All The Emperor's Men
by
Garry Greenwood

What connects Aum Shinrikyo's ranch in Australia, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the 1995 Tokyo subway gassings, huge caches of looted World War II gold, the Star of David, certain high-level Japanese politicians and the Rape of Nanjing? MAHIKARI! - the Japanese new religion that proclaimed itself the Chosen People headed by the new Messiah, and which is awaiting a coming global Armageddon. A former top sect leader from Canberra, Australia, unravels the dark secrets of this mystery sect.

Never has anyone penetrated the veils of mysticism, deception, black magic and secret agendas so deep and returned to tell the story.

This is a true story. It is NOT fiction!

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READERS COMMENTS: I was having a good read - until I realised that this is a true story! Jeff, NY.

Thanks for giving me my Mum back. Robert, Syd.

It's about time someone said it as it really is! Brainwashing followed by more brainwashing! J Chang, Singapore. 

CHAPTER 7 - ALL THE EMPEROR'S MEN

Such is life that when one door closes another surely opens, and so in my life this was to be no exception. In 1994, the Mahikari faction belonging to Keishu finally released the long-awaited English version of Daiseishu, a publication of memoirs, teachings and stories concerning the life of Yoshikazu Okada (Mahikari's founder). Here he is described as being a "handsome regimental standard-bearer", and how in 1922 he graduated from military academy and was assigned to the First Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Guards, whose role it was to protect the Imperial Palace. "The highest honour of all was to be the regimental standard bearer in attendance to the Emperor.Yoshikazu Okada was a star amongst the standard bearers throughout the country," and soon became a second lieutenant and officer in attendance to the Emperor,Hirohito, a role reserved for only the most fanatical. Prince Chichibunomiyo (Chichibu), younger brother of Hirohito, was an academy classmate and close friend of Lieutenant Yoshikazu Okada. "In 1931, after becoming an officer of the Sixth Company of the Imperial Guards First Infantry Regiment, he became an infantry school instructor." (1)

Eventually the handsome young lieutenant successfully applied to transfer out of the Imperial Guards, in order to play a role in the forthcoming invasion of China and Indo-China. "Becoming a section commander in 1937 of the First Transport Department at the Imperial headquarters, he took an active part in the tactical transport group strategy at Shanghai, Hanchow Bay and at the fall of Nanking."

On November the 5th, 1937, the Japanese Tenth Division, which included Yoshikazu Okada and his First Railway Transport Department, attacked Nanking. "This was a fateful time for Yoshikazu Okada, who held such a responsible position in the Japanese armed forces," and he is quoted as saying in a Mahikari journal under the title of 'A Tale of Light'(2): "Although I was in charge of railway operations at the rear, I fell ill with a high fever and had to take to my bed with a telephone...Finally, while hearing on the telephone of our triumphant entry into the Hanchow fortress, as I was holding the receiver I began to lose consciousness. I would not think about death until the surrender of Hanchow." He then goes on to lament: "I wondered about my comrades...in the extreme of action, in the bloody world of Nanking. I prayed that I might stand on the battlefield one more time."

By all accounts of what is written in Daiseishu, it appears that Lieutenant Colonel Yoshikazu Okada was indeed a heroic, dashing young officer dedicated in the service of the Emperor. However, the Chinese and allied forces at the time saw, and experienced, things in a somewhat different light.

The victorious Japanese officers and soldiers systematically murdered and tortured to death 300,000 surrendered Chinese soldiers and civilians, and raped 20,000 women in the ensuing months at Nanking. It became known as the "Rape of Nanking". The world was outraged, since up until then it was the worst act of atrocity the world had witnessed this century. So hungry was their lust for blood, that even the Nazis at the time tried to mediate with the commanding officers to quell the blood-letting.(3) During the fifteen years of Japanese occupation, it is estimated that up to 35 million Chinese were killed.

Recently the US researcher and writer Iris Chang has documented the Japanese Military's 1937 invasion of Nanking, with graphic-like quality in her recent best seller, The Rape of Nanking - The Forgotten Holocaust Of World War Two.In the years preceding World War II, the Japanese government had progressively come under the control of the ultra nationalistic Imperial Army. In effect, the country was run by military officers, who gradually became a law unto themselves. These men are described as criminal thugs, and would commit any misdeeds in the name of patriotism. It was a period known as "the government by assassination". In other words, anyone who opposed this patriotism was assassinated at the command of the army officers. These officers even controlled the education system, and in this way it was their aim to further their ideology amongst the younger generations.These rampaging officers viewed themselves as heroic knights, or shoguns, engaged in a glorious holy war and on a divine mission to eventually conquer and save the whole world for the eternal glory of their Emperor, Hirohito, and the Imperial family.

