A former socialist and member of the nationalist Kokuryukai (Black Dragon Society), Kita played a key role in the upsurge in violent right-wing militarism in the 1930s, inspiring young dissidents with his call for a revolutionary regime, headed by the military, which would nationalize wealth, sweep away existing political forms, and prepare Japan to establish leadership over all of Asia. He was executed in 1937 for alleged involvement in the Incident of 26 February 1936.