I'm doing my holyday homework,reading up on Japanese politics in the 1930s. Sheesh, gang, and to think some find French or Italian politics complicated!
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Ah yes, Atlantic Friend! The whole concept of Gekokujo is quite odd, as is the indulgence shown to some of the junior officers who practised it by their seniors!
But, I am sure in your hands this period will be a most fertile area for story-telling and aar creation! Banzai!
.
Oh, and by the way....Blum
Hope you are enjoying your holdays!
But, I am sure in your hands this period will be a most fertile area for story-telling and aar creation! Banzai!
.Oh, and by the way....Blum
Hope you are enjoying your holdays!
Try Imperial Germany. I've read a few books on the subject, and it's borderline impossible to find out when there were elections, why there were elections at that particular point in time and who got to vote in them.
WHy bother with elections when Kaiser Willi is at the helm indeed?
"God knows everything, but the Kaiser knows even more" - Berliner saying, 1900s.
WHy bother with elections when Kaiser Willi is at the helm indeed?
"God knows everything, but the Kaiser knows even more" - Berliner saying, 1900s.
Well, there still were Reichstag elections. And I could look up some of the things that Weber and Troeltsch had to say about the Kaiser, but this is a family forum after all.
Poor Kaiser. I do have a certain fondness for him and the Hohenzollern : handlebar mustaches, spiked helmets, pompous paintings portraying the kaiser as Siegfried or King Heinrich, coloured uniforms with a chestful of medals, boastful saber-rattling... They don't make royalty like they used to anymore.
Admit it, it's Napoleon III that you're really missing
They don't make upper middle-class men like Troeltsch and Weber any more either. Men who held three academic degrees and who could say things like "Even though the Liberal priests are incorrect in their attempts to combine Christianity with liberalism they do serve an important purpose by convincing the people, to the extent that it is still possible, that the priesthood is not merely a black-clad militia whose sole purpose is the preservation of their own power" have been replaced by angry, impotent dimwits (see The OT Forum) or snivelling wimps (again, see the OT).
Or, in other words, Norman Mailer was replaced by Tom Clancy.
Returning to the game: My earlier question about Althaus was motivated by the fact that HoI2 likes to put him as CoS and Lindbergh as CoAF, IIRC. Have you managed to avoid this?
Of course, we also have the rather odd labelling of Strachey as a Stalinist.
I noticed when I bought Hoi2 that General Kenneth Althaus had been Nazified - the Game Editor kept me busy for weeks (it still does) with the political characterization (and Traits) of historical figures I knew, and other I didn't. Speaking of which, I just have to go and read about Mssrs Troelsch and Weber now!
My research on Althaus came up with even less than the one I did on Colonel S. P. James, so I guess I could consider him a blank page where I could pretty much write whatever I like, but while I enjoy giving historical characters a sinister side, painting Althaus as a Nazi fells, well, appalling. I suspect his Nazification was a consequence of his having a German-sounding name (plus, the game needed Nazi/Stalinist American generals, however far-fetched it may sound).
I honestly don't think a truly Fascist America, not to mention a Nazi one, is all that plausible (given that even with 4 years under German occupation France never managed to have that), so if I must portray Althaus other than as a two-star general it'll be as a rather traditional America Firster nationalist
And if I need a Really Evil American Fascist, I've read in another sub-forum that in some Mods Althaus is replaced by a General George Moseley, who did have some not-so-refreshing views about how America should be freed from Jewish influence.
And well, if the ridicule and pomp of Victorian era as a whole that I long for! Much better than a Tom Clancified world indeed.
My research on Althaus came up with even less than the one I did on Colonel S. P. James, so I guess I could consider him a blank page where I could pretty much write whatever I like, but while I enjoy giving historical characters a sinister side, painting Althaus as a Nazi fells, well, appalling. I suspect his Nazification was a consequence of his having a German-sounding name (plus, the game needed Nazi/Stalinist American generals, however far-fetched it may sound).
