日本1936年２・２６政變事件: 憲兵幹部機密日記曝光

Recently the Mainichi News on-line reported the following:

２・２６事件:憲兵幹部「機密日誌」に戒厳司令部との攻防

毎日新聞　2014年02月25日　07時12分（最終更新　02月25日　09時27分）

　日本近現代史上、最大のクーデター未遂となった１９３６年の２・２６事件で、事態収拾に奔走した憲兵司令部幹部の「機密日誌」が見つかった。反乱将校を自殺させようとする戒厳司令部と、証人として身柄を確保しようとする憲兵側との攻防が生々しく記されている。憲兵幹部が記した史料はほとんど知られておらず、研究史の空白を埋め得る１次史料だ。

　見つかったのは憲兵司令部の総務部長で、司令官代行だった矢野機（はかる）・陸軍少将（１８８７〜１９９２年）の「戒厳機密日誌」。陸軍けい紙９枚に、事件が起きた２月２６日から、２８日を除く３月２日まで記されている。

　事件発生後、陸軍内部では穏便に決着させようとする長老らと、鎮圧を主張する強硬派が対立。矢野は自殺させず逮捕するために、陸軍省と参謀本部高官の間を奔走した。

　２９日の記述では、香椎（かしい）浩平・戒厳司令官が「叛徒（はんと）タル将校ノ罪ハ大イニ憎ムヘシ、将校ハ全部之（こ）レヲ斃（たお）スヲ適当トス」などと述べ、逮捕した場合は自殺させるのが適当と主張した。これに対し矢野は「此ノ機会ニ軍ノ明朗化ヲ期ス、該将校ハヨキ証拠人ナリ」などと主張。反乱将校は自殺した１人を除き、逮捕された。

　「日誌」は、ほかの史料などおよそ７０件とともに千葉県習志野市の酒屋「張替酒店」で昨年秋に見つかった。同店は１９０５年創業で、軍人との交流が深かった。矢野は千葉県出身で地元に縁があった。

　加藤陽子・東京大教授（日本近代史）は「戒厳司令部の極論を抑え、反乱将校の逮捕に尽力した憲兵司令部幹部の動きが分かったことで、事件がより立体的にみえてきた」と話している。【栗原俊雄】

(試譯文)

Regarding the February 26th Incident happened in 1936 which was the biggest attempted coup d'etat in Japanese modern history, a "secret diary" about the military-police headquarters management that was busy in settling the incident was found. The attack and defense maneuvers made between the martial law headquarters officers who wanted to make the rebellious officers to commit suicide, and the military policemen who tried to secure these people as eye witnesses were described vividly. The primary historical records that described the military-police management had seldom come to light and now a blank in historical researches could be filled up.

What was found was the "Martial law secret diary" of an army major general Yano Hakaru (1887 to 1992) who was the acting commander of the head of the General Affairs Department of the military-police headquarters. In nine sheets of army ruled paper he described events from February 26 till March 2, excluding the 28^th, when the incident happened.

After the occurrence of the incident, inside the army the seniors were trying to settle it peaceably while the hard-liners asserted a repression, they were opposing to each other. In order to make an arrest and not to allow them to commit suicide, Yano was busy in going between Department of the Army and the General Staff Office high officials.

The description on the 29th claimed that Kashii Kohei the martial law commander said that "traitor (hanto) officers' crime must be much hated and it is suitable that all officers be killed" etc., and suggested that after arresting them, it was appropriate to make them commit suicide. On the other hand Yano claimed that "this time is the opportunity to clarify the army, these officers would be good witness" etc. All the rebellious officers were arrested except one who had committed suicide.

The "diary" was found together with some 70 historical items in a liquor store, the "Harikae liquor shop" in Narashino-city Chiba in the autumn of last year. The said store was founded in 1905 and its relation with military men was deep.Yano was from Chiba and had a local connection.

Yoko Kato the professor of University of Tokyo (Japanese modern history) was saying that "the extreme viewpoints inside the martial law headquarters were suppressed, the military-police headquarters management’s action to exert themselves in arresting the rebellious officers is understood, and the incident could be seen relatively in three-dimension". [Toshio Kurihara]

Obviously the 2.26 Incident is an important historical event in modern Japanese history. It took place only one year before the Japanese Army made a full scale invasion into China.