TheHibiya incendiary incident (日比谷焼打事件,Hibiya yakiuchi jiken), also known as theHibiya riots, was a majorriot that occurred inTokyo,Japan, from 5 to 7 September 1905.[1] Protests by Japanese nationalists inHibiya Park against the terms of theTreaty of Portsmouth ending theRusso-Japanese War escalated into a violent two-day citywide riot when the police attempted to suppress the protests. The Hibiya incendiary incident resulted in the death of 17 rioters, led to the collapse of the government ofKatsura Tarō, and is considered the first event of theEra of Popular Violence. Over 2000 rioters were later arrested for their involvement, with 104 being tried and 87 found guilty.
TheEmpire of Japan and theRussian Empire fought theRusso-Japanese War from February 1904 to September 1905 after decades of growing tensions over competingimperialist interests inNortheast Asia. Although theImperial Japanese Navy had decisively defeated theImperial Russian Navy at theBattle of Tsushima, and theImperial Japanese Army had takenPort Arthur and had won a major victory over theImperial Russian Army at theBattle of Mukden, Japanese forces were overextended inManchuria, and the Japanese economy could no longer sustain a prolonged war effort.
On 5 September 1905, theTreaty of Portsmouth was signed after a month of negotiations between Japan and Russia, officially ending the Russo-Japanese War with a Japanese victory. A diverse assortment of Japanese activist groups called for a rally atHibiya Park, in centralTokyo, to protest what was seen as the humiliating terms of the treaty, which was announced earlier that day. The activists and protesters were largely ignorant of the actual war situation, with many viewing the terms of the treaty accepted by the Japanese government as excessively lenient towards Russia, which had been decisively defeated. The protesters were especially incensed that Japanese territorial gains in the northern half ofSakhalin would be returned to Russia and that the Russian government would not pay anywar reparations to Japan.[1]
At the time, very few Japanese people realized that the war against Russia had pushed their nation to the verge of bankruptcy.[2]
A crowd of protestors against the government began to gather at Hibiya Park early in the evening of 5 September, only to find that theTokyo Metropolitan Police Department had banned the rally and barricaded the park's gates. The crowd swelled to about 30,000 people, but the police still refused to open the gates. The angered crowd then turned riotous, marched towards theImperial Palace grounds, and rampaged throughout city for the next two days. Rioters especially targeted buildings and organizations associated with the government, the police,Russia, and theUnited States, which had mediated the terms in the Treaty of Portsmouth. Facilities of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs were damaged, numerouspolice stations andpolice boxes were set on fire and destroyed, and a five-person group attacked the house of theHome Minister. Protestors had attempted to set fire to theHoly Resurrection Cathedral of theJapanese Orthodox Church, which was heavily associated with Russia, but were prevented by people guarding the building. Several assets of the American diplomatic mission in Tokyo and Americanmissionary churches werevandalized by protestors.
On 6 September, the government declaredmartial law to restore order.
Before order was finally restored on 7 September, angry mobs had destroyed or damaged more than 350 buildings, including 70 percent of the police boxes in the city. Casualties included 17 people killed, and over 450 policemen, 48 firemen, and civilians injured. Over 2000 were arrested for participation in the riots, with 104 being tried and 87 found guilty. News of the violence in Tokyo touched off similar disturbances inKobe andYokohama and stimulated hundreds of nonviolent rallies, speeches, and meetings throughout Japan for several months. Martial law would be abolished on 29 November.
The Hibiya riots and the subsequent unrest directly contributed to the collapse ofJapanese Prime MinisterKatsura Tarō and his cabinet on 7 January 1906. Katsura was replaced by his political archrival,Saionji Kinmochi, who tried to diminish the influence of theImperial Japanese Army in political matters.
The Hibiya Incendiary Incident marks the beginning of a period in Japanese history that historians call theEra of Popular Violence (民衆騒擾期,minshū sōjō ki). Over the next 13 years Japan, would be rocked by a series of violent protests (nine different riots in Tokyo alone) that culminated in therice riots of 1918.
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