On This Day in History: November 25
A coup attempt in Japan
At least this fascist fuckweasle had the decency to kill himself after his coup failed.
—On This Day in History Shit Went Down: November 25, 1970—
Born Kimitake Hiraoka, his pen name was Yukio Mishima, and he is considered one of the most important authors of the twentieth century, proving that not all those who embrace far right ideologies are total dipshits.
Japan had a proud history of kicking ass, so long as you include genocide, torture, and rape as things to be proud of. In the thirteenth century they repelled not one but two Mongol invasions at a time when Kublai Khan ruled the largest contiguous empire in world history. Hell, the second invasion may have seen the Mongols suffer the deadliest day in naval history.
Then in the mid-nineteenth century they realized oh fuckfarts our two centuries of isolationism has made us all backwards ‘n shit and they rapidly industrialized, kicking behemoth Russia’s ass just a few decades later. And then in 1937 they said we’re building an empire, motherfuckers, and kicked off World War II with what would become the very definition of suck for China and neighboring nations.
The Japanese had militarized their society to become the most ruthless of conquerors, where death was preferable to surrender. But then they surrendered, and for folks like Mishima, that shit rankled.
He was drafted to fight in WWII in spring 1944, but had a cold during his physical, was misdiagnosed with tuberculosis and declared unfit, likely saving his life. After the war he became a famous novelist, considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times in the early 1960s. A handsome and fit man, Mishima also worked as an actor and a model.
It was in the 60s that he became more radicalized, forming a right-wing group of fitness-obsessed university students who would save Japan from communism, or some shit. In his forties he fancied himself a James Dean, proclaiming that “the beautiful should die young,” so that’s what he did.
He was pissed at Japan’s embracing of materialism, democracy, and international cooperation, saying the nation had lost its “national essence” and it was time to return to the good old days of being fascist as fuck. On November 25, 1970, he and four members of his militia entered Camp Ichigaya military base in Tokyo and took the commandant hostage.
He had the commandant assemble the garrison then Mishima began to speak, railing against the U.S.-back constitution, saying the soldiers were a bunch of wimps, and called on them to take their country back and reinstall the emperor as a living god.
At first the soldiers were quietly muttering the fuck? Then they laughed and said yeah no get the fuck outta here. Mishima said well shit I tried, and committed seppuku, ritual suicide. But he was loyal to his author contract. On the morning of his last day alive he posted the final book in his tetralogy to his publisher.
Speaking of publishers, I know mine would love it if you bought a copy of ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN. Makes an awesome gift.
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The first job I got after my husband got his discharge in 1971 was as a secretary with what was a 600 year old Japanese trading company. I passed their algebra test, wore miniskirts and was blond. A shoe-in. Plus I knew what telexes were and bills of lading. The young men were not much older, seemed serious but with one exception had great senses of humor. They were far from home and loved New York. Their custom was to take staff to lunch with them. We were mostly broke, T was having trouble getting hired because he was a vet and as one employment agent told him, man, no one’s going to hire a vet, they think you’re all on drugs or crazy... So free lunches came in handy. They joked about kamikazes being crazy. I learned later one of the managers father had committed ritual seppuku at the end of the war. Another one’s father had been a high ranking naval officer, killed in the war. He realized I was a baseball fan and from there on we clicked. They seemed so fucking glad they were not in Japan.
I hope the U.S. Military will say the same thing to Trump if he decides to have another coup of his own.