern part of Japan|[[:ja:東国|東国]]|Azuma no kuni|present-day [[Kantō region]]}}.<ref name="manyo-kado"/><ref name="juro-4-na"/>}} included in the ''[[Man'yōshū]]'', and a poem by 19th century poet [[Tachibana Akemi]].<ref name="o-ency-tate"/><ref name="juro-4-na"/><ref name="higun-na"/>

{{Quote frame |quote=
今日よりは　顧みなくて　大君の　醜の御楯と　出で立つ我は<br />
(''Kyō yori wa''　''Kaeri minakute''　''Ōkimi no''　''Shiko no mi-tate to''　''Idetatsu ware wa''){{efn|The meaning of {{Nihongo|"ugly"|醜|shiko}} here expresses a feeling of self-deprecation and humility.<ref>{{Harvnb|Manyo5-iwa|2015|pp=232–233}}</ref><ref name="juro-4-na"/>}}<br />
From today onwards, / Without any regard for myself, / I set out to become, / (although my shield may be insignificant,) / A strong shield for the Great Lord [[Emperor]].<br />
|author={{Nihongo|Imamatsuribe no Yosō|[[:ja:今奉部与曾布|今奉部與曾布]]}}|title={{Nihongo|"Poem of a Defender"|[[:ja:防人歌|防人の歌]]|Sakimori no uta|}}<ref name="juro-4-na"/>}}

{{Quote frame |quote=
大皇の　醜の御楯と　いふ物は　如此る物ぞと　進め真前に<br />
(''Ōkimi no''　''Shiko no mi-tate to''　''Iu mono wa''　''Kakaru mono zo to''　''Susume masaki ni'')<br />
For the Great Lord Emperor, / (although my shield may be insignificant,) / Thinking this is what a strong shield should be, / I bravely forge ahead.<br />
|author=橘曙覧 ([[Tachibana Akemi]])<ref name="hosaka-mitate">{{Harvnb|Hosaka|2001|p=149}}</ref>}}

Regarding the writing, initially, they planned to write the name {{Nihongo|"Mtatekai"|御楯会}} in all [[kanji]], like the {{Nihongo|"Mitategumi"|[[:ja:御楯組|御楯組]]}}, a ''[[Sonnō jōi]]'' organization of the [[Chōshū Domain]] at the ''[[Bakumatsu]]'' (end of the Edo period),<ref name="ando-mitate">{{Harvnb|Ando|1998|pp=267–268}}</ref><ref>{{Nihongo|Chōkitsu Kurumatani|[[:ja:車谷長吉|車谷長吉]]}} ''Yukio Mishima's suicide'' ({{Harvnb|Shincho30|2000|pp=220–223}})</ref> however, some members felt that using only kanji was too stiff, so they decided to add the [[hiragana]] {{Nihongo|"[[No (kana)|no]]"|[[:ja:の|の]]}} to make it {{Nihongo|"Tate'''no'''kai"|楯の会}} to add a softer nuance.<ref name="ando-mitate"/><ref name="hosaka-mitate"/>

==1970 coup attempt==
{{Conservatism in Japan}}
{{Main|Yukio Mishima#Coup attempt and suicide}}
On November 25, 1970 Mishima and four Tatenokai members briefly seized control of the Japan Self-Defense Force's headquarters and attempted to rally the soldiers to stage a coup d'état, and unsuccessfully tried to inspire the JSDF to rise up and overthrow [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9]] of the [[Constitution of Japan|1947 Constitution]] to restore autonomous national defense and the divinity of the emperor,<ref>{{Harvnb|O-Encyclo|1976|pp=246–247}}</ref><ref name="ency-jiken">{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=604–606}}</ref> after which Mishima and [[Masakatsu Morita]], the Tatenokai's student leader, committed ''[[seppuku]]'' (ritual suicide).<ref name="ency-jiken"/> The rest of the members, around 90 people, were not informed about Mishima's plan at all.<ref>{{Harvnb|Suzuki|2005|pp=108–109}}</ref>

===Participants===
*[[Yukio Mishima]], Leader
**Born: January 14, 1925 - Died: November 25, 1970

