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{{Short description|Ultranationalist paramilitary group in Japan}}
{{For|the fictional version|Black Dragon Society (comics)}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                     = Black Dragon Society
| image                    = 
| image_size               = 
| abbreviation             = 
| formation                = {{Start date and age|1901||}}
| predecessor              = [[Gen'yōsha]]
| founder                  = [[Uchida Ryohei]]
| founding_location        = [[Japan]]
| type                     = [[Politics|Political]]
| status                   = 
| purpose                  = 
| headquarters             = 
| location                 = Ethiopia, Turkey, Morocco, throughout Southeast Asia, South America, Europe, and the United States.
| methods                  = 
| fields                   = [[Politics]]
| membership               = 
| membership_year          = 
| language                 = 
| leader_title             = 
| leader_name              = 
| key_people               = 
| slogan                   = 
| website                  = 
| module                   = {{Infobox Chinese
| child = yes
| kanji = 黒龍会
| hiragana = こくりゅうかい
| romaji = Kokuryūkai
}}
}}
{{Conservatism in Japan|Organisations}}
{{Japanese nationalism sidebar|Organisations}}
The {{Nihongo|'''Black Dragon Society'''|[[Kyūjitai]]; 黑龍會; [[Shinjitai]]: 黒竜会|Kokuryūkai}}, or the '''Amur River Society''', was a prominent [[paramilitary]], [[Ultranationalism (Japan)|ultranationalist]] group in [[Japan]].

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2025}}
[[Image:Uchida Ryohei.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ryōhei Uchida]], founder of the Black Dragon Society]]
The ''Kokuryūkai'' was founded in 1901 by [[Martial arts|martial artist]] [[Ryōhei Uchida|Uchida Ryohei]] as a successor to his mentor [[Mitsuru Tōyama]]'s ''[[Gen'yōsha]]''.<ref name="Kaplan">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KrstMVr1fQ0C&pg=PA24 |title=Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld |last=Kaplan |first=David |author-link=David E. Kaplan (author)|publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-0520274907 |location=Los Angeles |page=24}}</ref> Its name is derived from the translation of the [[Amur River]], which is called Heilongjiang or "Black Dragon River" in [[Chinese language|Chinese]] (黑龍江[[Traditional Chinese|<sup>?</sup>]]), read as ''Kokuryū-kō'' in Japanese. Its public goal was to support efforts to keep the [[Russian Empire]] north of the Amur River and out of East Asia.

The ''Kokuryūkai'' initially made strenuous efforts to distance itself from the criminal elements of its predecessor, the ''Gen'yōsha''. As a result, its membership included Cabinet Ministers and high-ranking military officers as well as professional [[espionage|intelligence operatives]]. However, as time passed, it found the use of criminal activities to be a convenient means to an end for many of its operations.

The Society published a journal, the ''Kokuryū Kaiho'' (''Amur Bulletin'')<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://journals.openedition.org/diacronie/4738?lang=en |title=Secret Societies in Japan and Preparation for the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) |journal=Diacronie |year=2016 |doi=10.4000/diacronie.4738 |access-date=2022-06-02|last1=Jacob |first1=Frank |author-link=Frank Jacob (historian)| issue=28, 4 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and operated an espionage training school, from which it dispatched agents to gather intelligence on Russian activities in Russia, [[Manchuria]], [[Korea]] and [[China]]. [[Ikki Kita]] was sent to China as a special member of the organization. It also pressured Japanese politicians to adopt a strong foreign policy. The ''Kokuryūkai'' also supported [[Pan-Asianism]], and lent financial support to revolutionaries such as [[Sun Yat-sen]] and [[Emilio Aguinaldo]].

During the [[Russo-Japanese War]], [[Korea under Japanese rule|annexation of Korea]] and [[Siberian Intervention]], the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] made use of the ''Kokuryūkai'' network for [[espionage]], [[sabotage]] and [[assassination]]. They organized Manchurian guerrillas against the Russians from the Chinese [[warlord]]s and bandit chieftains in the region, the most important being Marshal [[Zhang Zuolin]]. The Black Dragons waged a very successful [[psychological warfare]] campaign in conjunction with the Japanese military, spreading disinformation and [[propaganda]] throughout the region. They also acted as interpreters for the Japanese army.

The ''Kokuryūkai'' assisted the Japanese spy, Colonel [[Motojiro Akashi]]. Akashi, who was not directly a member of the Black Dragons, ran successful operations in China, Manchuria, Siberia and established contacts throughout the Muslim world. These contacts in [[Central Asia]] were maintained through [[World War II]]. The Black Dragons also formed close contact and even alliances with [[Buddhist]] sects throughout Asia.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

During the 1920s and 1930s, the ''Kokuryūkai''  evolved into more of a mainstream political organization, and publicly attacked liberal and leftist thought. Although it never had more than several dozen members{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} at any one time during this period, the close ties of its membership to leading members of the government, military and powerful business leaders gave it a power and influence far greater than most other ultranationalist groups. In 1924, retired naval captain Yutaro Yano and his associates within the Black Dragon Society invited [[Oomoto]] leader [[Onisaburo Deguchi]] on a journey to [[Mongolia]]. Onisaburo led a group of Oomoto disciples, including [[Aikido]] founder [[Morihei Ueshiba]].

