Tokuda Kyuichi

Social activist and politician. Born in Okinawa Prefecture on September 12, 1894. From an early age, as an Okinawan, he experienced discrimination from teachers and government officials from the mainland, and as his family was poor, he was discriminated against by his relatives on whom he relied for financial support during his adolescence. After dropping out of Kagoshima's Seventh High School, he worked as a substitute teacher in his hometown before moving to Tokyo in 1917 (Taisho 6), where he studied hard to earn a degree at the law department (evening class) of Nihon University, and qualified as a lawyer in 1920. During his time studying hard, he participated in the rice riots and began frequenting the company of Yamakawa Hitoshi. In 1921, he attended the Far Eastern National Congress in Moscow, and in July 1922, he participated in the founding of the Japanese Communist Party. In the following year, 1923, he was arrested in connection with the First Communist Party Incident, but was released on bail at the end of the same year. When the party was dissolved in 1924, he became a member of the Bureau, a liaison committee established in preparation for the future reconstruction of the party. In January 1925, he met with a representative of Comintern in Shanghai, and after returning to Japan, he left Yamakawa Kin and became the center of the party reconstruction effort, winning the trust of young activists as an active left-wing leader. In 1927 (Showa 2), he went to Moscow to write theses, and the following year, in 1928, he ran in the House of Representatives election, but was arrested immediately afterwards in the March 15 Incident. He remained in prison for 18 years without changing his views, and in October 1945 (Showa 20), he was released and rebuilt the Japanese Communist Party, becoming its Secretary-General. In 1946, he was elected to the House of Representatives. Tokuda's inflammatory speeches were symbolic of the postwar situation in which the old authority had collapsed, but his patriarchal leadership within the party destroyed internal democracy. In January 1950, criticism of the Cominform led to a split in the party, but after being expelled by MacArthur in June of the same year, Tokuda led the majority of the party into underground activities and promoted an armed struggle against the Americans, which led to a rapid decline in the party's influence. He died in Beijing on October 14, 1953.

[Shiro Akazawa]

"The Life of Tokuda Kyuichi: Unstinting Devotion" edited by Rironsha Editorial Department (1952, Rironsha)" ▽ "The Complete Works of Tokuda Kyuichi, 6 volumes (1985-1986, Satsuki Shobo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

社会運動家、政治家。明治27年9月12日沖縄県に生まれる。幼少時から沖縄人の一人として内地人の教員や官吏などによる差別を経験するとともに、生家が貧しかったことから、青少年期には彼が学資を頼る親戚(しんせき)の間で差別的な待遇を受けた。鹿児島の第七高等学校中退後、郷里での代用教員などの職を経て1917年（大正6）に上京、苦学して日本大学専門部法律科（夜間）に学び、1920年に弁護士資格を取得した。苦学中に米騒動に参加し、山川均(やまかわひとし)のもとに出入りするようになる。1921年モスクワの極東民族大会に出席、1922年7月日本共産党の創立に参画した。翌1923年第一次共産党事件で逮捕されるが、同年末保釈出獄し、1924年の解党に際しては、将来の党再建に備えて設置された連絡のための委員会であるビューローの一員となった。1925年1月上海(シャンハイ)でコミンテルン代表と会談し、帰国後山川均と離れて党再建活動の中心となり、行動的な左翼指導者として若手活動家の信望を集めた。1927年（昭和2）にテーゼ作成のためモスクワに行き、翌1928年衆議院選挙に立候補するが、その直後三・一五事件で検挙された。その後18年間獄中で非転向を貫き、1945年（昭和20）10月に出獄して日本共産党を再建し書記長となる。1946年衆議院議員に当選した。徳田の扇動演説は、旧来の権威が崩壊した戦後状況を象徴するものであったが、党内における家父長的指導は党内民主主義を破壊した。1950年1月のコミンフォルム批判をきっかけに党の分裂が起こるが、同年6月のマッカーサー指令による追放後、徳田は多数派を率いて地下活動に入り、抗米武装闘争路線を推進、これによって党勢は急激に減退した。昭和28年10月14日北京(ペキン)で客死した。

［赤澤史朗］

『理論社編集部編『徳田球一伝　惜しみなき献身』（1952・理論社）』▽『『徳田球一全集』全6巻（1985～1986・五月書房）』

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