Book: IKKI KITA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: A DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST WHO TRIED TO PREVENT JAPAN'S FATAL WARS

🔻 BOOK DATA - IKKI KITA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Title: IKKI KITA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: A DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST WHO TRIED TO PREVENT JAPAN'S FATAL WARS

Author: Ikki Kita

ISBN: 9789887115298

Language: English

Publisher: Ryota Nakanishi

(Nov 3, 2025)

The subsequent assertion has been proffered by the publisher of the aforementioned publication:

The publisher extends its gratitude to the true readers and to all individuals who have procured the books. The neoclassical studies will persist in order to reinvigorate the essence of patriotism.

Ikki Kita is widely regarded as the most prominent and influential opposition figure in the Empire of Japan prior to World War II. The necessity of reexamining and synthesizing the fundamental principles of revolutionary patriotism is imperative. The phenomenon is obscured by the systematic dissemination of ruling propaganda and the rhetoric of the ruling class in both Japan and China. In 2025, even some scholars of propaganda attempted to establish a connection between warmongers and Ikki Kita. It has been asserted that the aforementioned individuals discard the historical significance of Ikki Kita and the profound patriotism it embodies, likening these values to those of fascists. The assertion is that Japan's authentic patriotism reached its conclusion with the execution of the 2.26 revolutionary patriots in 1936 and 1937, prior to the onset of the two cataclysmic wars (the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, also known as World War II). The central thesis, which encompasses all the aforementioned details, is outlined below: 

The GHQ did not designate Ikki Kita, Mitsugi Nishida, and all 2.26 rebel army members as war criminals. Moreover, it is erroneous to assert that all Ikki Kita books were banned by the GHQ. In fact, the GHQ released all Ikki Kita books from the prohibition in Japan. 

This historical rationale distinguishes them from warmongers. It is imperative that all pertinent details and differences are not obscured; otherwise, the work cannot be regarded as research or scholarly in nature. It is unfortunate that contemporary academia is increasingly influenced by individuals who lack the necessary academic credentials. This situation underscores the necessity for non-scholarly private studies to safeguard historical knowledge and intelligence. The following critical features of Ikki Kita are outlined below:

1. The foundational principle of Ikki Kita’s revolution revolves around the concept of the emperor, primarily executed by military officers of intermediate and lower ranks who maintain their integrity and hail from the peasant and labor classes. 

2. It is important to note that Ikki Kita was not aligned with the Imperial Way Faction of the military. This is due to the fact that Kita upheld the Emperor-Organ theory, which contrasts with the Emperor-Sovereign theory espoused by the military. Consequently, Japanese and Chinese scholars have argued that the designation of Ikki Kita as the ideologue of the Imperial Way Faction is fundamentally erroneous and misleading. 

3. Ikki Kita's revolutionary theory is realized by the GHQ without the right of war in the aftermath of World War II. The implementation of the land reform and the nationalization of the monarchical properties effectively addressed the issues of feudalism, thereby marking the culmination of the core tenets of the Showa Restoration revolution, as initially conceived by Kita. However, the primary issue lies in the fact that the aforementioned work was produced by foreign entities rather than by Japanese individuals. The 2.26 incident represented the final opportunity to achieve domestic democratization. The initiation of hostilities was perpetrated by the oppressors of the 2.26 incident. The failure of the 2.26 incident suggests that the opposition within the military and the entire establishment may have been expelled or marginalized, or at the very least, that the opposition was not eradicated in its entirety. The equilibrium within the institution underwent a substantial shift following the aforementioned failure. 

4. It is posited that the strategic partnerships forged by Japan with China, the United States, and France might have been averted had the aforementioned powers exercised sufficient foresight to avert the impending hostilities of the 1930s and 1940s. 

5. In the aftermath of the 2000s, a notable revelation emerged concerning the material basis in the case of Ikki Kita. It was uncovered that Kita had been barred from entering China for a duration of three years, with the prohibition taking effect in April 1913. However, he clandestinely entered Beijing, China via Korea in September 1914. During this period, Korea served as a clandestine conduit for the transportation of goods and people from Japan to China. Rentaro Mikuni, who portrayed Ikki Kita, subsequently pursued a similar course of action during the war. This assertion is corroborated by documentation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The repercussions of the incident were such that Kita chose to depart for Beijing, as he had already been monitored by the consulate staff in Shanghai. Consequently, he was apprehended by law enforcement authorities. Therefore, during the period of travel restrictions to China, Kita received assistance from his wife, Suzuko, with regard to matters pertaining to China. At the time, Makino Nobuaki served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was the primary target of the radical patriots and the 2.26 Incident. 

6. It is evident that the documents pertaining to Ikki Kita, and the 2.26 incident remained incomplete as of 2026, particularly the medical documents associated with the execution and the records of their prison term. This task was to be carried out by conscious individuals and organizations in the relevant field, if they were not otherwise engaged. It is hoped that the task will be fulfilled by local Sado citizens. 

7. It has been confirmed that the sole extant voice recording of Kita is authentic, as it corresponds with the Kenpeitai interrogation of February 27, 1936, as indicated by the label on the disc, which designates it as the third of the February 27th recordings. The rumored release date of February 28th has been proven to be inaccurate. I concur with Kenichi Matsumoto's assertion that Kita's apprehensions regarding the financial aspect, particularly in the context of the prevailing revolutionary climate, are of paramount significance. This perspective is informed by Kita's personal experiences during the First Chinese Revolution. Kita's concern and emphasis on money for the revolutionary leader Teruzo Ando is theoretically rational. The weight of this evidence is negligible, as the Tokyo Army Court Martial, which was held in secret and lacked transparency, had already reached a pre-determined decision to execute Ikki Kita. The disc was utilized exclusively as an interrogation technique by the Kempeitai. 

8. The "special" "secret" Tokyo Army Court Martial was legalized and empowered by the imperial decree to apply the army criminal law to the civilians. Furthermore, the trial was not characterized as "open" or "public," in contrast to the Japanese naming of it. Consequently, the trial can be regarded as a fabrication or a legitimized extrajudicial execution by the ruling class, which was presumed to adhere to the same political stance as Kita. 

9. Kita himself defined himself as a democratic socialist. In the course of the investigation related to 2.26, he designated his position as "kokka-shugi," a term denoting either nationalism or statism in the Japanese context. Kita is regarded as the progenitor of the right-wing faction in Japan. Contrary to the contemporary "right wings" of Japan, however, Kita's dialectic nature should not be disregarded. Additionally, he advocates for individual rights, albeit in opposition to the extreme form of individualism or privatization of the state. Consequently, it would be a misstep to categorize him as ultranationalist. 

10. Kita's revolutionary thought is characterized by its constant effort to eliminate the entrenched interests that have developed between the state and the people, while simultaneously upholding the principles of a sovereign state and individual rights. The rationale behind the designation of "pure socialism" as the appellation for this particular invention merits examination. It can be demonstrated that pure statism and socialism are indistinguishable in their absolute form when implemented universally within a society. Kita's observations revealed the societal and state-level distortions engendered by a select cadre of the ruling class, who, through privatization, effectively expropriated both the state and society. This approach remains effective in combating the neoliberal tyrannies of "accumulation by dispossession."

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