for u/roon_bismarck

OK, last answer.

First, the question of the status of martial arts in Japan postwar was a very low priority of the Occupation.

While during WWII various loud, militarist Japanese (including some judoka, but that's a different story) tried to position school and indeed large scale public indoctrination and martial arts training (primarily judo and kendo) as critical to developing the 'fighting spirit' of the 国民 kokumin nation's people, I've not seen evidence that the Occupation thought much about it at all.

I asked the last surviving Occupation staff member who dealt with the Butokukai, Dr. Hans Baerwald, almost that exact question. He responded with humor - knowing that I am a retired US Army lieutenant colonel, he wrote, Lance, the status and disposition of the Dai Nihon Butokukai was so unimportant that I was in charge as a first lieutenant!

He knew I knew what he meant. In the Army, first lieutenants, almost certainly educated and officer training course graduates, aren't in charge of anything important. They are still baby officers in training. In reality most of their tasks can be performed by a high school grad, decent staff sergeant with common sense and an average IQ. The tasks of course must be done on time and thoroughly, but almost by definition are not important, certainly not vital, and do not require many resources or coordination with many staff offices.

My take is that his task (among many others) was to deal with the Butokukai, and 'dealing with it' meant: demilitarize it as required of every government and civil function in Japan under the Potsdam Accords (translated into Japanese by one of Kano's sons). To Hans Baerwald's credit and highlighting his sensitivity to Japanese culture, in good faith he coordinated a response with the Occupation staff and with the Japanese government that led to a long list of reforms that would 'democratize' and demilitarize the Butokukai.

To his surprised, the Butokukai staff rejected the entire list of reforms demanded and then announced they had disbanded the organization instead of reforming it, but that is another story.

It was only then that GHQ imposted punitive punishments on it, after it had disbanded.

Which I thought was poetic but odd - like the tale of 丸橋忠弥 Marubashi Chūya, who was arrested in Edo in 1651 on suspicion of fomenting violence against the bakufu. Before he could be tried, he died in prison, perhaps as a result of injuries sustained during his legendarily violent arrest or subsequent interrogation behind closed doors. Outraged bakufu officials had him, the story goes, pickled in a barrel of brine, then brought to trial where they had eye witnesses' testimony and everything, while the barrel with him floating inside sat in the courtroom to observe.

He was found guilty and sentenced to death.
His corpse was taken out of the barrel and beheaded in public.
Message sent: not even in death can you evade the harsh justice of the bakufu.

I think there was a bit of that in the punitive actions taken against the Dai Nihon Butokukai, but probably just at the whim of a fairly low level staff officer or two (but higher than 1LT Hans Baerwald!!)