Kōhei Akagi

Akagi Kohei (Japanese: 赤木 桁平, Hepburn: Akagi Kōhei, born Tadayoshi Ikezaki (Japanese: 池崎 忠孝, Hepburn: Ikezaki Tadayoshi, who also later used the name Chūkō), formerly Akagi (赤木), February 9, 1891 – December 10, 1949) was a Japanese critic and politician. He was the first person to write a biography of Natsume Sōseki and gained fame in the Taishō period for his campaign against so-called "dissipated literature" (yūtō bungaku). He served three terms as a member of the House of Representatives, being elected in the 19th, 20th, and 21st general elections.

Early life and education Akagi was born in Manzai Village, Atetsu District, Okayama Prefecture (present-day Niimi City).

Lacking business acumen, he nevertheless forged connections in the Kansai business community, befriending notable figures such as poet and Sumitomo executive Jun Kawada, Hatsujiro Yamamoto (founder of Yamahatsu Sangyo and an art collector), and Ryūji Tanabe (first president of Kansai Haiden, now Kansai Electric Power), Yamamoto and Tanabe share the same alma mater: Takahashi High School. He was detained at Sugamo Prison on suspicion of being a Class-A war criminal. He resigned from the House of Representatives on December 6, 1945. Although he was later released due to illness, he was purged from public office and died in obscurity.

Works

As Kohei Akagi

Geijutsujō no Risōshugi [Idealism in the Arts], Rakuyōdō, 1916 Natsume Sōseki, Shinchosha, 1917 Kindai Kokoro no Shozō [Phenomena of the Modern Mind], Oranda Shobō, 1917 Takayama Chogyū as a Man and Thinker, Shinchosha, 1918 Taishi Shogyōsan [Praise of Prince Shōtoku’s Deeds], Ōmura Shoten, 1921

As Tadayoshi Ikezaki

America Need Not Be Feared, Senshinsha, 1929 Japanese Submarines: Pacific Operations and Submarine Warfare, Senshinsha, 1929 Americanism as a Global Threat, Tenjinsha, 1930 A Farewell to My Late Friend Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Tenjinsha, 1930 The Fall of the British Empire Has Come, Senshinsha, 1931 Can a 60% Navy Fight?: Continuation of "America Need Not Be Feared", Senshinsha, 1931 A Proper Understanding of the Manchurian-Mongolian Problem, Tenjinsha, 1931 Theory on the Present State of Britain and America: The Rise of the U.S. and the Fall of the U.K., Senshinsha, 1932 The Inevitable U.S.-Japan War, Senshinsha, 1932 Pacific Strategy Theory, Senshinsha, 1932 The Rise of the Genius Empire Japan, Shinkōsha, 1933 Recent Studies on Military Issues, Ōmura Shoten, 1936 From the Perspective of National Defense, Shōshinsha, 1936 Japan Standing in the World, Kon'nichi no Mondai-sha, 1937 Will Britain Dare to Challenge?, Daiichi Shuppansha, 1937 Keep Watch on the Soviet Union, Daiichi Shuppansha, 1937 Memoirs of the World War, Daiichi Shuppansha, 1938 New China Theory, Modern Japan Company, 1938 New China and the New Life Movement, Meguro Shoten, 1939 Singapore as a Strategic Base: Britain’s Far East Strategy, Daiichi Shuppansha, 1939 Recent Japanese Foreign Policy: A Study, Daiichi Shuppansha, 1939 If the U.S.-Japan War Comes: The Theory and Practice of the Pacific War, Shinchosha, February 1941 A Brief Account of Ishida Mitsunari, Okakura Shobō, 1942 Certain Victory in a Prolonged War, Shinchosha, 1942 Praise of Prince Shōtoku, Okakura Shobō, 1943 Thus the World Fought: Reflections on the Global War, Shinsendō, 1943 (Selected Writings of Tadayoshi Ikezaki)

Biography

Takumi Satō. The Light and Shadow of Tadayoshi Ikezaki: A Cultured Elitist in Mass Politics (Modern Japanese Media Politicians, Vol. 6), Sōgensha, 2023