Fumiko Kaneko sits on her knees wearing a striped kimono with her hands clasped in front of her, staring intently ahead. c. 1925, author unknown [Wikipedia]

Fumiko Kaneko, born on this day in 1903, was a Japanese anarchist, nihilist, and opponent to Japanese imperialism in Korea. Fumiko is perhaps best remembered for her “The Prison Memoirs Of A Japanese Woman”, written while imprisoned after being convicted of high treason against the Japanese government.

Together, Fumiko and her Korean partner Pak Yol published two magazines which highlighted the problems Koreans faced under Japanese imperialism and showed influences of their radical politics. Sometime between 1922 and 1923, they also established a group called “F"utei-sha (Society of Malcontents)”, which Fumiko identified as a group for direct action against the government.

These activities soon brought Pak and Fumiko under government scrutiny. In September 1923, the Japanese government therefore made a number of arrests, mostly Koreans, on limited evidence, and among those arrested were Pak and Fumiko.

After lengthy judicial proceedings, Fumiko and Pak were convicted of high treason for attempting to obtain bombs with the intention of killing the emperor or his son. They were both sentenced to life in prison, however Fumiko allegedly committed suicide in her cell in 1926.

Here is a short excerpt from one of Fumiko’s interrogations while imprisoned (text by Max Res from theanarchistlibrary.org):

Q: Your class?

A: A divine commoner.

Q: How are you employed?

A: My job is tearing down everything that currently exists.

The Prison Memoirs Of A Japanese Woman

Hexbear links

reminders:

  • 💚 You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
  • 💙 Hexbear’s algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
  • 💜 Sorting by new you nerd
  • 🌈 If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
  • 🐶 Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog

Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):

Aid:

Theory:

  • viva_la_juche [they/them, any]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    16
    ·
    edit-2
    4 days ago

    I know we throw around the sentiment a lot but I can’t adequately put into words how much I fucking detest this vile, demonic, shithole country. (I had to interact with the healthcare industry today)