After their successful campaigns of conquering Manchuria, Korea and much of China, their next step was to engage America, Britain and their allies with the hope of eventually defeating and subjugating them, too.

The part of Indo-China now known as Vietnam, was to be the springboard from where they would launch their assaults on the British and her allies at Singapore. And so it was to Indo-China that Lieutenant Colonel Yoshikazu Okada was reassigned as a senior officer supervising rail transport at army headquarters in French Indo-China. During these years it is now know how the Japanese Military plundered each conquered nations' reserves of gold, other precious metals and gem stones under the banner of Operation Lily. Much of this war loot was eventually shipped back to Japan, and it is claimed that the Japanese Military siphoned off over $100 billion in gold (in 1940's dollars) as their commission. In charge of Operation Lily was Prince Chichibu, Okada's closest military school friend!

In 1941, whilst on duty there, he experienced recurring chest pains from injuries he had received when his horse fell in a steeplechase in 1938. He was diagnosed as having caries of the thoracic vertebrae. Gradually his condition deteriorated, and he was eventually retired from active military service with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.His doctor's prognosis was that he only had three years left to live, and it was at this time that he decided he would dedicate his remaining three years in total service to God. Strangely, though, this was also the time when he invested his entire fortune into factories for building military aircraft for the war. "By the grace of God, my companies mysteriously grew very rapidly. Moreover, my physical condition improved. I stopped having to wear my orthopaedic brace. Then one morning just before the end of the war, all my companies, my entire fortune, were completely destroyed in an air raid. I was left with absolutely nothing. My aircraft factory of 66,000 square metres and the surrounding company houses received a direct hit and were wiped out."(4)
Amazingly, Yoshikazu Okada's medical condition disappeared shortly after the end of the war, and by 1953 he was gainfully employed as a director of the Tada construction company, thanks to the efforts of his old friend, Mr Fukuda, who later became Prime Minister. "There was an occasion just after the war when Mr Fukuda was of great assistance to me. During the war, I was the president of a company that manufactured military aircraft. In addition, I ran three other companies, including one that dealt with textiles. As these were all enterprises of national importance, I was immediately impoverished when the war ended. But thanks to the swift measures of Shoshiro Kudo, who is now the chief manager of the Tomin bank, and Takeo Fukuda, I was able to get out of the situation smoothly."(5)

Finally, in 1959, after claiming to have received a series of divine revelations, he was directed by God to establish the Mahikari organisation - and to save the world.

Mysteriously, all traces of his ten-year involvement with SKK from 1947-57 have been omitted from every Mahikari publication, including his biography, Daiseishu.

Although my feelings of fear and guilt had evaporated, many questions still remained. Feeling my normal inquisitive self once again, I was now in a position to look objectively at what may lie behind the Mahikari organisations, since so much effort had gone into altering people's perception concerning its origin and the history of Yoshikazu Okada and Keishu.There must be a deeper meaning to it all.Perhaps now is the time for the reader to undertake a short but interesting study of certain aspects of Japanese culture and history. In particular, how things were in Japan just prior to the Second World War, and shortly afterwards.

For centuries, Japan's national religion had been Shintoism, and, amongst other things, this religion believes in the existence of a multitude of deities and spirits, all entrusted with their different divine roles and purposes. For example, it is believed that particular high-level deities are in charge of the weather, which in turn influences other deities who are assigned to the growth of crops, and which, in turn, has an influence on deities or spirits in command of humans and so on. In this strict hierarchical pyramid-shaped format, all of existence is allotted its proper place and function. This hierarchy also includes humans and how they relate to each other and their environment in all matters. For example, the family and business structure and the like have within them their own strict hierarchical order. Eventually, all of creation, whether visible or not, tangible or intangible, must be allotted its rightful place or role within the order of things.

