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The Musha Incident (; ), also known as the Wushe Rebellion and several other similar names, began in October 1930 and was the last major Rebellion against colonial Japanese forces in Japanese Taiwan. In response to long-term oppression by Japanese authorities, the Seediq people indigenous group in the settlement of Musha (Wushe) attacked a school, killing 134 Japanese and two Han Taiwanese children. In response, the Japanese led a counter-attack, killing 354 Seediq in retaliation. The handling of the incident by the Japanese authorities was strongly criticised, leading to many changes in Aboriginal policy.
However, a different approach was used in order to control Taiwan's indigenous peoples. The indigenous peoples of Taiwan were still designated as "raw barbarians" or "wild tribespeople", and treated as inferiors, rather than as equal subjects. Tribes were "tamed" through "assimilation", the process of disarming traditional hunting tribes and forcing them to relocate to the plains and lead an agrarian existence. Further resistance was then dealt with by military campaigns, isolation and containment. In order to access natural resources in mountainous and forested indigenous-controlled areas, Governor-General Sakuma Samata adopted a more aggressive terrain policy, attempting to pacify or eradicate aboriginal groups in areas scheduled for logging within five years' time; by 1915, this policy had been largely successful, although resistance still existed in the more remote areas.
In the days immediately prior to the incident, Chief Mona Rudao held a traditional wedding banquet for his son, Daho Mona, during which animals were slaughtered and wine was prepared and drunk. A Japanese police officer named Katsuhiko Yoshimura was on patrol in the area, and was offered a cup of wine by Daho Mona as a symbolic gesture. The officer refused, saying that Daho Mona's hands were soiled with blood from the slaughtered animals. Daho Mona attempted to take hold of the officer, insisting he participate, and the officer struck him with his stick. Fighting ensued, and the officer was injured. Mona Rudao attempted to apologize by presenting a flagon of wine at the officer's house, but was turned away. The simmering resentment among the Seediq in Musha was finally pushed to the limit.
Due to internal and external criticism of their handling of the incident, Ishizuka and Hitomi Jirō, his chief civil administrator, were forced to resign in January 1931. However, Ishizuka's replacement, Ōta Masahiro, also took a harsh approach to controlling Taiwan's indigenous peoples: certain tribes were disarmed and left unprotected, giving their aboriginal enemies an opportunity to annihilate them on behalf of the Japanese administration. Around 500 of the Seediq involved in the Musha Incident surrendered and were subsequently confined to a village near Musha. However, on 25 April 1931, indigenous groups working with the Japanese authorities attacked the village, beheading all remaining males over the age of 15. This is known as the "Second Musha Incident".
The uprising did effect a change in the authorities' attitudes and approaches towards aboriginals in Taiwan. Musha had been regarded as the most "enlightened and compliant" of the aboriginal territories, and the colonial power's inability to prevent the massacre provoked a fear of similar nationalist movements starting in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan itself. A change in policy was clearly needed. Ching suggests that the institution of empire-building ( kominka 皇民化) became the dominant expression of colonial control: aboriginals came to be seen as imperial subjects on equal footing with other ethnic groups in Taiwan, and were upgraded in status from "raw savages" to .
During the Musha Incident, the Seediq under Mona Rudao revolted against the Japanese, while the Taroko people and Toda did not. The rivalry of the Seediq with the Toda and Truku was aggravated by the Musha Incident, given that the Japanese had long played them off against each other. Following the incident, part of Seediq land was ceded to the Truku and Toda by the authority.
Wu He's novel Remains of Life (originally published in Chinese in 2000; published in English translation in 2017) is a fictionalized account of the aftermath of this incident.Wu He (2017). Remains of Life: A Novel. Translated by Michael Berry. New York: Columbia University Press.
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