Initially directed only against Russia, in the 1930s, the ''Kokuryūkai'' expanded its activities around the world, and stationed agents in such diverse places as [[Ethiopia]], [[Turkey]], [[Morocco]], throughout [[Southeast Asia]] and [[South America]], as well as [[Europe]] and the [[United States]].

The ''Kokuryūkai'' was officially disbanded by order of the [[Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers|American Occupation authorities]] in 1946. According to [[Brian Victoria|Brian Daizen Victoria]]'s book, ''Zen War Stories'', the Black Dragon Society was reconstituted in 1961 by [[Omori Sogen|Ōmori Sōgen]] as the Black Dragon Club (''Kokuryū-Kurabu'') with the aim to "succeed to the spirit of the [prewar] Black Dragon Society and promote the [Shōwa] restoration." According to Victoria, the Kokuryū-Kurabu never attracted more than 150 members.<ref>Victoria, Brian Daizen (2003). ''Zen War Stories''. [[Routledge]], p. 61. {{ISBN|978-0700715817}}.</ref>

==Activities in the United States==
The Ethiopian Pacific Movement and the [[Peace Movement of Ethiopia]] (both [[African Americans|African-American]] black nationalist organizations) claimed they were affiliated with the Black Dragon Society.<ref name="reginaldkearney">Kearney, Reginald (1998). [https://books.google.com/books?id=GjTmRdaYgYoC&lpg=PA77&pg=PA77 ''African American Views of the Japanese: Solidarity or Sedition?''] New York: [[SUNY Press]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=GjTmRdaYgYoC&lpg=PA77&pg=PA77 p. 77.]</ref>

[[Mittie Maude Lena Gordon]], who led the Peace Movement of Ethiopia, claimed to be personally affiliated with the ''Kokuryūkai''.<ref name="reginaldkearney"/>

On March 27, 1942, [[FBI]] agents arrested members of the Black Dragon Society in the [[San Joaquin Valley]], [[California]].<ref>[http://www.sfmuseum.org/war/42.html 1942 World War II Chronology<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216110619/http://www.sfmuseum.org/war/42.html |date=2007-12-16 }}</ref>

In the [[Manzanar]] Internment Camp, a small group of pro-Imperial Japanese flew Black Dragon flags and intimidated other Japanese inmates.<ref>Burton, Jeffery F. (2002). [https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/japanese_internment/confinement_ethnicity_nps_sm.pdf ''Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites''.] [[University of Washington Press]]. p. 172.</ref><ref>[[Lawson Fusao Inada|Inada, Lawson Fusao]] (2000). [[iarchive:onlywhatwecouldc00inad|''Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese American Internment Experience'']]. Berkeley: [[Heyday Books]], on behalf of the [[California Historical Society]]. [[iarchive:onlywhatwecouldc00inad/page/160|pp. 161-162]].</ref>

== In popular culture ==
A fictionalized version of the Black Dragon Society "featured in much of American popular culture".<ref name=AH>{{cite book |last1=Austin |first1=Allen W. |last2=Hamilton |first2=Patrick L. |date=2019 |title=All New, All Different? - A History of Race and the American Superhero |publisher=[[University of Texas Press]] |page=27 |isbn= 9781477318997}}</ref> It appeared in ''Master Comics'' starting with issue 21, first published by Fawcett Comics on December 10, 1941. Initially displayed as an external threat, the Black Dragon Society was given elements of a [[fifth column]] after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which reflected the fear of subversion of American society by Japanese-Americans.<ref name="www.closure.uni-kiel.de 1940 a937">{{cite web | last=Jansen | first=Henning | title=Masks, muscles and monkeys: Feindbilder von Deutschen und Japanern in den Fawcett-Comics während des Zweiten Weltkriegs | website=Closure: Kieler e-Journal für Comicforschung | date=1940-05-26 | url=https://www.closure.uni-kiel.de/closure3/jansen | language=de | access-date=2024-02-14}}</ref> In [[DC Comic|DC]]'s ''[[All Star Comics]]'' from 1942 the Society functioned as an opponent of the [[Justice Society of America]] and were likewise presented as an example of "alleged Japanese American perfidy".<ref name=AH/> 

