The Black Dragon Society (Kyūjitai; 黑龍會; Shinjitai: 黒龍会, kokuryūkai^?) was a prominent paramilitary, ultra-nationalist right-wing group in Japan. Look up KyÅ«jitai in Wiktionary, the free dictionary KyÅ«jitai (旧字体, きゅうじたい) is the traditional form of the Japanese kanji used before 1947. ... Shinjitai (in Shinjitai: ; in KyÅ«jitai: æ–°å­—é«”; meaning new character form), are the forms of Kanji used in Japan since the promulgation of the Tōyō Kanji List in 1946. ... A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ...

It was founded in 1901 by Uchida Ryohei, and was descended from the Genyosha. (Uchida was a follower of Genyosha founder Mitsuru Toyama.) Its name is derived from the Amur River, called Heilongjiang or "Black Dragon River" in Chinese (黑龍江^?), read as Kokuryū-kō in Japanese. Its public goal was to support efforts to drive Russia out of east Asia, south of the Amur River. 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Genyōsha (玄洋社) (Dark/Black Ocean Society) was a Japanese ultranationalist group formed in 1879 by Toyama Mitsuru. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Amur (Russian: Амур) (Simplified Chinese: 黑龙江; Traditional Chinese: 黑龍江; Hēilóng Jiāng, literally meaning Black Dragon River) (Mongolian: Хара-Мурэн, Khara-Muren or Black River) (Manchu: Sahaliyan Ula, literal meaning Black... Traditional Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 正體字/繁體字, Simplified Chinese: 正体字/繁体字) refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ...

The Kokuryukai initially made strenuous efforts to distance itself from the criminal elements of its predecessor, the Genyosha. As a result, its membership included Cabinet Ministers and high-ranking military officers as well as professional secret agents. However, as time passed, it found that use of criminal activities to be a convenient 'means to an end' for many of its operations. Secret Agent is a 1936 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. ...

The Society published a journal, and operated an espionage training school, from which it dispatched agents to gather intelligence on Russian activities in Russia, Manchuria, Korea and China. It also pressured Japanese politicians to adopt a strong foreign policy. The Kokuryukai also supported Pan-Asianism, and lent financial support to revolutionaries such as Sun Yat-sen, and Emilio Aguinaldo. Manchuria (Manchu: Manju; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; Simplified Chinese: 满洲; pinyin: Mǎnzhōu, Russian: ) is a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... Korea (Korean: 한국 or 조선, see below) is a geographic area, civilization[], and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... Pan-Asianism is an ideology that Asian countries and peoples share similar values and similar histories and should be united politically or culturally. ... Sun Yat-sen (Chinese: ; November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader often referred to as the “father of modern China”. Sun played an instrumental role in the eventual overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. ... Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (March 22, 1869 – February 6, 1964) was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. ...

