For my fourth post that I am making during my stay in Korea, I am sharing a Keijo Nippo news article about the November 2nd, 1945 assassination of Saiga Shichirō (斎賀七郎), a member of the Ideological Police in Korea under Japanese rule, which I discovered while browsing through the old Japanese language colonial news archives at the National Library of Korea.

For those unfamiliar, Keijo Nippo had been the official propaganda newspaper under the Imperial Japanese colonial regime, which had dominated Korea from 1905 to 1945. Just a few days earlier on around November 1, 1945, the Korean employees had taken over the newspaper from their Japanese bosses, transforming a tool of oppression into a platform for liberation. This article was published on November 5, 1945 and written by the Korean employees of the Keijo Nippo newspaper.

Saiga Shichirō was apparently responsible for the torture, false imprisonment, and deaths of countless Korean patriots. The article describes his assassination as a form of retribution and justice.

It’s fascinating to see how the narrative shifts depending on the prevailing power structure. Just a few months earlier, Saiga Shichirō would have been lionized in this very newspaper, perhaps described as a hero or a martyr for the Imperial Japanese cause. Now, with the tables turned and Korea liberated, the article portrays him as a villain who met a fitting end. This is a clear example of how the Korean patriotic perspective has overturned the Imperial Japanese colonial viewpoint.

Interestingly, a Google search of Saiga Shichirō in Japanese doesn’t yield any information about his alleged crimes, which makes this article even more significant. By posting it here, I hope to make this information more easily accessible, and facilitate a more nuanced understanding of this part of Japanese and Korean history in the online space.

[Translation]

Keijo Nippo (Gyeongseong Ilbo) November 5, 1945

An ideological police officer who was a devil

These were his last moments

Saiga Shichirō was shot dead in the streets

The following is about the miserable end of the evil devil of the Japanese Imperialist Ideological Police, who for over 20 years subjected numerous of our patriotic pioneers to brutal torture, framed them with false charges, and drove them to death in prison.

Former Senior Police Officer Saiga Shichirō (47 years old) of the Gyeonggi Province Police Department was shot dead by a number of assailants on the street next to the Wonnam-dong (원남동, 苑南洞) Post Office in the city around 6:30 PM on November 2nd. Following Japan’s defeat and Korea’s liberation, he had sent his family back to his hometown in Kagawa Prefecture in haste, while he himself stayed behind at his residence at 124 Wonnam-dong, engrossed in settling his estate. It seems that Saiga himself acknowledged the crimes that he had committed, as he was mostly absent from his home, and even the neighbors mentioned that they had not seen lights on at his place until now.

However, on the day of the shooting (November 2nd), bright lights were turned on inside Saiga’s house, and even laughter could be heard from inside. Just after 6 PM, Saiga appeared outside, wearing slippers, to see off a guest. As he crossed the roundabout in Wonnam-dong and entered the alley next to the post office, gunshots suddenly rang out from the darkness. Saiga was shot in the right chest and was holding it with his hand when a second bullet struck his head. Saiga collapsed onto the ground and met his end with a final, dying scream.

[Transcription]

京城日報 1945年11月5日

思想警察の『悪魔』、最後は之れだ

斎賀七郎が路上で射殺さる

二十年間に亘って幾多の我等の愛国先覚者たちを残虐な拷問にかけて無実の罪をでっち上げては囹圄に縛りつけて死へと追いやった日本帝国主義思想警察の邪鬼―の惨めな最後。

前京畿道警察部高等警察課警部斎賀七郎（四七）は、二日午後六時半頃市内苑南町郵便局横の路上で何人かにより拳銃で射殺された。斎賀は香川県産で日本の敗戦に伴う朝鮮の解放と共に家族だけあわてて郷里に帰し、自分は市内苑南町一二四の自宅に踏み留まって家産整理に汲々としていたが、さすがに斎賀も自分の犯した罪は自認するものと見えて殆ど居留守を使い、隣近の家でも今まで斎賀の所に火をともしたのをつい見かけなかったとのことである。

ところが射殺当日（二日）は斎賀の家に煌々と電灯がともされ、高々と笑声さえも聴こえて来たのである。六時を一寸過ぎた頃、斎賀は客を見送ってスリッパをつつかけたまま外へ姿を現し、苑南町のロータリーを渡って同町郵便局横の路地に入った際、突如暗がりの中から銃声が轟き斎賀は右胸を撃たれて手で押さえた瞬間続いて第二弾が頭部を見舞い斎賀はどっと地上へぶったぶれ、断末魔の叫び声と共に最後を遂げた。