*[[Masakatsu Morita]], Student leader, [[Waseda University]]
**Born: July 25, 1945 - Died: November 25, 1970
**1st generation member, the leader of 1st team
**Morita was born in [[Yokkaichi]]-shi, [[Mie Prefecture]], he lost his father and mother to illness one after another when he was a toddler (the year he turns 3 years old), and was raised by his brother, who was 16 years older than him, and other his older sisters.<ref name="resshi-1-4">{{Harvnb|Nakamura|2015|pp=26–32}}</ref><ref name="inu-0">{{Harvnb|Inuzuka|2020|pp=3–20}}</ref> When his older brother and sisters got married, he was left in the care of his childless aunt, and when the aunt's husband died, he grew up living with his aunt in an outhouse on his older brother's house.<ref name="resshi-1-4"/> Morita grew up to be a cheerful and lively person,<ref name="resshi-1-4"/> but his high school diary was filled with his having a romantic notion of death, and his longing for his mother and father, who were likely living happily together in heaven.<ref name="resshi-1-5a">{{Harvnb|Nakamura|2015|pp=32–36}}</ref><ref name="inu-0"/>

*{{Nihongo|Masayoshi Koga|[[:ja:小賀正義|小賀正義]]}}, [[Kanagawa University]]
**Born: July 31, 1948 - 
**2nd generation member, the leader of 5th team
**His nickname was "Chibi-Koga", to distinguish him from {{Nihongo|Koga|古賀}}, whose surname has the same pronunciation.<ref name="azusa7-koga">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|p=233}}</ref><ref name="nathan8-chibi">{{Harvnb|Nathan-j|2000|p=319}}, {{Harvnb|Nathan-e|1975|p=262}}, {{Harvnb|Nathan-e|2000|p=262}}</ref> Further, he was short in height, and the [[kanji]] character {{Nihongo|"small", "little"|小|ko}} in {{Nihongo|"koga"|小賀}}, so, by extension {{Nihongo|"tiny", "shorty"|チビ|chibi}}.<ref name="nathan8-chibi"/>
**Chibi-Koga was born in [[Arida, Wakayama|Arida]]-shi, [[Wakayama Prefecture]] and lost his father due to illness at a young age.<ref name="date-2a1-2">{{Harvnb|Date|1972|pp=64–67}}</ref><ref name="juro-1-a6">{{Harvnb|Jurō|2005|p=17}}</ref><ref name="nishi-2-5-c">{{Harvnb|Nishi|2020|pp=166–169}}</ref> His mother was a follower of [[Seicho-no-Ie]], a new religion,<ref name="date-2a1-2"/><ref name="juro-1-a6"/><ref name="nishi-2-5-c"/> so he also began attending training sessions for the religion and becoming a follower of it when he was in junior high school.<ref name="date-2a1-2"/><ref name="nishi-2-5-c"/> 

*[[Hiroyasu Koga]], Kanagawa University
**Born: August 15, 1947 - 
**2nd generation member, the vice leader of 5th team
**His nickname was "Furu-Koga".<ref name="azusa7-koga"/> The [[kanji]] character {{Nihongo|"old"|古|ko}} in {{Nihongo|"koga"|古賀}} can also be read as {{Nihongo|"furu i"|古い}} in ''[[kun'yomi]]''.
**Furu-Koga was born in [[Takikawa, Hokkaido|Takigawa]]-shi, [[Hokkaido]], and his father, a former elementary school principal, was a lecturer at Seicho-no-Ie headquarters,<ref name="date-2a1-2"/><ref name="juro-1-a6"/><ref name="nishi-2-5-d">{{Harvnb|Nishi|2020|pp=169–176}}</ref> so he started participating in training sessions and becoming a believer in the religion in high school.<ref name="date-2a1-2"/><ref name="nishi-2-5-d"/>

*{{Nihongo|Masahiro Ogawa|[[:ja:小川正洋|小川正洋]]}}, [[Meiji Gakuin University]]
**Born: May 15, 1948 - Died: November 26, 2018
**3rd generation member, the leader of 7th team
**He was tall and had a small moustache.<ref name="azusa7-koga"/>
**Ogawa was born in the [[Sanbu District|Sanbu]]-gun, [[Chiba Prefecture]], and grew up with a father who was a former police officer and a mother who was a former teacher, as a boy interested in the [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] and Japanese history.<ref name="date-7b-16a">{{Harvnb|Date|1972|pp=130–133, 247–252}}</ref><ref name="nishi-2-5-b">{{Harvnb|Nishi|2020|pp=158–166}}</ref> Ogawa was usually quiet boy, but had an inner fortitude, and was a member of the {{Nihongo|cheerleading squad|[[:ja:応援団|応援団]]|[[Ōendan]]|}} at high school and university.<ref name="nishi-2-5-b"/>