During the Russo-Japanese War, annexation of Korea and Siberian Intervention, the Imperial Japanese Army made use of the Kokuryukai network for espionage, sabotage and assassination. They organized Manchurian guerrillas against the Russians from the Chinese warlords and bandit chieftains in the region, the most important being Marshal Chang Tso-lin. The Black Dragons waged a very successful psychological warfare campaign in conjunction with the Japanese military, spreading disinformation and propaganda throughout the region. They also acted as interpreters for the Japanese army. Combatants Russian Empire Empire of Japan Commanders Emperor Nicholas II Aleksey Kuropatkin Stepan Makarov† Emperor Meiji Oyama Iwao Heihachiro Togo Strength 500,000 Soldiers 400,000 Soldiers Casualties 24,844 killed; 146,519 wounded; 59,218 POW; unknown Chinese civilians 47,387 killed; 173,425 woundedï¼› unknown Chinese civilians Greater... Flag of the Japanese Resident General of Korea Anthem: Kimi ga Yoa Korea under Japanese Occupation Capital Keijo Language(s) Korean, Japanese Religion Shintoisma Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor of Japan  - 1910 - 1912 Emperor Meiji  - 1912 - 1925 Emperor Taisho  - 1925 - 1945 Emperor Showa Governor-General of Korea  - 1910 - 1916 Masatake Terauchi... The Siberian Intervention ) of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Imperial Japanese Army to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by western powers to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army in the Russian Civil War. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (: 大日本帝國陸軍 Shinjitai: 大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official ground based armed force of Japan from 1867 to 1945 when it was Imperial Japan. ... Espionage (spying) is a practice of obtaining information about an organization or a society that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. ... German supply train blown up by the Armia Krajowa during World War II Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy, oppressor or employer through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction. ... It has been suggested that Extrajudicial Executions and Assasinations be merged into this article or section. ... Chang Tso-lin Zhāng Zuòlín (Chinese: 张作霖 , pinyin: Zhāng Zuòlín, WG: Chang Tso-Lin) (March 19, 1873 – June 4, 1928), nicknamed the Old Marshal (大帥) or Mukden Tiger, was a Chinese warlord in Manchuria in the early 20th century. ... It has been suggested that infowars be merged into this article or section. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One U.S. propaganda poster, which warns against civilians sharing information on troop movements (National Archives) The much-imitated 1914 Lord Kitchener Wants You! poster Swedish Anti-Euro propaganda for the referendum of 2003. ...

The Black Dragons assisted the legendary Japanese spy, Colonel Motojiro Akashi. Akashi, who was not directly a member of the Black Dragons, ran successful operations in China, Manchuria, Siberia and established contacts throughout the Muslim world. These contacts in Central Asia were maintained through World War II. The Black Dragons also formed close contact and even alliances with Buddhist sects throughout Asia. Motojiro Akashi Akashi Motojiro (明石元二郎, September 1, 1864 - October 26, 1916) was a Lieutenant General in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 7th Governor-General of Taiwan from June 6, 1918 to October 26, 1919. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by...

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Kokuryukai evolved into more of a mainstream political organization, and publicly attacked liberal and leftist thought. Although it never had more than several dozen members at any one time during this period, the close ties of its membership to leading members of the government, military and powerful business leaders gave it a power and influence far greater than most other ultranationalist groups.

Initially directed only against Russia, in the 1930s, the Kokuryukai expanded its activities around the world, and stationed agents in such diverse places as Ethiopia, Turkey, Morocco, throughout southeast Asia and South America, as well as Europe and the United States. Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ...

The Kokuryukai was sensationalized by the yellow press and by American wartime propaganda, largely due to its villainous name of “Black Dragon Society”. Lurid novels and short stories connected it will all manner of nefarious criminal activity, and local government authorities in the United States found it convenient to use its supposed existence as an underground “fifth column” among Americans of Japanese descent as one of the excuses for the Japanese-American Internment during World War II. Yellow journalism is a type of journalism in which sensationalism triumphs over factual reporting. ... Jerome Relocation Camp The Japanese American internment refers to the exclusion and subsequent removal of approximately 112,000 to 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans, officially described as persons of Japanese ancestry, 62% of whom were United States citizens, from the west coast of the United States during World War...

The Kokuryukai was officially disbanded by order of the American Occupation authorities in 1946. Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) was the title for Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following WWII. The title did belong to Dwight David Eisenhower during WWII, however, he had nothing to do with the attacks on Japan. ...

See also

• Satokata Takahashi
• Kotaro Yoshida

Satokata Takahashi was a retired major of the Imperial Japanese Army and member of the Black Dragon Society. ... Kotaro Yoshida was an 19th to 20th Century Japanese martial artist and member of the Amur River Society (also known as the Black Dragon Society), an ultra-nationalist organization based in Japan that both preserved the traditional warrior culture of Japan, and promulgated pan-Asiatic ascendancy in line with the...

External references

• The Encyclopedia of Espionage by Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen (ISBN 0-517-20269-7)
• Deacon, Richard: A History of the Japanese Secret Service, Berkley Publishing Company, New York, 1983, ISBN 0-425-07458-7

• Black Dragon Society
• 1914 Black Dragon statement