page_title: February 26 Incident
section_title: The imperial command
hierarchical_section_title: February 26 Incident / Government response and suppression of the uprising / The imperial command
caption_attribution_description: English: Order officially informing Kashii Kohei of the imperial command to remove the rebel troops during the 2/26 Incident.
context_page_description: The February 26 Incident was an attempted coup d'état in the Empire of Japan on 26 February 1936. It was organized by a group of young Imperial Japanese Army officers with the goal of purging the government and military leadership of their factional rivals and ideological opponents.
  Although the rebels succeeded in assassinating several leading officials and in occupying the government center of Tokyo, they failed to assassinate Prime Minister Keisuke Okada or secure control of the Imperial Palace. Their supporters in the army made attempts to capitalize on their actions, but divisions within the military, combined with Imperial anger at the coup, meant they were unable to achieve a change of government. Facing overwhelming opposition as the army moved against them, the rebels surrendered on 29 February.
  Unlike earlier examples of political violence by young officers, the coup attempt had severe consequences. After a series of closed trials, 19 of the uprising's leaders were executed for mutiny and another 40 imprisoned.
context_section_description: However, unknown to Kashii, Mazaki and the rebel officers, Sugiyama had already asked the Emperor at 08:20 to issue an imperial command authorizing the use of force against the rebel troops. This was immediately granted and issued to Sugiyama, to be released at his discretion. Addressed to Kashii, the command ordered him to quickly evict "the officers and men occupying the Miyakezaka area".
  The Emperor had, by the end of the 27th, become increasingly impatient with the failure of the military to suppress the uprising as he had ordered on the previous day. He summoned Honjō throughout the day, demanding to know if the rebels had been suppressed. When Honjō spoke in defense of the officers' motives, the Emperor accused them of "trying to pull a silk rope around my neck". At one point Hirohito became so angry that he threatened to assume personal command of the Imperial Guard and order them to attack the rebels himself.
  The General Staff and Martial Law HQ decided to release the imperial command at 05:00 on the 28th. From this point on formal documents, which had previously used "uprising", the word chosen by the rebel officers themselves, began to use the word "rebellion" (叛乱, hanran) instead.
  At 08:00 the rebel officers' nominal superior, Maj. Kofuji, was told to inform the officers of the imperial command and order them to return to their units. However, Muranaka and Kōda had already heard of the command from Nakahashi. Believing the order to be a mistake, they went to see him. When they met Kofuji he only told them to come to 1st Division Headquarters. There they met Gen. Hori, who lied to them, telling them that no command had been issued. The relieved but skeptical officers left.
  A meeting of the heads of the army—including Kawashima, Kashii and Sugiyama—had been held from the early morning onward (Araki and Mazaki had attempted to attend but had been told to leave, as the SMC had no authority). Kawashima and Kashii attempted to convince the group to avoid violence, but when 10:00 passed without any word of movement by the rebel officers, they approved the use of force. However, when Hori and Kofuji came to see Kashii at 10:40, the three agreed that it was too early to enact the imperial command. It has also been suggested that a lack of preparedness on the part of government forces was another factor. Either way, the action was delayed.
  Yamashita visited the Ministry of War at 12:00 and told the rebel officers that the issuance of the imperial command was merely a matter of time and that they should "take responsibility". Hori joined the group at 12:30 and confirmed Yamashita's words. Shortly after, Kurihara, speaking for the group, asked that an Imperial messenger be sent. He said that the officers would commit suicide and the NCOs would take the soldiers back to their barracks. Yamashita, joined by Kawashima, immediately went to the Palace, where he informed Honjō of the request. Honjō asked that the request be granted, but the Emperor refused, saying that they could do it on their own.
  Not all the rebels had been prepared to commit suicide. Andō had been infuriated at the idea, yelling that "the generals want to use us as footstools and have us kill ourselves". His rejection of the idea and the Emperor's refusal led to a change of heart among the officers. By 13:30 they had decided to fight. Kofuji learned this at 14:00 when he finally attempted to gather the officers to read them the imperial command and order them to return to their units and they refused (the orders had to be formally given in order to be valid). Soon after, at 16:00, Martial Law HQ announced that force would be used and the rebel troops were removed from Kofuji's command at 18:00. At 23:00 orders went out to begin preparations at 05:00 on the 29th for a general attack.
caption: Order in Prince Kan'in Kotohito's name transmitting the imperial command to Kōhei Kashii
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