Kinomoto Incident

In January 1926, dozens of Korean laborers were working alongside Japanese workers on a tunnel construction project in Kinomoto-chō, Minamimuro District, Mie Prefecture, in the Empire of Japan. On January 2, an altercation broke out at a local movie theater when a Japanese man, reportedly drunk, drew a sword and severely wounded a Korean man during an argument. The following day, a group of Koreans was seen gathering at a local shrine, and a rumor spread among Japanese townspeople that they intended to retaliate using dynamite taken from the tunnel construction site.

At the request of local police, members of a military association, a youth group, and firefighters armed themselves with bamboo spears and hunting rifles and moved into areas where Korean workers were staying. In the chaos, some Japanese workers were mistaken for Koreans and also attacked. Around 5 p.m., Yi Kiyun, aged 25, reportedly ran away from the tunnel where his family and other workers were sheltering, apparently to draw attackers away and allow others to escape. He was unarmed, was surrounded, and was shot in the head in the street. Dozens of Koreans fled into the surrounding mountains. After dark, the armed group regrouped and pursued them; the Koreans reportedly used dynamite in a counterattack, but the pursuers continued shooting. Around 7 p.m., Pae Sangdo, aged 29, also unarmed, was killed. One victim was speared in the head and his body dragged through the town center; both bodies were left in the street for three days before being placed, covered with straw mats, in the graveyard of the local temple Gokuraku-ji, where they were eventually buried under created Buddhist posthumous names.

In the aftermath, the attackers told police the Koreans had been unruly and had stolen food and goods, and several were commended by police for assisting the investigation with no punishment. Roughly 50 Koreans were arrested and interrogated by January 6; 20 were charged with sedition, and 30 more were sent to Toba. Japanese attackers began to be arrested from January 10. Ultimately 15 Koreans and 17 Japanese people stood trial, with Japanese lawyer Tatsuji Fuse, known for defending Koreans in Japan, representing the Korean defendants. On October 30, 1926, the court sentenced several Korean defendants to prison terms ranging from one and a half to three years, while other Koreans were released. Several Japanese defendants received two years in prison, and others received six-month sentences with probation. All Koreans involved, regardless of conviction, were dismissed from work and expelled from the area, while local organizations paid for the Japanese defendants' living and legal expenses.

The incident drew condemnation from Koreans in Japan and Korea and prompted calls in Korean newspapers for labor and civil rights protections. It was largely forgotten until a local civic group began advocating for a memorial in the late 1980s; a memorial with replacement tombstones bearing the victims' Korean names was completed in 1994.