Nisshō Inoue

Upon his return to Japan, he first studied to become a Zen priest but then became a follower of Nichiren Buddhism, a conversion that led him to relocate to Miho, Shizuoka Prefecture, in order to study under the Nichiren scholar and nationalist preacher Tanaka Chigaku at his Kokuchukai Academy.

[2] During this time, with the assistance of former Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan Mitsuaki Tanaka, he became acquainted with such right wing figures as Shūmei Ōkawa and Ikki Kita, and received enthusiastic support from the radicalized young officers of the nearby Tsuchiura Naval Base.

In 1930, Inoue moved to Tokyo where he set about forming Ketsumeidan, recruiting members amongst university student radicals.

[3] Ketsumeidan was officially founded in 1932 together with a group of 13 young officers including Shō Onuma and Goro Hishinuma, establishing as its goal the overthrow of the political and economic elite of the time, with the motto “One Man, One Assassination.” The group's first wave of assassinations came in early 1932, when former finance minister Junnosuke Inoue was shot on February 9, as was the Director General of the Mitsui zaibatsu Baron Dan Takuma on March 5, collectively known as the League of Blood Incident.

In the trial the Rinzai abbot Gempo Yamamoto testified in favor of his former disciple, justifying his violence from a Zen and imperialist point of view.