I honestly don't think a truly Fascist America, not to mention a Nazi one, is all that plausible (given that even with 4 years under German occupation France never managed to have that), so if I must portray Althaus other than as a two-star general it'll be as a rather traditional America Firster nationalist
And if I need a Really Evil American Fascist, I've read in another sub-forum that in some Mods Althaus is replaced by a General George Moseley, who did have some not-so-refreshing views about how America should be freed from Jewish influence.
And well, if the ridicule and pomp of Victorian era as a whole that I long for! Much better than a Tom Clancified world indeed.
Of course, in some senses it's rather simple.
Politician A: Here's a rational argument for why our endless wars of aggression might be bad.
Japanese Naval Officers drive by, shoot him.
Politician B: Deeper into China! Forward into Vietnam! And then, we shall attack that continental sized ndustrial superpower with an untouchable hinterland!
I don't think you can really get a Fascist America, or anything close. Notice how once people realized how crazy Moseley was, he got shunted aside.
Yes, I did a search on Althaus a while back and found nothing but the Neo-nazi's guide to playing HoI2, triggering an intense need to cleanse my mind and soul...
I think that I should point out again that I haven't mentioned anything about a Fascist America, but that my question was motivated by the recollection that Althaus, much like James, is one of those ministers which the AI puts in power thanks to faulty AI events.
Moseley? Did he have a son who likes to get spanked by women dressed up as Nazis?
Moseley? Did he have a son who likes to get spanked by women dressed up as Nazis?
This colonial Moseley is possibly a distant cousin of Sir Oswald's.
Man, these holidays in France are looong! Update? And have you considered the prospect of HoI3 as yet?
2 weeks of holidays - can you believe it was the first time I take that long in 17 years? It's been very British holidays : gardening, sipping beer, and reading.
I've been hunting down HoI3 but it seems that it has yet to appear in French stores for some reason. Oh well, I'll end up ordering it online I suppose.
The Japanese update is maturing - going through dozens of Ministers, Generals and Admirals and sorting them out in plausible factions has taken some time, but now I think I more or less know where I want the update to go and how I want to tell the story. All I need to do now is to start making the keyboard crackle with inspired prose.
I sincerely hope you haven't had British summer weather to go with your holidays .
Take your time, inspiration will come when it comes, you can't force these things.
.Take your time, inspiration will come when it comes, you can't force these things
.
I sincerely hope you haven't had British summer weather to go with your holidays
Take your time, inspiration will come when it comes, you can't force these things
I actually love British summer - thin drizzle, perfect weather to go take a walk and enjoy in advance the pleasure of a warm - or stiff - drink.
I've completed my little chart of Japanese officers/politicians, and picked up a few ideas here and there, so rest assured that the writing business is about to begin!
So, thank y'all for your patience, I've spent the last week preparing a series of meetings about coping with the flu epidemic. Now that it is certain we are all going to die, I can go back to writing some (hopefully) more interesting stuff. The Japanese update is 50% done, and shall be online this week-end if a night of heavy boozing doesn't interfere too much with the quill-wriggling.
Eeeek. One can only assume the heavy boozing is a pre-emptive anti-flu remedy and more efficacious than Tamiflu? You'd better hurry up and finish that update while there are any of us still alive to read it....<sneezes>
We're doomed!
So, sorry for the (usual) delay, and thank you for your (much appreciated) patience, here it is. I cannot add the pictures now, but I'll do it tonight so you can have something to make up for the poor writing !
CHAPTER 96 : GEKOKUJO
Tokyo, Yoshiwara District, January the 5th, 1939
The car passed through a gate guarded by two soldiers who hurriedly closed down the heavy cast iron gate, and stopped in the middle of a discreet courtyard surrounded by gardens. Five other cars were parked there, their drivers huddled together, smoking and – the general was sure – trading gossip about their charges. The officer was certain that at least one of them would report everything to the Kempeitai tomorrow, but he didn’t care. There was so much going on in Tokyo, in this newborn year of 1939 that the security service probably already had its hands full trying to sort out who was doing what. And anyway, wasn’t Colonel Moto supposed to take care of that? When the chauffeurs noticed the small pennant attached to the Toyota AA’s fender, they ceased their idle chat and lined up to bow respectfully. It was a cold winter night, and the Toyota's headlights made the snow-covered gardens glitter. The general shivered when a gust of ice-cold wind burst into the car as his driver opened the door. He stepped out of the car with a little wince - his arthritis was acting up again, and he took a few moments to stretch, painful as it felt. The drivers had slunk back to their sedans, and beyond the line of car roofs he could see the club’s gardens. The night was silent, and the general felt the urge to enter the gardens as he had so often done before, to meditate among its cherry trees and enjoy a quiet cigarette. So many plans had been discussed there, so many plots hatched .