Within Japan, the most prominent and important focus of their spiritual and social pyramid was the correct worship and welfare of their Emperor and his Imperial family. Unlike current monarchies of Europe, the Japanese Emperor was also considered divine - their God. "The Japanese name for the Imperial house is 'Those who dwell above the clouds'. The Emperor was inviolable and his person was sacred."(6) "A Japan without the Emperor is not Japan. Japan without the Emperor cannot be imagined. The Emperor is the symbol of the Japanese people, the centre of their religious lives. He is a super-religious object."(7)

It was believed that he descended from the Sun Goddess, and this belief was absolute and unchangeable. Shintoism, too, has its own assortment of sects and factions. "Some are strongholds of pure nationalism.... some are faith-healing sects often compared with Christian science." Whilst others "specialise in trance states and pilgrimages to sacred mountain shrines."(8)

Mokichi Okada, the founder of SKK from whom Yoshikazu Okada appears to have "borrowed" his revelations, was a devoted follower of one of these Shinto sects, Omotokyo. The Mahikari organisations are a mixture of many of these, plus more.

Since the Emperor was considered divine, whatever his will for his people was,it was also considered the will of God. Simply by following his commands, you were saved. Since the Emperor was divine, and since all his subjects lived within his divine hierarchical pyramid, they also shared this divinity with him to varying degrees, by association or natural extension. This divine principle naturally extends to include the country of Japan itself. It was regarded as the"land of the origin of spirit". The "land of the rising sun." Sun meaning Sun Goddess or God. Japan was content with this divine arrangement, so much so that it didn't want, or need, any outside influence or contact which might affect this condition. Japan simply refused to have anything to do with the outside world, particularly with the barbarians of the West. It wasn't until Commander Perry, who in 1858 was able to force Japan into a trade treaty with the United States, that finally Japan began to open its doors.As time passed, Japan, with its Emperor securely enthroned upon his divine seat, came to see the whole world in a state of global anarchy. They were of the opinion that there could never be peace in the world "as long as every nation had absolute sovereignty." (9) The outside world simply wasn't living in accordance with the indigenous divine principles deeply ingrained within the very fabric of the Japanese nation. Japan, with its God Emperor at the helm, and with around 90 million followers, was, in reality, one of the world's largest and most dangerous religious cults, complete with a large and well-equipped military.

Starting around 1930, this cult began an expansion program aimed firstly at its neighbours. Although Japan had already annexed Korea in 1910, it soon became clear that its final goal was to secure all of humanity within its divine hierarchical pyramid. Japan, of course, was to occupy the position at the top, since they were a divine nation and this was believed to be divine providence. This divine crusade meant that all other nations of the world would then be placed in correct order somewhere below them. Only then would global anarchy cease and peace would finally be established. It was essential that each nation be given its proper place, and only then could a nation prosper and finally find peace. To add further conviction to this belief, the Japanese people were often reminded that their country had never in recorded history suffered an invasion. Even the mighty invasion forces of Kublai Khan, with his well-equipped army, was destroyed by divine intervention before they reached the shores of Japan. A divine wind, the 'kamikaze', blew, scattering and sinking most of his ships. That occurred in the 13th century, and God was still with them, and, if necessary, they were of the understanding that the divine wind would blow again.

It was becoming clear to the Japanese, through the insistence of the military, that their divine mission was to establish global peace. A peace at any price!

Before long, their Imperial forces were to commence playing out this awesome fantasy. In 1931, their military, under the command of its fanatical cult-mentality officers, including Yoshikazu Okada, began their jihad, or holy war. Manchuria was easily overrun, with virtually no condemnation from the rest of the world. Soon after, China was invaded, and again the world did nothing.

The League of Nations did, however, protest over the invasion of China, and this prompted the Japanese government to withdraw its membership. Indo-China was occupied in 1941, Pearl Harbour was attacked on Dec 7th, 1941, followed soon after by attacks on Guam, Singapore, Darwin, Townsville and Sydney.

Their fanatical crusade was now in full swing. There could be no greater honour than to die in the name of God and the Emperor. Each soldier was issued with a booklet, the contents of which was to leave "no doubt as to why they must fight, whom they must fight and how they must fight." It reads: "The new restoration of the 1930s had come about in response to the Imperial desire for peace in the Far East. Its task is the rescue of Asia from white aggression. Already Japan, the pioneer in this movement, has rescued Manchuria from the ambitions of the Soviets, and set China free from the extortions of the Anglo-Americans..."(10)

In the meantime, General Araki, fanatical militarist and one-time Minister of War, wrote a similar booklet, addressed, "To the whole Japanese race", saying that "the true mission of Japan was to spread and glorify the Imperial way to the ends of the four seas. Inadequacy of strength is not our worry. Why should we worry about that which is material."(11)

The quest for the world's first theocracy had began. Unfortunately, the deluded senior officers fanning this flame of fanaticism refused to realise that it was only they and their Emperor who saw the need for a global theocracy. Several millions of people died and untold misery was caused as a result of this modern-day holy fantasy.

