| On other hand, Kiichiro Hiranuma had already gotten up when the house was attacked. The guard Hatano from the Metropolitan Police Board as his lifeguard at that time came there and announced to Kiichiro the urgency. The guard Hatano hurried to save Kiichiro and led him through a connecting corridor to the next building called Mukyu-Kai, which was the library with Kiichiro's 200,000 private collections of academic books. Hatano took Kiichiro to the large reception room with the big family Shinto altar on the second floor and he hid him behind the big screen there. Then, Hatano himself turned back to the entrance of the connecting corridor holding the pistol to protect Kiichiro in case the rioters should step into this building. Fortunately, the rioters must have been too impatient to accomplish the assassination that they mistakenly thought Kiichiro's house and this library were completely separate buildings despite being connected by a corridor. Thus, Kiichiro escaped being assassinated. There were many leaders like Fumimaro Konoe or General Anan who killed themselves during the war. Kiichiro might have wanted to commit suicide at that time like General Hideki Tojo who failed to kill himself. However, I think Kiichiro survived by God's Providence like General Tojo. The most important matter of concern for Kiichiro always was the Japanese national sovereignty. That was why he strongly insisted to ask the Allied countries to maintain the sovereign power of the Emperor even if Japan had to agree to accept the Potsdam declaration against its will. Saionji didn't like Kiichiro so much since Kiichiro seemed to him to be fanatical and superstitious. Kiichiro, who was very worried about Japan losing its national origin under the Western influences since Meiji Restoration, promoted the political organization KOKUHONSHA and the mass media painted him as a leader of fascists by distorting the facts. If you let me exonerate him, Kiichiro was not fanatical and he was neither right wing nor fascist. If anything, Kiichiro was proud of Japan and he was a patriot who really loved Japanese tradition and culture. The pro-US and pro-Britain Japan changed to be pro-Germany just before rushing into War, and the military authorities changed Japanese structure to totalitarianism. Kiichiro thought there was no great difference between fascism and communism under such circumstances and he considered that such an idea was against Japanese national sovereignty completely. Despite rumor of being arrested, Kiichiro didn't stop warning such military authorities' hastily and blindly, and he made an effort with Fumimaro Konoe and former Minister Okada to prevent Japan's move. Although his efforts failed before the War started, Kiichiro tried to proceed with the peace movement with the American charge d'affaires or American Secretary of State representative. One of the right wing of Okayama mistakenly thought Kiichiro communicated secretly with the enemy, and he gave Kiichiro six bullet shots in the face through the neck. Kiichiro who was a tough ex-judge and looked like a blood Dharma doll chased him till the entrance and shouted out to the policemen, "Arrest him!" Though he exceeded seventy years old by far, he miraculously escaped death. His spiritual strength made him recover possible. There are more stories in this. A boil had appeared on his back and it has been getting swollen terribly soon after Kiichiro was sent into the Sugamo Prison as an A class war criminal. I heard that everyone was very surprised because a pistol bullet came out when an American doctor cut open the boil. The five bullets the right wing gave him had already been taken out from his body right after he had got the shots, while the one missing bullet was found at this moment after about ten years. |
