Chapter 5: The Police Discover the Fumie, the Torture That Only Harms a Prisoner’s Soul

Abstract

The investigations intensify as the police detain thousands and implement the use of the fumie to root out the kachigumi. This entails having the accused trample on the Japanese flag or Hirohito’s portrait to prove their loyalty. Undeterred, the tokkōtai carry out more assassinations, including the murder of Kikawa’s former associate Jinsaku Wakiyama in his own home. The chapter also details the various scams and disinformation campaigns used by Shindō Renmei and like-minded opportunists: the creation of counterfeit money, spurious land sales in the South Pacific, and bimonthly publication of its own ideological magazine, Hiraki. In response to the violence, the interventor (interim governor) of São Paulo calls for a meeting with representatives of the Japanese organizations at his official residence, and six hundred Japanese immigrants turn up.