Tōhōkai
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This article is about the Tōhōkai political party, not to be confused with Touhou, the popular Japanese game sometimes spelled "Toho."
Tōhōkai (Society of the East) (東方会 ) was a Japanese fascist political party in Japan active in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Nakano Seigō and Adachi Kenzo formed the right-wing political organization Kokumin Domei advocating state socialism in 1933. In 1936, Nakano disagreed with Adachi of matters of policy and formed a separate group, which he called the 'Tōhōkai'.
Inspired by the writings of ultranationalist philosopher Kita Ikki, Nakano advocated national reform through parliamentary means rather than through a military coup d'état. Nakano turned to the national socialist movement of Adolf Hitler and the fascist movement of Benito Mussolini as examples of how radical right-wing political movements advocating corporatism could successfully take over a parliamentary democracy. The Tōhōkai used many of the trappings of the European movements it emulated, including the wearing of black shirts with armbands (bearing the Japanese character for 'East') and holding of mass rallies.
The programme of Tōhōkai was not a complete copy of the Western models, however, as the group was also driven by a deep-seated admiration for Saigō Takamori and the Satsuma Rebellion.
Tōhōkai won some popular support, and at its peak held eleven seats in the Diet of Japan in 1937.
However in October 1940 it was merged into the Imperial Rule Assistance Association as part of Hideki Tojo's efforts to create a single-party state. It broke away in 1941, but fared very poorly in the 1942 war-time election. In October 1943, Nakano was arrested on charges of plotting to overthrow the Tojo regime, and committed suicide under mysterious circumstances soon after being released.
As with many similar fascist movements based on a single charismatic leader, the Tōhōkai largely dissolved after Nakano's death. It was officially banned in 1945 by the American Occupation Authorities.
After the Occupation of Japan, the Tōhōkai was revived by former members, and is now a minor ultranationalist group headquartered in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture.
The National Socialist Japanese Workers and Welfare Party also claims to be a successor to the Tōhōkai and sometimes uses its symbols.