We are now left to ponder whether this spirit died upon the battlefields of Asia and the Pacific along with the untold millions, or is it lying dormant somewhere, waiting for the right conditions to prevail which would allow it to burst once again into flames, and if it re-ignites, will it be with flames, or will it manifest in other ways?

On September 2nd, 1945, the Japanese Imperial Forces formally surrendered after six years of bloody warfare. The actual signing ceremony took place on board the American battleship Missouri. Hostilities ended almost immediately, since the Emperor had commanded his forces to cease fighting. Two weeks prior to this event, Emperor Hirohito made an historic announcement to his subjects.It was noon, just as the midday sun was at its highest. "In every street people knelt beneath loudspeakers attached to lampposts. At every factory and back-street workshop, in every house, office and barracks, all work stopped and all traffic halted as the people of Japan knelt and waited."A broadcast of the greatest importance is about to commence; all listeners please rise," the radios warned them. Apart from the sick and disabled, only Hirohito remained seated. "We respectfully transmit his voice," again the announcement warned. "To our good and loyal subjects," commenced Hirohito. "After pondering deeply the general trends of the world and the conditions actually relating to our Empire today, we have decided to effect settlement of the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure."(12) The Emperor's voice was being heard for the first time by his subjects. They were hearing the voice of God, but unfortunately the news was not good. It was becoming clear from the divine words that Japan was going to surrender. Worse still, General MacArthur was stripping him of his divinity. The Emperor did, however, include some words of comfort to his subjects in his speech. "Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is indeed incalculable, as it takes its toll of so many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, not only would that lead to the ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but it would also lead to the extinction of the human civilisation."(13)

These words were delivered to make his subjects aware that not only was he concerned for their well-being, but that they still held the fate of humankind in their hands.

"Let the entire nation continue as one family from generation to generation, ever firm in its faith in the imperishability of its sacred land, and ever mindful of its heavy responsibility and of the long road ahead."(14)

Clearly the Emperor was accepting defeat, but his skilful wording would have been interpreted by many of his subjects to mean that even though they had lost the battle, the war was not yet over.

General MacArthur was well aware that the allied forces had been involved in a holy war, and he hoped that by stripping Emperor Hirohito of his divine status, much of the impetus of the Japanese military to continue their holy crusade may disappear. He also had to decide what to do with the Emperor. Should he be tried as a war criminal? If he was committed and executed, would an even more horrible force take his place? Finally, it was decided to allow him to go free and not face trial, where he would have almost certainly been found guilty of war crimes. He was, however, made to renounce his divine status. War trials were eventually held, and many of his senior ministers and military officers went on trial. One thousand in all were sentenced to death(15), including several officers who participated in the Rape of Nanking.

Suddenly, Japan found itself without its divine leader. Japan was like a human without a soul, and many people began to lose their raison d'etre. "All over Japan, but particularly in Tokyo, there were many suicides, and outside the Palace people were kneeling, foreheads touching the ground, murmuring, 'Forgive us, Oh Emperor, our efforts were not enough.'"(16)

A nation obsessed with hierarchy had suddenly lost its head. The Japanese had been stripped of their most cherished ideal.

To fully comprehend the national sentiment at the time would be to compare the situation with how devoted Catholics would feel if, for some reason, a powerful government or world movement stripped the Pope of his spiritual responsibilities and infallibility, thereby forcing Catholics to abandon much of their faith. The consequences of such action would be enormous. This would simply serve to drive their faith underground. It's unlikely that the cardinals and bishops would shed their vestments, turn their backs on their faithful and lead secular lives. It's reasonable to assume that they would see the situation as some kind of holy persecution, hold fast and wait until prevailing conditions once again allowed them freedom of worship. Whereupon, very quickly they would seek to re-establish their flocks.

Wouldn't it also be reasonable to assume that the Emperor's valiant knights, or deluded shoguns, would have had similar sentiments when commanded to renounce his divine status and lay down their arms?