Another fictionalized version of the Black Dragon Society is featured in the CBS television series ''[[Raven (American TV series)|Raven]]'', where they are a ninja clan operating in [[Hawaii]].<ref name="Morris 2013 p.">{{cite book | last=Morris | first=Narrelle | title=Japan-Bashing: Anti-Japanism since the 1980s | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Routledge Contemporary Japan Series | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-136-97093-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9INUmDc65TAC | access-date=2024-02-14 | page=}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Dark Ocean Society]]
* [[Fifth column]]
* [[Kinoaki Matsuo]]
* [[G-Men vs. the Black Dragon|''G-Men vs. the Black Dragon'' (1943)]]
* [[Kōtarō Yoshida (martial artist)|Kōtarō Yoshida]]
* [[Sakurakai]]
* [[Secret society]]
* [[Shindo Renmei]], Brazil
* [[Uyoku dantai]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin}}
* [[Donald McCormick|Deacon, Richard]] (1983). [[iarchive:kempeitaijapanes00deac|''Kempei Tai: A History of the Japanese Secret Service'']]. New York: Berkley Publishing Company. {{ISBN|0425074587}}.
* [[Frank Jacob (historian)|Jacob, Frank]] (2012). ''Die Thule-Gesellschaft und die Kokuryûkai: Geheimgesellschaften im global-historischen''. Würzburg: [[Königshausen & Neumann]]. {{ISBN|978-3826049095}}.
* [[Frank Jacob (historian)|Jacob, Frank]], ed. (2012). ''Geheimgesellschaften: Kulturhistorische Sozialstudien'' (''Secret Societies: Comparative Studies in Culture, Society and History''). Würzburg: [[Königshausen & Neumann]]. {{ISBN|978-3826049088}}.
* [[Frank Jacob (historian)|Jacob, Frank]] (2014). ''Japanism, Pan-Asianism and Terrorism: A Short History of the Amur Society (The Black Dragons), 1901-1945''. Palo Alto: [[Academica Press]]. {{ISBN|978-1936320752}}.
* [[David E. Kaplan (author)|Kaplan, David]], and Alec Dubro (2004). [[iarchive:yakuzajapanscrim0000kapl|''Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld''.]] Berkeley: [[University of California Press]]. [[iarchive:yakuzajapanscrim0000kapl/page/18|pp. 18–21.]] {{ISBN|0520274903}}.
* [[Norman Polmar|Polmar, Norman]], and [[Thomas B. Allen (author)|Thomas B. Allen]] (1997). [[iarchive:spybookencyclope0000polm|''Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage'']]. New York: [[Random House]]. {{ISBN|978-0679425144}}.
* Saaler, Sven (2011). [https://archive.org/download/saaler-sven-the-kokuryukai-1901-1920-in-saaler-sven-and-christopher-w.-a.-szpilm/Saaler%2C%20Sven%20-%20The%20Kokuryu%CC%84kai%2C%201901%E2%80%931920%20-%20In%20-%20Saaler%2C%20Sven%2C%20and%20Christopher%20W.A.%20Szpilman%20-%20Pan-Asianism%20-%20A%20Documentary%20History%2C%20Vol.%201%20-%201850-1920%20%28Rowman%20%20Littlefield%20Publishers%2C%202011%29%2C%20pp.%20121-132%20%5BISBN%20978-1442205963%5D.pdf "The Kokuryûkai, 1901-1920" (Chapter 10).] In: Saaler, Sven, and Christopher W. A. Szpilman, eds. ''Pan-Asianism: A Documentary History, Vol. 1: 1859-1920''. Lanham: [[Rowman and Littlefield]], pp. 121–132.
* Saaler, Sven (2014). [https://archive.org/download/saaler-sven-the-kokuryukai-black-dragon-society-and-the-rise-of-nationalism-pan-/Saaler%2C%20Sven%20-%20The%20Kokuryu%CC%82kai%20%28Black%20Dragon%20Society%29%20and%20the%20Rise%20of%20Nationalism%2C%20Pan-Asianism%2C%20and%20Militarism%20in%20Japan%2C%201901-1925%20%28International%20Journal%20of%20Asian%20Studies%2C%20vol.%2011%2C%20no.%202%2C%202014%29%2C%20pp.%20125%E2%80%93160.pdf "The Kokuryûkai (Black Dragon Society) and the Rise of Nationalism, Pan-Asianism, and Militarism in Japan, 1901-1925."] ''[[International Journal of Asian Studies]]'', vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 125–160. {{doi|10.1017/S147959141400014X}}.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060104223723/http://www.russojapanesewar.com/dragons.html ''The "Black-Dragon" Statement of Japanese Policy in China as a Result of the European War'' (1914)]}}

{{Racism topics|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Politics of the Empire of Japan]]
[[Category:Far-right politics in Japan]]
[[Category:Political organizations based in Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese militarism]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1901]]
[[Category:Organizations disestablished in 1946]]
[[Category:Japanese-American history]]
[[Category:Internment of Japanese Americans]]
[[Category:1901 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:1946 disestablishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese secret societies]]
[[Category:Pan-Asianism]]
[[Category:Politics of Korea]]
[[Category:Anti-Russian sentiment in Asia]]