So cold and peaceful, the gardens of Yoshiwara. And so fiery, so harmful our human passions… You are consuming away, Hideki, like a candle stub in a temple, while this beauty is eternal.
Taking a deep breath, General Hideki Tojo turned away from the contemplation of the gardens, and walked to the front door of the house. It was a select club, one that catered to the needs of well-to-do gentlemen needing a quiet place to eat, enjoy some tea in good company, and entertain their friends with lively banquets. It also served as a convenient place to discuss delicate matters. There had been rumors that the conjurers of the 2-26 coup had met there, two years ago, to review their plans before marching on the Imperial Palace. But General Tojo knew it wasn't true. The conjurers had never met there - they had neither the rank or the credentials to ever gain entrance to this select club. What was true, though, was that the rebellious officers’ fate had been discussed there after a surprisingly irate Emperor had demanded that harsh measures be taken against the plotters. A handful of General officers had met there, away from prying ears, to see how the Emperor's wish could be obeyed without embarrassing the Imperial Army. It had taken three meetings before a suitable arrangement had been found – a few quick executions and some hurried reassignments to the Kwantung Army had made sure the scope of the investigation never reached the rebels’ superior officers. Finishing his cigarette, Tojo let the past rise up for a moment. He thought about the man who had been instrumental in disregarding the Emperor's orders behind a facade of obedience. The man who had been instrumental in negotiating with the various factions of the Imperial General Headquarters to make sure an arrangement could be found. He nodded sadly, for tonight, that man might meet an untimely death.
****
Dairen, Manchukuo, the same evening
Death couldn’t have been further away from Admiral-Baron Mineo Osumi’s mind, as he admired the delicate silhouette of the young girl, wrapped in her white kimono. Listening to the last echoes of Yuriko’s voice, Osumi thought back of his first encounter with the young girl, one year before. Once again, he congratulated himself for his good fortune.
The city of Dairen - Osumi never used its Chinese name - was much too cosmopolitan for his tastes. Because of its weakness, China had failed to give the city a proper national identity, letting a dozen nations imprint their influence over its inhabitants. As could be expected, this chaos of cultures left everyone unsatisfied. That was indeed true for the Japanese. When Osumi had first visited the city as commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Manchurian Squadron, the year before, he had rapidly discovered that it was almost impossible to find a good okiya, a geiko house. So when he had first heard about this quaint house near the pebble beach through Okimora, one of his younger aides, he at first had been doubtful. But the young Captain had been insistant – he was from Kyoto, he had said, and knew how provincial girls usually fell short of a true gentleman’s expectations, but this okiya was special. The Four Winds house stood on a hilltop overlooking the bay, and Okimora had been sent there because it was feared that the house could be used by spies to keep track of the movements of troop ships ferrying reinforcements in and out of Manchuria. The Imperial Army regularly had to send troops throughout the country to ferret out bands of marauders that had coalesced into a Manchurian Brotherhood of Resistances. These men were of course common criminals, who ambushed isolated guard posts, hung mayors favorable to Japan, and extolled money from local officials. With the money they bought rifles and explosives from the Russians who ran the city's black market. After a lengthy Interview with the okiya landlady, a widow who had left the Home Islands in the wake of the Japanese subjugation of Manchuria, Okimora had been satisfied that no spy ring was run from the house, but he had nevertheless seized the opportunity to get acquainted with the geikos and their graceful apprentices. One of the younger girls, he had told his boss, truly was something to behold. Her name was Yuriko, and she had worked as a maiko, a geisha apprentice, since the tender age of twelve. She was, Okimura had said, beautiful as a delicate flower, and also a gifted shamisen player that no man could listen to without being overcome with emotion. Intrigued, Osumi had paid the okiya a visit the next week, under the pretense of wrapping up the espionage investigation. Honored by the visit of such a high-ranking official, the landlady had ordered her protégées to prepare some tea for Osumi, a clever way to introduce the admiral to the dozen girls she was overseeing. When it had been Yuriko’s turn to be introduced, the matron had said, matter-of-factly, that the young girl was her own daughter, and that the following year she would come of age to become a full geisha. There had been something in the way she had said it that had made Osumi take a longer look at the young girl and consider the unformulated proposal. De-flowering a maiko was a privilege that an okiya offered to the wealthiest of their customers, and Yuriko was as beautiful as Okimora had said.