==Inspired events==
On 3 March 1977, four Japanese nationalists took 12 hostages at the Keidanren Kaikan (headquarters of the [[Japan Federation of Economic Organizations]]), spreading leaflets at the scene that denounced [[big business]]. The hostages were released, unharmed, after an eleven-hour standoff during which the hostage-takers spoke for more than three hours to Mishima's widow, Yōko. Two of the hostage-takers – Yoshio Ito and Shunichi Nishio – were former members of the Tatenokai.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japanese gunmen hold 12 hostages for 11 hours|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KnAqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ll0DAAAAIBAJ&dq=mishima&pg=5595%2C3280040|access-date=2011-10-24|newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|author=White, Edwin Q.|date=March 4, 1977}}</ref><ref name="keidan">{{Harvnb|complete42|2005|pp=344–345}}</ref><ref name="mura-5-kd">{{Harvnb|Murata|2015|pp=290–298}}</ref> This incident is called the {{Nihongo|"[[Japan Business Federation]] attack incident"|[[:ja:経団連襲撃事件|経団連襲撃事件]]|Keidanren shugeki jiken|}} in Japan.<ref name="keidan"/><ref name="mura-5-kd"/>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last= Mishima |first= Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集・第35巻・評論10 |publisher=Shinchosha|year=2003|isbn=978-4-10-642575-2 |language= ja|trans-title=Definitive Edition-Yukio Mishima complete works No.35-criticisms 10 |ref={{Harvid|complete35|2003}}}}
* {{cite book|last= Mishima |first= Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集・第36巻・評論11 |publisher=Shinchosha|year=2003|isbn=978-4-10-642576-9 |language= ja|trans-title=Definitive Edition-Yukio Mishima complete works No.36-criticisms 11 |ref={{Harvid|complete36|2003}}}}
* {{cite book|editor1=Satō Hideaki |editor2=Inoue Takashi |editor3=Yamanaka Takeshi |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集・第42巻・年譜・書誌|publisher= Shinchosha |year=2005 |isbn=978-4-10-642582-0 |language=ja|trans-title=Definitive Edition-Yukio Mishima complete works No.42-Biographical sketch and Bibliography |ref={{Harvid|complete42|2005}}}}
* {{cite book|editor1=Satō Hideaki |editor2=Inoue Takashi |editor3=Matsumoto Tōru |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫事典|publisher=Benseishuppan |year=2000 |isbn=978-4-585-06018-5 |language=ja|trans-title=Encyclopedia of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Encyclo|2000}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Andō|first=Takeshi|script-title=ja:三島由紀夫の生涯 |publisher=Natsumeshobo |year=1998 |isbn=978-4-931391-39-0 |language=ja|trans-title=The life of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Ando|1998}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Date |first=Munekatsu |script-title=ja:裁判記録 「三島由紀夫事件」 |publisher=Kodancha |year=1972 |id={{NCID|BN0140450X}} |language=ja|trans-title=Judicial record of "Mishima Incident"|ref={{Harvid|Date|1972}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Fukusima|first=jurō|script-title=ja:再訂資料・三島由紀夫|publisher=Chobunsha|year=2005|isbn=978-4-88695-180-9|edition=enlarged|language=ja|trans-title=Re-edition Document: Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Jurō|2005}}}} First edition published 1989.
* {{cite book|last1=Hasegawa |first1=Izumi |last2=Takeda |first2=Katsuhiko |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫事典 |publisher=Meiji shoin |year=1976 |id={{NCID|BN01686605}} |language=ja|trans-title=Encyclopedia of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|O-Encyclo|1976}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Hiraoka |first=Azusa |script-title=ja:伜・三島由紀夫|publisher=Bungeishunjū |year=1996 |edition=Paperback |isbn=978-4-16-716204-7 |language=ja |trans-title=My son: Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Azusa|1996}}}} First edition published in May 1972. {{NCID|BN04224118}}
* {{cite book|last=Hosaka |first=Masayasu |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫と楯の会事件 |publisher=[[Kadokawa Shoten]] |year=2001 |edition=Paperback (Kadokawa bunko) |isbn=978-4-04-355602-1 |language=ja|trans-title=Yukio Mishima and the Tatenokai Incident |ref={{Harvid|Hosaka|2001}}}} First edition published in November 1980 by [[Kodansha]].
