Chapter 3: A Little Old Man Terrorizes The Japanese Colony: It Is None Other Than The Wise Colonel Kikawa

Abstract

This chapter traces the rise of “the wise colonel” Junji Kikawa, a veteran of the Japanese army, who became leader of the secret society Shindō Renmei, or “League of Subjects of the Imperial Way,” that violently enforced the narrative of Japanese victory in the war. Under his leadership, the kachigumi, or “victorists,” set up a propaganda machine directed inward to the Japanese community, and which marked for death any makegumi, or “defeatist,” who contradicted them. Shindō Renmei exploited the power vacuum left when Japan withdrew its embassy and consular officials, leaving their immigrant community to its own fate. Meanwhile, Getulio Vargas’ Estado Novo worsened matters by banning their access to print media, radio, or gathering together.