“Does the Admiral desire another song? » asked Yuriko in a timid voice. She had put aside the shamisen and served a cup of warm sake that she handed to the old man. Osumi nodded and took a sip of the liquor.
Admiral-baron Mineo Osumi, Minister of the Navy in Manchuria in 1937
The young girl had a pale, oval face that made her deep brown eyes even more intense, even when her face betrayed nothing but humility and obedience. Like all the maiko, she wore her hair rolled up in a tight bun that revealed the nape or her neck, just above the collar of her white silk kimono, and soon Osumi had wondered how it would feel to let his fingers run along her spine, from the top of her head to the small of her back. With her radiant beauty and demure attitude, the girl radiated an odd mix of strength and fragility. When she sang, her hands caressing the cords of her shamisen, Yuriko’s voice matched her appearance: it was crystal-like yet oddly powerful, conjuring up images of a delicate china cup filled by the pure waters of a mountain torrent. Osumi had taken in the young girl’s virginal beauty, and had left the okiya certain that he would soon come back. Osumi had come back often to the Four Winds okiya, usually to host banquets for fellow officers and high-profile visitors. Sometimes, diplomacy required that he also invited Manchukuo officials, though Osumi thought it best to avoid mingling with them too much. With Japanese policies this volatile, who knew if one day he wouldn’t be ordered to depose these men, or even to execute them? These men’s hearts didn’t harbor much love Japan, but they nevertheless depended on the Nipponese Empire’s goodwill for their position, their fortune, and actually for their very lives. Some of them probably had contacts with the MBR through a distant parent, while some others met secretly with emissaries from Chiang Kai Shek's so-called “Nationalist” China. Some day these servile men might turn into mortal enemies. Why let them befriend his officers? Not only was it a risk, it would also make things crueler than was necessary if the chips finally fell. One day perhaps, the swollen rivers of Japanese nationalism finally tamed and their tumultuous energy channeled towards new goals and purposes, Osumi would feel at liberty to open his heart to his Manchu counterparts, and to treat them as associates, friends and brothers. Osumi had worked diligently towards this goal, even more so now that he was Minister of the Imperial Navy. But that time had not come yet, and all he could do at the moment was to meditate and ponder about the future, lulled by Yuriko’s angel-like voice.
Could be worse, actually. Could be much worse, he thought, as the maiko started to sing about a mist-covered mountain village. At the end of the song, he decided, would come the time of the mizuage. That night, Yuriko would lay down as a maiden, and wake up tomorrow as a woman. All that it required was a little pleasure, and a little blood.
*****
Tokyo, Yoshiwara district
"The situation has now changed" said Admiral Nagano. "The recent offer from the new Dutch government means the threat of oil shortages has now vanished."
General Tojo squinted at the bald admiral. Nagano was hedging his bets, as always. While it was well-known he advocated a "positive approach to Japanese influence in Asia" - a mild-mannered euphemism for Japanese dominance of the Pacific - he wanted to move cautiously. It was, Tojo had found out, a trait shared by most admirals, who regarded their carriers and battleships as things to be preserved, more than tools of war. The Generals he knew were considerably less protective of their soldiers, and much more cynical about how a few thousands issen gorin - the derogative nickname officers gave their troops - were worth less than the stamps used to post their draft papers.
