On November 25, 1970, five men armed with swords walked into a central Tokyo military base. They barricaded the commandant inside his own office, tied him to a chair, and demanded the immediate overthrow of the Japanese government.
The identity of the man orchestrating this assault made the hostage crisis entirely unique. The leader was Yukio Mishima, one of Japan’s most famous novelists and a five-time nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Forming the Shield Society
Born Kimitake Hiraoka, Mishima achieved massive global success as an author, playwright, and actor. Despite his literary fame, his focus shifted toward extreme right-wing politics in the late 1960s. He opposed postwar westernization and demanded a return to traditional Japanese culture centered around the emperor.
In 1968, Mishima poured his book royalties into creating the Tatenokai, or Shield Society. It was a private militia comprised mainly of conservative college students. Mishima personally oversaw their martial arts training, long-distance running, and live-fire drills, preparing a select group for a highly guarded mission.
The Hostage Crisis at Camp Ichigaya
Mishima meticulously planned his government takeover for over a year. He arranged his finances, left money for legal defense fees, and prepaid for annual Christmas gifts to be delivered to his two children. With his affairs in order, Mishima and four chosen Tatenokai members entered Camp Ichigaya, the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
After taking Lieutenant General Kanetoshi Mashita hostage, Mishima stepped onto the office balcony wearing a white headband featuring a red sun. He unrolled a banner listing their demands to the gathering infantry below.
A Speech Met With Jeers
Mishima delivered a passionate speech to the soldiers, demanding they reject the 1947 constitution and rise up to restore the emperor’s absolute authority. Instead of inciting a rebellion, the author frustrated the troops. The crowd heckled him, shouting insults while the noise of hovering helicopters drowned out his words.
Recognizing that the military would not join his cause, Mishima cut his speech short. He threw printed copies of his demands over the balcony, yelled “Long live the Emperor!” three times, and retreated back inside the commandant’s office.
The Final Act of Seppuku
Inside the room, Mishima apologized to the captive general. Following a strict samurai tradition, he then knelt and committed seppuku, a ritual disembowelment using a short blade. Militia member Masakatsu Morita was assigned to immediately cut off Mishima’s head with a sword to end the pain.
Morita failed three times, forcing another member, Hiroyasu Koga, to step in and finish the execution. Morita then stabbed himself in the abdomen, and Koga decapitated him as well. The police arrested the three surviving men, ending the unprecedented assault.