August 10 to August 15, Feng Jingen (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, etc. ), Yang Shan (Okayama, Hiroshima, Wugang, etc. ), Shikoku (Takamatsu, Songshan, Kochi, etc. ), Kyushu (Mensi, etc. ), Hokuriku (Golden) In these places, tens of thousands of people often gather, demonstrate, destroy shops, especially rice shops, and clash with the military and police. The movement developed from an economic struggle for rice to a political struggle against the imperial government. At this stage, the working class in major cities acted as the standard-bearer of the "rice riots". Their strike made the tide of the national revolution more turbulent. The "rice riot" was like a raging fire that burned the whole of Japan. This is the highest peak of the "rice commotion". The riots in Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya and other places can be taken as a typical example of the struggle at this stage.
On the evening of August 1 1, more than 3,000 Osaka citizens gathered in Amano Temple Park to hold a demonstration and shouted "Down with the city government!" "Punish Zhonghao Erlian!" (At that time, he was the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce of the Japanese government) "Reduce the price of rice!" Wait for the slogan. The government authorities sent armed police to suppress and arrest more than 200 citizens.
The next day, the masses held a larger demonstration to show their resistance. More than 30,000 people took part in the demonstration. At night, the masses began to make trouble, and the urban areas and suburbs were full of rioters, ranging from thousands to hundreds; They break into rice shops, smash police stations, or seize rice merchants and force them to sell rice at half price. At the railway station, 1000 workers fought with the police, seized the grain truck and distributed rice to the poor. That night, more than 250 rice shops were destroyed, and the police were completely helpless.
14 On June 3rd, more and more people participated in the riots, and the struggle became more and more fierce. According to witnesses at that time, fireworks enveloped the whole city of Osaka.
/kloc-on the afternoon of 0/4, the government dispatched a cavalry regiment, an engineering battalion and a field artillery division, and frantically arrested and massacred people everywhere, with more than 2,000 people arrested. Although the large-scale riots subsided on the night of 14, the skirmishes did not stop until 19.
The riots in Kobe were like a storm from the beginning. Kobe is the center of the shipping industry, where the nouveau riche who made the most money in the war are concentrated. Kobe is also a place where rice speculation is more rampant than other places. Among them, the notorious profiteer Suzuki General Store accepted the contract of the British Military Supplies Purchasing Committee and monopolized a large amount of grain through branches all over the country. People hate it. Therefore, the struggle of the masses broke out most fiercely here. In Qian Shan's words, the uprising in Kobe was obviously revolutionary.
12 In the afternoon, more than 50,000 Kobe citizens gathered in Beichuan Park. Fujita, a socialist from a worker background, sent people to speak enthusiastically at the meeting. At that time, some people complained at the meeting that the soaring price of rice was the result of bad capitalists like Suzuki snapping it up. The crowd shouted "Down with Suzuki!" There is a unanimous demand to punish profiteers who hoard rice.
Under Fujita's leadership, the participants rushed to Suzuki General Store in Tokawasaki-CHO to confront the police team who had defended here in advance.
In the evening, more and more people gathered in front of Suzuki department store, once gathering more than 20 thousand people. From a distance, it was just dark, crowded everywhere, and the voice of shouting shook far and near.
At this time, several police cars suddenly came and rushed to the crowd crazily. Under this sudden blow, the masses were suddenly confused. Helmeted police officers and hooligans rushed into the crowd, waving batons and hitting the crowd, stepping over the fallen people. At that time, twenty or thirty people were killed and injured at the entrance of Suzuki General Store, and the streets were covered with blood.
Blood educated the masses and aroused their great anger against landlords, capitalists and reactionary governments. While caring for the wounded and comforting their comrades-in-arms, the demonstrators quickly armed themselves with stones and sticks to fight back against the violence of brutal police and hooligans. The streets of Dongchuan-zaki-CHO suddenly became the battlefield of struggle, surrounded by shouts of ShaSheng and alarms.
While the two sides were fighting fiercely, thick black smoke suddenly appeared on the third floor of Suzuki Department Store. This is the result of another mass group throwing burning firewood into it. The fire is getting bigger and bigger, and the three-story shop disappears in an instant. This victory inspired the masses. The police force and the rogue group finally lost their support and retreated. Demonstrators used this victory to burn Suzuki's own house to ashes.
In the first few days of the Kobe riots, the actions of the masses mainly focused on attacking the shops and houses of big capitalists. In recent days, Suzuki's general stores, Tang Qian's stores, Ji Shen Metallurgical Steel Plant, Japanese Camphor Company, and houses between the usurer's bridge operated by Kobe News Agency and Song Fangcai Valve have all been destroyed or burned by the masses, and most police kiosks and many police stations in the city have also suffered the same fate.
In the Kobe riots, the working class was in the forefront of the struggle, and they showed their brave spirit of not being afraid of sacrifice.
The day after the riot, many factories went on strike. Among them, the struggle of Mitsubishi Shipyard is the fiercest.
More than 800 workers in this factory destroyed machines, set up fortresses in the factory with logs, and fought the armed police with iron bars and stones. Many workers wear white clothes to show their determination to fight to the death. The fighting between workers and military police lasted for two days and nights.
At dusk on August 9, Nagoya began to stir. The demonstrations here also turned into 12 night riots under the attack of the army. Gundam 17, for eight consecutive days, set a record for the riots in the largest city in China.
The following is a description of a struggle scene at that time:
On the night of 1 1, the citizens of Nagoya held a rally in Wu He Park, surrounded by policemen with guns. They want to catch the initiator of the meeting and suppress the participants.
At this time, one of the sponsors of the meeting, a brave worker, Kubota Jiuxiong, braved difficulties and dangers to step onto the stage and said loudly to the crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen! This time, the price of rice soared because the cabinets in the temple colluded with profiteers, forcing rice to be bought at a high price and exported abroad. It is true that the current cabinet is secretly hoarding rice. We must knock out the cabinets in the temple! "
At this time, the police captain rushed to the stage with several minions and ordered the meeting to be dissolved. The crowd became even more angry, and there was a roar from the audience: "Pull him down!" "Don't come down, be careful!" The police captain blushed with anger and his neck was thick, so he had to step down. At this time, the venue was full of "Down with the Cabinet in the Temple!" Slogan.
12, most factories in Nagoya went on strike. More than 20,000 workers clashed with the military police. Here, as in other cities, the masses destroyed the rice shop and the police box.
In Tokyo, the capital of Japan, the police authorities have been closely monitoring the activities of the masses for a long time. Factories, rice shops and wealthy families have all been added, and police teams have been sent out to patrol, and the alert is very strict. However, they are exhausted, and the citizens of Tokyo still stand up and bravely fight against the reactionary rulers.
On June 4th, 65438, tens of thousands of Tokyo citizens, led by mechanical worker Hangzang Yamamoto (who later joined Japan's * * * Production Party and took a leading position), gathered in Hibiya Park to hold a vigorous demonstration and waged a fierce struggle with the police. The crowd dispersed by the police destroyed Ginza and Japan Bridge late that night. The police station ordered the arrest of all thugs, and the police chief Zheng Li Matsutaro personally led the city's police. But when the police came to arrest people, the mob had already escaped under the cover of many pedestrians. Even the children are protecting the mob from being caught by the police. This shows that people from all walks of life are hostile to the reactionary Japanese rulers and support the thugs. Tokuyuki, the outstanding leader of Japanese communist party, was in Tokyo at that time. Because of the high price of rice, he can't even afford the meal in the apartment. At that time, he also participated in the mass struggle of the "rice riots".