"I disagree" growled General Sugiyama. "Nothing has changed. Being promised oil is not having it delivered, and buying oil is not controlling the oilfields. The Dutch offer means little, it shouldn't distract us from our objectives. We must not allow foreigners to buy our just ambitions away. We are Imperial officers, not cheap whores selling their cunts!"
Tojo winced at the crude image. To use such a coarse language, and in such company! It was your typical Sugiyama - the blustering general had the subtlety of a charging bull, and even worse manners. Both had often caused his disgrace, prompting his rivals to predict he'd finally be forced into suicide or retirement, but each time Sugiyama had proven them wrong. A bull he was, certainly, with a thick skin and an even thicker skull, but those who underestimated him often found themselves trampled to death under the general's shiny boots.
"What would you suggest, then, General?" asked Prince Konoye. The soft-spoken man rarely commit himself fully in any direction, but he nevertheless commanded a lot of influence at the Imperial Palace. Those in the know said that he had been the driving force that had led to the alliance with Germany, and that he in fact was the real power that stood behind Prime Minister Senjuro. Soon, they said, Konoye would step into the light to form the new government. Tojo knew Konoye had met many officers lately, creating around him an informal private military council. To a man like General Hideki Tojo, that could only mean that the time of reckoning had come - no longer could the Japanese cabinet hesitate at the crossroads of History, hesitating as to which direction to take. The old debate, that had rocked - sometimes violently - the Japanese Armed forces was about to be settled.
"Ha! Better to control our own resources than to rely on the generosity of others. Our forces in China and Manchukuo are unrivaled, we should use them! Now that Germany is our ally, we should strike the Russians, and eject them from Asia altogether. Vladivostok's factories, Siberia's resources, Mongolia's vast plains belong to us by right of the strongest, let's take them! Stalin will be too afraid of a possible war with Germany to resist us!"
"Will the war be over in three months, I wonder?" snickered General Matusi sotto voce. Sitting behind him, his aides chuckled. It was a well-known fact that Sugiyama had, in 1937, promised the Emperor the Chinese campaign would be a walkover. Matsui, whose troops kept battling KMT units in Hubei, still held Sugiyama responsible for the lack of preparation of the Japanese forces sent into China. In all fairness, the idea that Japanese armies didn't need extensive preparation, or abundant supplies, or subtle war plans because the soldier's devotion for the Emperor would more than make up for it was widespread among officers. The superior "Warrior Spirit" of the Japanese soldiers would overcome all, since obviously Japan was the land of the Gods and therefore morally superior to all its enemies. Tojo himself found the Warrior Spirit theory very useful if the purpose was to build up discipline and get total obedience, but from what he had been told by the few field officers not afraid to speak their mind, a heathen Chinese bullet killed just as surely as a Japanese one, divine blessing or not, and the Warrior Spirit soldiers bled just as profusely.
General Hideki Tojo a few hours before the fateful meeting in Yoshiwara.
"Russia is weak" replied Sugiyama with a furious glare at Matsui. "We could seize our objectives quickly and present the world with a fait accompli that all nations would be forced to accept. Who would move to protect the Russians? The British? They fear Russian involvement in India and the Middle-East. The French? They have washed their hands away from Russia since the last war. The Americans? They are too busy contemplating themselves. Russia is friendless, and we are not. I say strike, strike now while the situation favors us!"
"The possession of Vladivostok and Mongolia will serve little purpose" said Nagano. "It is but a question of prestige for ambitious generals, nothing else. Do we need Vladivostok? Do our factories run on yak butter? No, they run on oil, and so do our tanks, our planes, our combat fleets. The North can wait, the oil cannot. Waging war is not cheap, not in this time and age, and we are lucky enough that we no longer need a war to get the oil we need. Let's sign a deal with the new Dutch government, that will give us enough oil to support a stronger economy, a stronger air force, a stronger navy. With new ships, and new planes, the balance of power in the Pacific will naturally and effortlessly shift in our favor, without a shot being fired. Soon the British and French will realize it's pointless to prop up Chang Kai Shek's corrupt regime. They'll seek an accommodation with us, and we'll be the ones dictating the terms."
