Kazutaka Komori

Kazutaka Komori (小森 一孝, Komori Kazutaka, May 25, 1943 – November 1971) was 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. 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. Shimanaka was away from home at the time of Komori's assault, and he ended up stabbing Shimanaka's wife and murdering his housemaid. Komori was 17 years old at the time of his attack.

Early life

Komori was born in Nagazaki, Japan, on May 25, 1943.[1] His mother, Tatsu, committed suicide when he was a young boy.[1] 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.[1] After graduating from high school, he drifted around the country taking on various odd jobs.[1] 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.[1]

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.[2] Shimanaka was not at home but Komori murdered a maid and stabbed the publisher's wife.[3]

Aftermath

Komori was later tried as an adult and sentenced to 15 years in prison.[4][5] This murder and the assassination of Inejiro Asanuma by Otoya Yamaguchi led to the arrest of Bin Akao in 1961.[6] Komori died in prison in 1971.

References
  1. "Fanatical Rightist Youth Confesses Brutal Stabbings". The Japan Times. Tokyo. February 3, 1961. p. 4.
  2. Treat, John Whittier; 1994 (January 1994). "Beheaded Emperors and the Absent Figure in Contemporary Japanese Literature". PMLA. Modern Language Association. 109 (1): 100–115. doi:10.2307/463014. JSTOR 463014.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. "Rightist Youth Stab's Publisher's Wife, Maid". The Japan Times. Tokyo. February 2, 1961. p. 1.
  4. United Press International (March 22, 1961). "Will Try Slayer as Adult". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  5. Associated Press (February 26, 1962). "Story in Magazine Touches Off Tragedy". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  6. United Press International, February 21, 1961. "Rightist's Arrest Sparks Demonstration Threats". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 21 August 2012.


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