Black Dragon Society The , or Amur River Society , was a prominent paramilitary , ultranationalist right - wing group in Japan . History . The " Kokuryūkai " was founded in 1901 by Uchida Ryohei , and was descended from the " Genyōsha " ( Uchida was a follower of " Genyōsha " founder Mitsuru Toyama ) . Its name is derived from the translation of the Amur River , which is called Heilongjiang or " Black Dragon River " in Chinese ( 黑龍江 ) , read as " Kokuryū - kō " in Japanese . Its public goal was to support efforts to keep the Russian Empire north of the Amur River and out of east Asia . The " Kokuryūkai " initially made strenuous efforts to distance itself from the criminal elements of its predecessor , the " Genyōsha " . As a result , its membership included Cabinet Ministers and high - ranking military officers as well as professional secret agent s . However , as time passed , it found the use of criminal activities to be a convenient " means to an end " for many of its operations . The Society published a journal , and operated an espionage training school , from which it dispatched agents to gather intelligence on Russian activities in Russia , Manchuria , Korea and China . It also pressured Japanese politicians to adopt a strong foreign policy . The Kokuryukai also supported Pan - Asianism , and lent financial support to revolutionaries such as Sun Yat - sen , and Emilio Aguinaldo . During the Russo - Japanese War , annexation of Korea and Siberian Intervention , the Imperial Japanese Army made use of the " Kokuryūkai " network for espionage , sabotage and assassination . They organized Manchurian guerrillas against the Russians from the Chinese warlord s and bandit chieftains in the region , the most important being Marshal Chang Tso - lin . The Black Dragons waged a very successful psychological warfare campaign in conjunction with the Japanese military , spreading disinformation and propaganda throughout the region . They also acted as interpreters for the Japanese army . The " Kokuryūkai " assisted the Japanese spy , Colonel Motojiro Akashi . Akashi , who was not directly a member of the Black Dragons , ran successful operations in China , Manchuria , Siberia and established contacts throughout the Muslim world . These contacts in Central Asia were maintained through World War II . The Black Dragons also formed close contact and even alliances with Buddhist sects throughout Asia . During the 1920s and 1930s , the " Kokuryūkai " evolved into more of a mainstream political organization , and publicly attacked liberal and leftist thought . Although it never had more than several dozen members at any one time during this period , the close ties of its membership to leading members of the government , military and powerful business leaders gave it a power and influence far greater than most other ultranationalist groups . Initially directed only against Russia , in the 1930s , the " Kokuryūkai " expanded its activities around the world , and stationed agents in such diverse places as Ethiopia , Turkey , Morocco , throughout southeast Asia and South America , as well as Europe and the United States . Activities in the United States . The organization was mentioned as an influence on the black nationalist organizations which were convicted of sedition in 1942 , most notably Mittie Maud Lena Gordon ' s Peace Movement for Ethiopia . The other two organizations said to be influenced were the Brotherhood of Liberty for the Black People of America and the Nation of Islam . On March 27 , 1942 , FBI agents arrested members of the Black Dragon Society in the San Joaquin Valley , California . In the Manzanar Internment Camp a small group of pro - Imperial Japan flew Black Dragon flags and intimidated other Japanese inmates . The " Kokuryūkai " was officially disbanded by order of the American Occupation authorities in 1946 . According to Brian Daizen Victoria ' s book , " Zen War Stories " , the Black Dragon Society was reconstituted in 1961 as the Black Dragon Club ( " Kokuryū - Kurabu " . ) The Club never had more than 150 members to succeed in the goals of the former Black Dragon Society . In popular culture . Agents of the Black Dragon Society appeared in the 1938 French film " The Shanghai Drama " directed by the celebrated Georg Wilhelm Pabst . Black Dragons appeared as villains in two Sam Katzman 1942 Monogram Pictures releases " Black Dragons " and " Let ' s Get Tough ! " as well as a Republic Pictures film serial " G - Men vs the Black Dragon " that was turned into a Century 66 made for TV movie " The Black Dragon of Manzanar " . The Black Dragons also appeared as villains in 1942 American comic books published by DC Comics . In the 1949 movie " Tokyo Joe " , starring Humphrey Bogart , Baron Kimura ( Sessue Hayakawa ) attempts to smuggle the leader of the Black Dragon Society from Korea into American - occupied Japan as part of a plot to stage a right - wing coup . In Max Brooks ' book " The Zombie Survival Guide " , the Black Dragons are portrayed as a unit of World War II Japanese military . He asserts that this group was responsible for attempting to create a zombie army by breeding and training the undead in an operation known as Project Cherry Blossom . They also appear as henchmen to the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond novel " You Only Live Twice . " The Black Dragon Society appears in the Thomas Pynchon novel " Against the Day " . In the fictional " Battletech " universe the Black Dragon Society is depicted as an extremist , traditionalist group within the Draconis Combine , supposedly with ties to the historical group . The Black Dragon appeared as the antagonists in the 1995 televised version of Fist of Fury .