Tojo nodded pensively. What Nagano had uttered was the core doctrine of the Kyuchuha, the Harmony faction, which tried to hold the middle-ground between Conservatism and Militarism and proposed a "Liberal-Patriotism" that would combine private need and national pride. When the other factions relied almost exclusively on their influence at the Imperial Headquarters, the Kyuchuha had more support among the industrialists and the civil servants. Power, the Kyuchuha leaders said, could be bought instead of won, and at a cheaper price. Peace meant time, time meant growth, and with effort soon dominance would follow. But as Tojo knew, there was a caveat to that fine precept. Growth didn't require only time, but also natural resources that Japan lacked. Oil, rubber, platinum, copper, iron, were needed in vast quantities that would only increase with the development of the national economy. At some point, Japan would have to depend on the generosity of foreign nations to support its factories - or Japan would have to strike boldly. The Kyuchuha was therefore torn by the centrifugal forces of those who wanted to invade Russia with German support, and those who advocated a swift move south, to seize the much-needed resources held by European colonies in Malaya, the East Indies and Indochina.
"Gentlemen, please" said a man who so far had remained silent.
At 55, he was one of the younger men present, and nothing in his civilian clothes or droopy mustache denoted special prominence. Yet, Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu was one of the most influential members of the cabal. Not only did his royal blood make him a regular member of the Emperor's entourage, he was also a close friend of Marquis Yuasa Kurahei, the Lord Keeper of the Emperor's Privy Seal and as such one of Hirohito's closest advisors. Prince Hiroyasu also enjoyed considerable support at the Imperial Headquarters, having exerted senior commandments in the Imperial Navy up to a few months ago. That he finally committed himself into the discussion, Tojo thought, was an important signal. Hiroyasu, after all, was known as a very skilled go player, one who often resorted to indirect attacks and subtle approaches to dominate the board. General Tojo put down his cup of sake and listened intently.
"The Dutch offer is a great opportunity, and one we should seize at once" Hiroyasu began. "But while an opportunity is good, it is less important than the objective it allows you to reach. I hear the arguments of the Kyuchuha. The oil will make our economy stronger, they say. It is true, oil will make our industries stronger. But it will also make them more vulnerable to possible shortages in the future. And who's to say the Dutch will sell us some more then? The partisans for an incursion into Soviet Russia say we'll get the resources we need there in one fell swoop. But it will also force us to defend even wider borders against Russian retaliation. And who's to say the Germans will help us then?"
"Certainly that is the voice of reason" said Nagano.
"Many of you think the Empire is at a crossroads, that we have to choose which way to go. I disagree. The issue is not between invading Malaya, capturing Vladivostok, or investing in Tokyo. Taken separately, none of these options can give Japan the power the nation deserves. But taken together, now, they'll lead us to eternal prosperity."
The men around Hiroyasu looked around, startled. Konoye was squinting hard, his head tilted to the side as he thought about the implications.
"You're saying we don't have to choose a road?" he asked.
"It is not a road, Konoye - it is a journey. We can do it all, we must do it all. The only thing we have to decide is which port we'll reach first."
"So the oil..." began Sugiyama.
"The oil must go into our Navy. The Navy in turn is the way to secure more oil for ourselves, which in turn will make sure we can finish off the Chinese, and turn against the Russians. With the South in our power, and the North at our mercy, soon the West will be subdued, and truly the eight corners of the world will be gathered under one roof."
"What about the American and British fleets?" blurted Nagano. "These nations are no friends of ours, and..."
"Sooner or later the Europeans or the Americans will move against us, Admiral. We should not fear this development, but instead see it as inevitable and plan for it diligently. If the Army and the Navy move fast, the Anglo-Americans shall find all of Asia arrayed against them, ready to defeat their fleets and armies in well-prepared battles. After that, Indochinese rubber, East Indies oil and Malayan oil will be ours for the taking. The eight corners of the world, under our roof."
"How would His Majesty react?" asked Konoye, looking down at his plate.
