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RYOHEI UCHIDA
PHOTO PRVIDED BY UCHIDA FAMILY |
Ryohei Uchida was born in Fukuoka prefecture. He was the son
of Shinto Muso-ryu practitioner Uchida Ryōgorō, and from an early age was
interested in many forms of Japanese traditional martial arts, including kyudo,
kendo, judo and sumo. In 1895, he attended the Toyogo University, where he
studied the Russian language and in 1897, made a trip to Siberia.
It was 1903, and in less than a year, Japan and Russia would
be at war. Russian intelligence officers would have paid dearly for information
that Ryohei Uchida was in Vladivostok, Russia and that Japan's first overseas
judo dojo, the Urajio, was in reality a secret headquarters for the spy
activities of The Kokuryu-kai (the Black Dragon Society).
The dojo in Vladivostok was run by six hand picked men by
Ryohei Uchida to specifically cater to young Russian military officers by
exposing them to the new Japanese art of judo and hopefully gain access onto
the military base under the guise of instructing officers in judo.
In all the annals of Japanese history there has been nothing
more mysterious and sinister than this secret organization. The Kokuryu-kai
flourished as a special headquarters for espionage, sabotage, revolution,
intimidation and assassination.
Known to a relative few in Japan, and then only by the
innocuous name of the Amur River Society, the Kokuiyu-kai was founded in 1901
by Ryohei Uchida. In the 40 years of its shadowy, cloak-and-dagger existence,
the long hand of the Black Dragon Society could be found in wars and
revolutions, the assassination of a queen and the abdication of an emperor, the
murder of prime ministers, the overthrow of cabinets, the intimidation of
statesmen, the annexation of foreign colonies and the operation of extensive
overseas spy rings. It even organized and financed Manchurian bandits, Korean
fanatics and Filipino revolutionaries.
Uchida was the descendant of a long line of samurai, one of
whom had been exiled to an offshore island for his rebellious nature. His
father, Ryogoro Uchida, served in the Kuroda clan as a bushi in the late Edo
Period, and it was from his father that the young Uchida developed an ambition
to see Japan expand into Korea.
Uchida's father Ryogoro, was quite famous in Kyushu for his
skill in the martial arts, attaining great proficiency in the Itoryu School of
kendo, the Shinto-Muso ryu School of jojutsu and the Kyushin-ryu school of
jujitsu. Ryohei Uchida attained repute as a renowned marksman in kyudo at a
very early age. He was also a fine sumo wrestler, while his father became his
personal coach in kendo and jojutsu. Uchida also began to study judo.
As a youth, Uchida joined the Genyosha nationalist group and
soon became the leading disciple of its founder, Toyama Mitsuru. The Genyosha
was active in raising funds and agitating for a more aggressive foreign policy
towards the Asian mainland. When the Donghak Rebellion began in Korea in 1894,
Uchida went to Korea to help the rebels.
While in Korea Uchida had taken over the tactical operations
of the Genyosha and organized a subsidiary group called Tenyuko (God-Gifted
Samurai) — 12 handpicked adventurers dedicated to the task of ensuring that
Japan would not be robbed of the fruits of its victory over China.
The 12 men hand
picked by Uchida created a small riot, and in the confusion, dressed as
tonghaks, but wearing masks, they successfully entered the Royal house and slew
the queen, Empress Myeongseong . The tonghaks, rebellious Koreans, took the
blame for the incident.
By 1895 Uchida was in Tokyo at Toyogo University studying
Russian. He also worked out at the Kodokan and established a special
relationship with shihan Jigoro Kano. Ryohei achieved the rank of go-dan, and
some years later became master of the Keio University Judo Club. His father not
only continued to coach him daily in jojutsu, but also found time to teach Navy
men and police in the art of the short stick.
The young Uchida also played a part in organizing the first
judo dojo in Kyushu together with Jigoro Kano in 1897. Called
"Tenshinkan," it was headed by a colleague of Uchida named Hyozo
Chiba who later became the first instructor to visit the U.S. to teach judo.
Needless to say, the young volunteers who would comprise the newly formed Dark
Oceean Society and later the membership of
the Black Dragon Society were given a thorough indoctrination in the
martial arts as well as in the ultra-nationalistic philosophy of the two
societies.
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Front row Left to Right: Ryohei Uchida, K. Iizuka, Sakuzo
Uchida, Ikkan Miyakawa. Back Row: Isogai, Nagaoka, Jigoro Kano (seated)
Yoshitsugu Yamashita (taught Pres. Teddy Rosevelt Judo).
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By 1901, Uchida founded the Black Dragon Society and by
1903, Uchida was sneaking around Russia and Manchuria directing his network of
spies, mobilizing Manchurian bandits and Chinese guerrillas for the coming
struggle against the Russians, Mitsuru Toyama formerly of the Genyosha (Dark
Ocean Society) was "persuading" politicians to his way of thinking.
Toyama mapped out the policies, while Uchida directed the
operations. Singly, each man was impressive and powerful in his own right, but
together they made an unbeatable pair. They sent literally hundreds of their
followers to Manchuria and-Siberia as secret agents.
Mitsuru Toyama was just beginning to make good headway when
he suddenly locked horns with the stubborn Prince Ito who favored coming to an
understanding with Russia. As the nation's leading elder statesman, Prince Ito
exerted more influence on governmental policy than any other single man in
Japan. Toyama realized that unless the Prince threw his support behind those
advocating a war policy, there would be no war and the Black Dragon's cherished
crusade of driving Russia out of all territory below the Amur River (dividing
Manchuria from Russia) to make way for Japanese expansion would collapse.
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UCHIDA FAMILY 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FAMILY DOJO
3rd picture from the right on wall is a portrait of Ryohei Uchida |
One day in the summer of that year, 1903, Toyama and three
burly judoka approached Prince Ito at his seaside villa in Oiso, some 50 miles
south of Tokyo. By cajoling, flattering and threatening the Prince, Toyama was
able to alter the Prince's war policy.
When war with Russia finally came in 1904, the Japanese
Imperial Army took the Kokuryu-kai under its wing temporarily as an
intelligence organization. Black Dragon agents were even attached to the army
in the field as interpreters and guides.
The pictures used in this article are courtesy of the Uchida family
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