* {{cite book|last=Inuzuka |first=Kiyoshi |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫と死んだ男―森田必勝の生涯 |publisher=[[Shumei University]] Shuppan-kai |year=2020 |isbn=978-4915855405 |language=ja |trans-title=The man who died with Yukio Mishima: The life of Masakatsu Morita |ref={{Harvid|Inuzuka|2020}}}}
* {{cite book|editor=Kadokawa Shoten |script-title=ja:万葉集 |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |year=2001 |edition=Paperback (Kadokawa Sophia Bunko) |series=Beginner's Classics |isbn=978-4043574063 |language=ja |trans-title=[[Man'yōshū]] |ref={{Harvid|Manyo-kado|2001}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Murakami |first=Takeo |script-title=ja:君たちには分からない――「楯の會」で見た三島由紀夫 |publisher=Shinchosha |year=2010 |isbn=978-4103278511 |language=ja|trans-title=You guys don't understand: Yukio Mishima as seen in "Tatenokai" |ref={{Harvid|Murakami|2010}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Murata |first=Haruki |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫が生きた時代―楯の会と森田必勝 |publisher=Seirindo |year=2015 |isbn=978-4-7926-0532-2 |language=ja|trans-title=The period when Yukio Mishima lived: The Tatenokai and Masakatsu Morita |ref={{Harvid|Murata|2015}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Nakamura |first=Akihiko |script-title=ja:三島事件 もう一人の主役―烈士と呼ばれた森田必勝 |publisher=Wakku |year=2015 |isbn=978-4-89831-729-7 |language=ja|trans-title=Another protagonist of Mishima Incident: Masakatsu Morita who called Upright man |ref={{Harvid|Nakamura|2015}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nathan |first=John |title=Mishima: A biography |publisher=[[Tuttle Publishing]] |year=1975 |series=Tut books |isbn=4805304022 |ref={{Harvid|Nathan-e|1975}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nathan |first=John |title=Mishima: A biography |publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] |year=2000 |edition=New |isbn=030680977X |ref={{Harvid|Nathan-e|2000}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Nathan |first=John |translator=Takehiko Noguchi |script-title=ja:新版 三島由紀夫─ある評伝 |publisher=Shinchosha |year=2000 |edition=New |isbn=978-4864100281 |language=ja |trans-title=New edition - Mishima: A biography |ref={{Harvid|Nathan-j|2000}}}} First old edition published in June 1976 (In Japan, old edition was out of print due to Mishima's family's claim that the book had parts of what they didn't say.)
* {{cite book|last=Nishi |first=Houtaro |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫事件 50年目の証言―警察と自衛隊は何を知っていたか |publisher=Shinchosha |year=2020 |isbn=978-4-10-353581-2  |language=ja |trans-title=Testimony of the 50th year of the Yukio Mishima Incident: What did the police and the Self-Defense Forces know |ref={{Harvid|Nishi|2020}}}}
* {{cite book|editor1=Satake Akihiro |editor2=Yamada Hideo, others |script-title=ja:万葉集（五）|publisher=[[Iwanami Shoten]] |year=2015 |edition=Paperback (Iwanami Bunko) |isbn=978-4003000588 |language=ja|trans-title=Man'yōshū (5) |ref={{Harvid|Manyo5-iwa|2015}}}}
* {{cite book|editor1=Suzuki Ayumi |editor2=Tamura Tsukasa |script-title=ja:火群のゆくへ―元楯の会会員たちの心の軌跡 |publisher=Hakurosha |year=2015 |isbn= 978-4-434-07066-2 |language=ja|trans-title= Whereabouts of the fire group: The trajectories of their hearts who once belonged to the Tatenokai |ref={{Harvid|Suzuki|2005}}}}
* {{cite book|editor= |script-title=ja:新潮 臨時増刊 三島由紀夫 没後三十年 |publisher=Shinchosha |year=2000 |id={{NCID|BA49508943}} |language=ja|trans-title=Shinchō - Special Issue: Yukio Mishima 30 years after his death |ref={{Harvid|Shincho30|2000}}}}
{{refend}}

{{Yukio Mishima}}
{{Shōwa nationalism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Political organizations based in Japan]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1968]]
[[Category:Far-right politics in Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese nationalist organizations]]
[[Category:Monarchism in Japan]]
[[Category:Anti-communism in Japan]]
[[Category:Kokkashugi]]
[[Category:Militias in Asia]]
[[Category:Yukio Mishima]]