"As His Majesty usually does when presented with an opportunity to ensure the greatness of the Imperial Throne and the well-being of His subjects. I am therefore certain that, seeing that a consensus has emerged, the Emperor will see what His duty requires, and act accordingly "
Tojo made an effort to remain impassive. Forcing the Emperor to do one's bidding while at the same time claiming unlimited obedience to him was, alas, part of Japanese politics.
"I am not certain the Navy Ministry will go along" sighed Nagano. "Minister Osumi makes no secret he thinks the Navy isn't strong enough yet to confront the Anglo-Americans"
"I, on the contrary, am certain the Ministry will embrace our ideas" said Hiroyasu. "As the Imperial Navy's former Chief of Staff, I have in fact seen to it."
Tojo contemplated his empty plate. He wondered, briefly, what Osumi was doing at the moment. Whatever it was, he hoped the old admiral was enjoying it, for tonight was probably going to be his last.
*****
Dairen, the Four Winds Okiya.
While Yuriko had slipped into the bedroom to change into a more comfortable under-kimono, Admiral-Baron Osumi took his jacket off, folding it in a neat pile and putting it on the floor, over his scabbard and his pistol holster - he had an official meeting with Manchu officers first thing tomorrow, and didn't plan on going back home tonight. Shenji, his chauffeur, would bring him his razor and shaving cream, along with a clean shirt and drive him directly to the meeting. Beyond the pleasure of taking away the young maiko's virginity, he had duties toward her, as the mizuage would make him her protector and sponsor. Therefore, there would be things to discuss with the new geiko, people he'd have to introduce her to in Harbin, and possibly in Tokyo. While some of Japan's nouveaux riches considered the mizuage to be an expensive night with a young woman, a fashionable luxury, Osumi was more old-fashioned and saw it as the beginning of a special relationship, one he as an aging man would come to relish, and one neither he nor Yuriko would forget.
But that's for tomorrow. Tonight, pleasure beckons. You're an aging ship, Mineo, your hull creaks and your sails have become tattered, but tonight you are awarded the pleasure to touch the kind of haven you'll soon have to do without. So enjoy it, and be grateful.
The discreet knock at the door surprised Osumi. For an instant he thought it was the okiya owner, but through the paper screen he could see the silhouette of a man wearing an Army cap.
That idiot Shenji! he fumed. I had told him not to disturb me!
Determined to send the chauffeur on his way as soon as possible, Osumi beratedly pushed the door panel and confronted the hapless intruder.
"I told y..." he began, but stopped at once.
The man in front of him was wearing a Kwantung Army uniform, like Shenji, but Osumi instantly knew he wasn't a soldier. The eyes of the stranger fixed him with a gleam of cruel jubilation, and then his hand moved swiftly. The blade of the tanto penetrated his groin effortlessly, drawing a red line as the aggressor twisted it upwards. Feeling his legs tremble, Osumi tried to push the man away from him, but the assaulter locked his left arm with the admiral's, leaning on his victim to stab him another three times. His eyes wide open with pain and surprise, Osumi felt something crack in his heart and fell heavily on his knees. The world was starting to spin around him, with black shapes dancing at the edge of his vision, but he felt oddly grateful to see the man pull a handgun and train it on his skull. There was a brief moment of peace, the cold barrel feeling like ice on his feverish skin, and then there was nothing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game effects :
Admiral Mineo Osumi, Chief of Staff-Navy, is "no longer available".
With a German alliance to get its back, and Dutch oil to keep its navy supplied for awhile, Japan feels free to make its moves in Asia. Not surprisingly, Malaya and Indochina feature high in the target list, with the NEI seen as a de facto Japanese protectorate.
Writer's notes :
I tried to cram the update full of cultural references, but as explaining them in detail would bring the story to a grinding halt, here are some of the concepts touched by this chapter.
Geikos, also known as geishas, are as we all know these young women providing exquisite company to well-off men, and by that I don't mean sexual favors even though that also could happen. Geiko means "artist", and their role is to enchant the guest of a zaichiki (a banquet) through songs and poetry.
