Mikami Taku or Mikami Takashi (三上 卓, 22 March 1905 – 25 October 1971[citation needed]) was a lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Navy, who participated in the May 15 Incident in which Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated.[1]


Mikami Taku

Mikami in 1933
Born(1905-03-22)March 22, 1905
Saga, Saga, Japan
DiedOctober 25, 1971(1971-10-25) (aged 66)
Izu, Shizuoka, Japan
AllegianceJapan (Japanese Empire)
BranchImperial Japanese Navy
Years of service1926 - 1933
RankSub-lieutenantKaigun-chūi
Known forMay 15 incident (Assassination of Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai)
Alma materNaval Academy, Etajima
Spouse(s)Waka Mikami (née Utsunomiya)
RelationsGeneral Tarō Utsunomiya
Colonel Michio Utsunomiya
Other workPolitical activist

He composed the "Ode of Showa Restoration" as an anthem for the Young Officers Movement.[2]

Biography

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Mikami Taku was born in Saga, Saga Prefecture. He graduated Naval Academy, Etajima in 1926. In 1930, He wrote the lyrics to Seinen Nihon no Uta (Ode of Showa Restoration).

In May 1932, Taku attacked Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai in the May 15 Incident. In 1933, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for mutiny at a naval court-martial in Yokosuka. He served time in Kosuge Prison (Tokyo Detention House). In 1938, he was released on parole after four years and nine months, after a series of commutations due to pardons for Kigensetsu anniversary and the 50th anniversary of Meiji Constitution's promulgation.

In March 1941, Mikami founded Hishirogi Juku (ひもろぎ塾) with Nisshō Inoue, Yoshitaka Yotsumoto, Goro Hishinuma and others, and served as the brain behind former Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe. In 1950, he was sentenced to five years in prison for drug trafficking. In 1961, he was arrested for his involvement in another coup plot, the abortive Sanmu incident.

He passed away in Izu, Shizuoka in 1971.

References

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  1. ^ Naoko Shimazu (27 September 2006). Nationalisms in Japan. Routledge. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-1-134-14634-5.
  2. ^ Ben-Ami Shillony (8 March 2015). Revolt in Japan: The Young Officers and the February 26, 1936 Incident. Princeton University Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1-4008-7247-3.