Drawing on a serialized discussion between Shintaro Ishihara and Shizuka Kamei published in the monthly magazine WiLL, this chapter records how the name “Seirankai” was created.
Ishihara explains that he chose the name to evoke a storm that brings an intense summer shower, refreshes society, and then passes away, and recounts that Zhou Enlai later praised “Seiran” as “the most beautiful expression in the Chinese language.”

July 20, 2020
I later heard that Zhou Enlai had praised it, saying, “I do not know who chose it, but that expression ‘Seiran’ is the most beautiful expression in the Chinese language.”
The following is taken from a serialized discussion between Shintaro Ishihara and Shizuka Kamei published in the monthly magazine WiLL under the title “The Spineless Foreign Ministry Is an Obstruction.”
Kamei:
Let us establish an organization involving members of the Diet to exercise effective control over the Senkaku Islands.
Ishihara:
That sounds interesting.
Let us stir up a society left dispirited by the coronavirus restrictions.
The following is a continuation of the preceding chapter.
The Most Beautiful Expression in the Chinese Language
Kamei:
By the way, who came up with such a stylish name as “Seirankai”?
Ishihara:
I did.
When the time came to name the group, various proposals were put forward.
But they were all similar and uninspired, such as “The Association of Like-Minded Colleagues” or “Freedom Revolution Something-or-Other.”
So the task was entrusted entirely to me, and I was asked to submit several proposals.
Kamei:
In other words, they entrusted the matter to the sensibility of the novelist Shintaro Ishihara.
Ishihara:
Two days later, I presented only one proposal: “Seirankai.”
As expected, someone asked, “What does seiran mean?”
A seiran is a storm associated with a cold front that brings a violent summer shower, refreshes and transforms the world, and then passes away.
When I explained it, Michio Watanabe said, “If we explain it exactly as Ishihara has, people will think we are educated politicians.
Let us choose this!”
It was immediately approved unanimously.
I later heard that Zhou Enlai had praised it, saying, “I do not know who chose it, but that expression ‘Seiran’ is the most beautiful expression in the Chinese language.”
He was also reportedly impressed by the activities of the Seirankai, saying, “There are still some truly Japanese people left in Japan.”
Kamei:
The consciousness of loving one’s own country is shared throughout the world.
We also need to give our organization a name.
“The Association for Exercising Effective Control over the Senkaku Islands” lacks imagination, so how about “Ranseikai”?
Ishihara:
You have merely reversed the characters in “Seirankai.” (Laughs)