Yoshikazu Okada had devoted his whole being, day and night, in the service of the Emperor. When unable to fight for him because of illness, he established military aircraft factories instead. This devotion could be more aptly described as an obsession, and history was later to reveal how this obsession, shared by most military officers and their men, resulted in the most devastating consequences imaginable.

In Daiseishu, there is an affectionate eulogy which was delivered by a now-deceased friend of Yosikazu Okada at his funeral in 1974. It reads: "He was handsome, his noble features bespoke his family heritage. In addition to a smart appearance, he had a lively manner and his speech was sophisticated and refined. I am reminded of a poem by a leading woman poet of the Meiji era, Akiko Yosano, 'The Great Buddha at Kamakura may be the Buddha, but he is still handsome.' He was filled with great love and radiated affection. When we had free time at the military academy, the young Okada and I frequently discussed God or the Emperor. I remember one Sunday evening sitting on the grassy slopes of a small hill where the Emperor observed the cadets' horsemanship on his visits to the academy. We became so absorbed in our discussion that we used all the free time we had that evening. He insisted that the Emperor was a direct descendant of a God who descended to the physical world. He said that the Emperor had a divine character and was fulfilling God's divine plan."(17)

It would be naive to assume that such cherished convictions held by Yoshikazu Okada and other military officers would simply evaporate at the command of General Macarthur when the allied forces occupied Japan.Based upon the teachings and my experiences in Mahikari, it is clear to me that, according to Yoshikazu Okada, the notion of Japan being a divine land ruled over by a divine being did not die upon the battlefields of Asia and the Pacific, nor at the insistence of General Macarthur.In the 1988, when I resigned my position as a minister of Sukyo Mahikari, there were about 750,000 active members globally. Almost one-third of these were non-Japanese like myself, and in Australia there must be approximately 2,000 active members with a further 4,000 who have dropped out. Membership numbers many times that of Australia are to be found in North and South America, Western Europe, West Africa and of course throughout South-East Asia. Recruitment activities never cease, and by now membership totals must be considerably higher.

When Yoshikazu Okada visited Paris in 1972, amongst other activities, he had interviews with reporters from Le Monde, and the International Herald Tribune. An article about Mahikari in the Herald Tribune estimates that at the time (1972) there were 300,000 followers in Japan. (18) These figures only account for Keishu's faction. I understand the original Sekai Mahikari Bunmei Kyodan Organisation has a similar membership. Other more recent factions include:'Subikari Kouha Sekai Shindan', 'Shin Yu Gen Kyusei Mahikari Kyodan', 'Mahikari Seiho No Kai' and 'Yokoshi Tomo No Kai'.

Perfectly shaped, smooth-functioning Mahikari hierarchical pyramids now exist in various stages of completion in almost every country on earth. All major factions have, in turn, had small splinter groups break away, and are now competing fiercely with each other for new members. As with all such groups, there is always a lieutenant who will break from the flock and lead someone else's sheep with a promise to find greener pastures.

It's probably more accurate to use the word slave rather than member, since a slave is totally responsible to, and dominated by, a master. In other words, a slave is always at the disposal of the master, and this is exactly how I perceive the relationship between the members and Yoshikazu Okada.

Over the years, this group of slaves has turned into something more akin to a clandestine army, spurred on in ignorance, by the idealism of establishing a global theocracy centring on the Emperor and the nation of Japan. This master controls his slaves at will and in ignorance for his own benefit, just as an invading army would subjugate a conquered nation.The many tentacles of the Mahikari octopus now reach deep into almost every nation on earth, and its grip tightens as each new member becomes chained to the master. The spirit which empowers the organisation has simply metamorphosed itself, rendering it practically invisible to detect with the naked eye. It seduces people with its smiling face and promises of a better world, all the while tightening its stranglehold.

Funds, mostly tax-free, which are generated within their hierarchical pyramids, eventually find their way back to Japan, where they are used to keep this spirit burning ever more fiercely. From Australia alone, these funds amount to millions of dollars.

My heart goes out to the many Australian ex-servicemen and women who have become members. Most of whom I know fought hard and long in the jungles of New Guinea and Borneo to extinguish this very flame which they now unknowingly fan.

Like all Mahikari members, before being initiated at the primary-level introductory seminar, I didn't have the power which would make recipients of this mysterious occult force move or talk in foreign tongues and the like as they so often do. Undeniably there is a power embedded in this movement, and I now needed to know where it came from.