Kazutaka Komori
Japanese assassin (1943)
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Kazutaka Komori (小森 一孝, Komori Kazutaka; born May 25, 1943) is a Japanese right-wing ultranationalist youth who attempted to assassinate Japanese journalist and magazine publisher Hōji Shimanaka in February 1961, in what became known as the Shimanaka incident.[1] Komori sought retribution for a fictional story published in one of Shimanaka's magazines which featured a dream sequence in which the Emperor and Empress were beheaded by a guillotine.[2] Shimanaka was away from home at the time of Komori's assault, and he ended up stabbing Shimanaka's wife and murdering his housemaid.[3] Komori was 17 years old at the time of his attack.[3]
Early life
Komori was born in Nagasaki, Japan, on May 25, 1943.[4] His mother, Tatsu, committed suicide when he was a young boy.[4] His neighbors later described him as having been a "moody" child, and in high school he was once admitted to a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown.[4] After graduating from high school, he drifted around the country taking on various odd jobs.[4] On January 3, 1961, he joined prominent ultra-rightist Bin Akao's Greater Japan Patriotic Party, and withdrew from the party just hours before his attack on Shimanaka's household.[4][3]
Attack
On February 1, 1961, at the age of 17, Komori went to the home of prominent Tokyo publisher Hōji Shimanaka with the intent to kill him in retribution for a fiction story by Shichirō Fukazawa printed in Shimanaka's magazine Chūō Kōron that described the overthrow and murder of the Japanese Imperial family.[1] The story, which satirized the recent Anpo protests, depicted a dream sequence in which the reigning emperor and empress were beheaded, along with the crown prince and princess.[5] Shimanaka was not at home but Komori murdered his 51-year-old maid and critically injured the publisher's wife.[3] Komori initially fled the scene, but later turned himself in to police.[3]
Aftermath
Komori was tried as an adult and sentenced to 15 years in prison.[6][7] This murder and the assassination of Inejiro Asanuma by Otoya Yamaguchi led to the arrest of Bin Akao in 1961.[8] Kenji Ino wrote in “Critique: Akao Bin: Rebel Radical Human”, page 133 (All Publishing, 1991):
Kazutaka Komori lost his mental balance while serving time in Chiba Prison. Whenever a meal was served, he repeatedly drowned his head in miso soup while shouting, “Long live the Emperor!" and repeatedly poured miso soup over his head. He is still in a hospital in Nagasaki Prefecture.