The maikos are the young apprentices. Their entrance into adult world of the Geikos is done through a ceremony called the mizuage, during which the okiya lets a suitable sponsor make a woman of the young girl - some say owners sometimes auctioned off the viriginity of the maiko - as deflowering the young girl was part of her becoming a real Geiko. The practice continued until the 1950s.
With the local form of democracy withering away, Japanese factions dominated every aspect of Japan's political life. The Navy was divided between what was left of the "Fleet" and "Treaty" factions dating back to the Washington naval agreements, the Fleet faction wanting Japan to denounce the agreement immediately, while the Treaty faction wanted to get the most of it. The Army/Navy were also divided between the "Strike North" and "Strike South" factions, one advocating war against Russia, and the other desiring an expansion in the Pacific. Finally, there were political divisions between the Toseiha, the (Conservative-Militarist Imperial Faction), and the Kodoha (the outright Fascist Control Faction). To make it funnier, I added the Kyuchuha, the Harmony faction, which naturally wants Japan to rein supreme, but would rather see Japanese hegemony in Asia come from economic growth. Add to that that one could be pro-Toseiha, pro-Treaty pro-Strike South, and pro-Militarist-Socialism and you have an idea of the challenge I faced when I started writing.
The term "issen gorin", which could be translated as "five cents", for this represented the cost of the stamps on their draft papers, was coined by some Japanese officers to jeer about their soldiers. It's always nice when your own officers has less respect for you than the enemy, isn't it?
The idea that Bushin (warrior spirit) trumped all was in vogue in Militarist Japan in the 1930s. Basically, the idea was that if the soldiers had the right kind of mentality (no surrender, total faith in the Emperor and final victory, etc) then they would overcome their enemies no matter what - the war was a spiritual struggle even more than a physical one. In some ways it is reminiscent of French 1914 ideas that with enough élan, it didn't matter if the enemy had machine-guns, and it more or less met the same end
Bringing the Eight corners of the world under one roof (Hakko Ichiu in Japanese) was an idea in vogue in the late 1930s, that evolved from Japan's sentiment that it deserved its own place in the sun in Asia, just as the US reined supreme in the Americas and the Europeans had carved up Africa. In 1939 the term has yet to be used widely, but the idea is bound to be around.
General Hideki Tojo is an interesting character. He seems to have both accelerated and slowed down Japan's course to war. I never could shake off the feeling that he was quite the convenient scapegoat, a role he seems to have accepted during his trial.
Emperor Hirohito's role on the break out of hostilities between Japan and the Western nations will probably never become truly ascertained. Some describe him as powerless, rocked by forces he either could or refused to control. Some (like Bergamini) credit him with a direct (and negative) influence in the war, and even allude he skillfully let others take the fall at the end. Some, like Edward Behr, say he was neither the stalwart pacifist nor the hawkish warmonger, but remained shrouded in ambiguity, going in one direction, then another, depending on the perceived risks and opportunities. I recommend to read Bergamini's "The Imperial Conspiracy" and Behr's "The Ambiguous Emperor", BTW.
Gekokujo, which can translate as "ruling the high from below", is a Japanese concept showing that those supposedly in power can in fact fall victim to the forces unleashed by those below them, such as peasant rebellions, mutinies, infighting between vassals... It can also be seen as the "right" for subordinates to disobey their superiors for a good cause. In this here chapter it's more like "ruling the high from the almost as high".
Admiral Mineo Osumi was what could pass for a liberal at the time. Himself a proponent of a southwards expansion policy for Japan, he stayed away from the struggle between the Treaty and Fleet factions that rocked the Imperial Navy since the 1920s. He nevertheless was a fierce patriot and a staunch militarist, and he pushed for bigger and bigger naval budgets. His death in 1941 might catch the interest of conspiracy theorists, as his plane was shot down by Chinese partisans in Hainan.
Political assassination in pre-WW2 Japan was so common that a US article in 1932 described the political régime in Tokyo as "government by assassination". With general officers chafing under civilian (and even Imperial) rule, and secret ultra-nationalist societies blossoming, killing those who were perceived as "the enemies within" was commonplace - and led to rather lenient verdicts. The killing of Admiral-Baron Osumi, in this respect, does not feel totally out of place.
Last edited: