(Warm reminder: this article is about 3200 words, with 18 pictures, original is not easy, thank you for your patience to read.) ）
On February 26, 1936, a political storm in the name of the "Showa Restoration" descended on Tokyo, Japan, accompanied by heavy snow in the early hours of the morning, and more than 1,400 officers and men from the 1st and 3rd Infantry Regiments of the 1st And 3rd Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division and the 3rd Guards Infantry Regiment of the Guards Division, armed with live ammunition, attacked many places, including the Prime Minister's Official Residence, the Minister of The Land Affairs' Residence, the Army Province, the General Staff Headquarters, the Metropolitan Police Agency, and the Asahi Shimbun, assassinating Minister of the Interior Saito Shigeru, Minister of Finance Takahashi Isei. A number of military and political dignitaries, including Army Education Director Watanabe Ingotaro, demanded the implementation of national transformation, which is the famous "226 Incident" in Modern Japanese History. After four days of confrontation, the coup forces were forced to surrender, and the Young Zhuang officers who instigated and led the coup were tried by military law and sentenced to capital punishment. Although this coup d'état ended in an attempted attempt, it had a far-reaching impact and was regarded as an important node and landmark event for Japan to establish a military dictatorship and fascist system and embark on the road of war in an all-round way.
■ In the 1989 film "226", rebel forces assemble on a snowy night and march towards the target.
Although the 226 incident was essentially a political conflict within Japan, it was impossible not to attract great attention from the international community, especially the United States, which had tense relations with Japan at that time. In fact, at the beginning of the coup, the Japanese side once believed that the U.S. embassy was also a target for the rebels, and sent garrisons to the embassy to build fortifications to prevent attacks. So, what does this military coup that shocked the Japanese government and opposition look like in the eyes of the Americans? What is their view? These questions are probably the most representative of the experience and perception of joseph Gru, then US ambassador to Japan. As a veteran diplomat, Gru has been on a mission to Japan for a decade since 1932, and he is very familiar with the pre-war Japanese military and political circles, with deep contacts and extensive knowledge, and his understanding of Japan is unparalleled in American politics.
■ U.S. Ambassador to Japan Joseph Gru (left) poses with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshizaburo Nomura (right) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 1940, who will serve as the last pre-war ambassador to the United States at the end of the same year.
Among the foreigners in Tokyo at the time, Gru was one of the first to get the truth about the coup and to observe the situation up close. It is worth mentioning that on the eve of the coup d'état, Gru hosted a banquet at the embassy to entertain the Interior Minister Saito and his wife, and the Emperor's attendant Nagasugi Kantaro and his wife. When Gelug became ambassador to Japan, the two had a close personal relationship, and Sawago was a gentle and respectable politician, hoping to use his prestige to resolve the contradictions between Japan and the United States. That night, Gru also specially selected the latest American films for the guests to screen, and Saito, Suzuki and others stayed until 11 o'clock in the evening before returning home. Just a few hours later, Gru heard the news of the attack on the two men, which could not but be said to be a thunderbolt on a sunny day.
■ Lieutenant (left) of the Army of Dansheng Makoto, who participated in the rebellion, speaks to the soldiers.
On the morning of February 26, Gru received a call from Neville, the consul general in Tokyo, and learned that an assassination had taken place, and rumors were rife. In the hours that followed, the U.S. Embassy learned about developments through various channels, including two occasions that Neville had traveled to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the rebel blockade line that day to inquire about the news. At 10 a.m., Gru sent a brief telegram to the U.S. State Department informing him of the coup d'état in Tokyo, Japan, saying that military personnel had occupied government offices, assassinated dignitaries, and imposed a press blockade, but also to test the smooth flow of domestic telecommunications. At noon, Gru sent the second telegram of the day, which was very long and divided into four parts, reporting in detail the information held at that time, roughly clarifying the main situation and the background of the coup, which was the first detailed record of the "226 Incident" in the United States.
■ Minister of the Interior, Minoru Saito (left), who was assassinated in the 226 Incident, and Minister of finance, Kiyoshi Takahashi (right).
■Army Education Director Admiral Tsukitaro Watanabe (left) and The Emperor's attendant, Admiral Shotaro Nagasugi (right), who was assassinated in the incident.
In a telegram, Gru reported that Prime Minister Keisuke Okada, Minister Shigeru Saito, attendant Nagasugi Kantaro, Tibetan Minister Takahashi Kiyoshi, army education director Takutaro Watanabe, and others had been assassinated or injured, that the military had blockaded government buildings and the imperial palace, that telephones from government departments had been cut off, but that the rebel forces had strictly observed military discipline, that there had been no disturbances, and that there were no signs of xenophobia. The embassy learned from the statements distributed by the rebel soldiers that the cause of the coup was that the current government deviated from the true Japanese spirit, and the emperor's power was sidelined, as evidenced by the signing of the London Naval Treaty and the retirement of the leader of the Imperial Taoist faction, Masazaki Issaburo. The statement was signed by Captain Shiro Noaka and Lieutenant Antenghui of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, and claimed that a new national law would be born that afternoon. The cable described the situation as a previous Baptiste coup in Cuba.
■ The main planner and leader of the 226 Incident, Captain Shiro Nokaka (left) and Lieutenant Kei Ando (right), both squadron leaders of the 3rd Infantry Regiment.
In the last part of the telegram, Gru explicitly characterized the event as a coup d'état, "launched by the army's young fascists, with the aim of eliminating the elderly ministers who were advisers to the emperor in one fell swoop, and then carrying out the so-called 'Showa Restoration.'" The Emperor himself should be placed under house arrest in the palace,...... The leader of the incident was None other than General Mazaki, and every detail of the operation seemed to have been carefully arranged in advance. "Although the description of the incident is different from the actual situation, it is generally accurate, in other words, the U.S. Embassy basically clarified the situation just hours after the coup.
■ In the film "226", the rebel officers and soldiers surround the attendant Nagasuzuki Kantaro and prepare to kill him, but Suzuki is difficult to die, and later becomes the "Prime Minister of the Final War".
That night, the atmosphere in the embassy was very tense, and Mrs. Gru, fearing that her husband was also on the assassination list, insisted on changing the bedrooms. The next day, armed guards and sandbag fortifications appeared outside the embassy, and the Japanese side arranged for Gru to be inseparable from his personal bodyguards. However, Gru was very indifferent, he knew that the rebels would never trouble the United States at this time. On February 27, Gru went to Saito's official residence to offer condolences and paid homage to Saito's remains, deeply regretting the sudden murder of his drunken friend the day before, and describing the soldiers who committed the crime as "reckless people who did not do anything worse" in the diary of the day, believing that even if Saito was in the U.S. Embassy, they would kill people without hesitation, as long as they could easily achieve their goals.
■ The U.S. Embassy in Japan in 1931, located in Tokyo's Akasaka Ward, is known as the "Akasaka White House" because of its white walls.
Over the next two days, Gru and his colleagues stood upstairs at the embassy and witnessed the end of the farce through telescopes. The U.S. Embassy was located in central Tokyo, close to the rebel-occupied Prime Minister's Residence and the Sanno Hotel, where Gru saw the banner of "Honoring the Emperor for Adultery" rising, as well as the military's preparations to quell the rebellion. Counterinsurgency tanks rumbled past the embassy gates, loudspeakers shouting at the rebels were clearly audible, planes were throwing leaflets flying around, and even a huge banner was hung with hydrogen balloons to inform soldiers that they would be forgiven when they returned to their barracks. After two days of stalemate, the coup ended peacefully, with the soldiers surrendering in small groups, but the leading officers refused to kill themselves, and were later sentenced to death by a military tribunal.
■ Surrender leaflets distributed by counterinsurgency units (left) and surrender banners hoisted with balloons (right).
■ The surrendered rebel troops marched back to the barracks and did not seem to be singing the "Song of the Showa Restoration".
After learning more details about the coup, Gru praised the performance of women facing rebel soldiers in his diary, such as The granddaughter and son of Count Makino, and when the rebels pointed their guns at Makino, Kazuko unfurled her kimono in front of her grandfather, prompting the soldiers to abandon the assassination, and Kazuko and Gru's daughter Elsie were good friends. However, in Gru's eyes, the real hero of this tragic event should be Prime Minister Keisuke Okada's secretary Matsuo Narizo, who took his place in a time of crisis and was shot by the rebels for the prime minister himself, thus allowing Okada to escape the disaster. Although the police guarding the prime minister's residence were also killed and injured in the clashes, Gru believed that they were responsible, and Matsuo's behavior was "a voluntary act of self-sacrifice to save others".
■ Prime Minister Keisuke Okada (left) and secretary Matsuo Tachyō (right), who was killed by impersonating Okada during the 226 Incident.
In his March 1 diary, Gru recorded his observations and impressions about the Events of February 226, and he believed that one thing was certain, that Japan must implement some kind of "New Deal," or else the same events would be repeated. He pinned his hopes on the new Prime Minister, Hiroshi Hirota, believing that he was similar to the timing of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency and that if he could solve the problem effectively, he would become a great politician in history. However, Hirota's actions ran counter to Gru's hopes, and as a key figure in promoting the establishment of the fascist system and advancing war policy, Hirota was sentenced to hanging at the Tokyo Trials ten years later, and was the only civilian official among the 7 Class A war criminals who were sentenced to capital punishment.
■ In the dock of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in 1946, Hiroshi Hirota was the only civilian official sentenced to death.
Finally, Gru explores a thought-provoking question: Why did things like the 226 Incident happen in Japan? He wrote: "It is not difficult to understand the history books that educate the young people of Japan and think about it carefully. The book is full of such deeds, and since ancient times, it is absurd that it is either assassination, suicide, or revenge, or loyalty to the lord, or an expression of responsibility for a situation. He believes that "Japan is inherently a country full of contradictions." Of course, Gru's Western way of thinking is difficult to understand the moral concept of heavy death and loyalty to the king advocated by the Japanese Bushido spirit, but his final conclusion is very forward-looking: "If such incidents are to be prevented in the future, not only must the domestic social and economic aspects of the New Deal be implemented, but also Japanese-style school education and military education should be fundamentally transformed." "Thinking of the long-entangled history textbook issue between China, Japan and South Korea decades later, and looking at the disgraceful role played by Hong Kong's educational circles in the disaster and turmoil in Hong Kong in recent years, Gru's assertion more than eighty years ago can be described as Yin Jian still exists.
■ The Memorial Monument to the 226 Incident in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, but I don't know if it commemorates the rebel officers and soldiers who fled away, or the ghosts who died under the sword and gun?