June 1, 1906: Kōtoku Shūsui founds the Social Revolutionary Party in Berkeley
June 1 1906, Kōtoku Shūsui co-founded the Shakai Kakumeito (Social Revolutionary Party) in Berkeley. The party included over 50 other Japanese radicals and printed a bilingual paper, Kakumei (Revolution), promoting the IWW and the overthrow of the Japanese emperor.
Kōtoku, a prominent socialist in Japan, came to California after a prison stint for opposing the Russo-Japanese War. Arriving to the Bay, he stayed with Rose Fritz, an anarchist obstetrician who introduced him to anarchist thought and put him in touch with Peter Kropotkin.
During his stay, he was invited by IWW members to give a talk in Oakland where he was introduced to the concept of the revolutionary general strike. Kōtoku stayed to witness the great earthquake of 1906, which he said cemented his transition to identifying as an anarchist.
Inspired by countless acts of mutual aid in the aftermath of the quake, he described the city as an “ideal paradise,” despite the massive destruction. He saw the state of the city as an example of “Anarchist Communism.” This name would come to characterize his political synthesis.
Although the Shakai Kakumeito was a shortlived organization and Kakumei ultimately only printed three issues, many of their members went on to engage in socialist and anarchist political action throughout the Bay Area and California over the following decades.
