It traces back to the beginning of the great war. During Miji Restoration Era, Japan announced her national policy: Hakko Ichiu 八紘一宇 that means “The Universe Is One Family.” It was under this thought that Japan created the Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, 大 東 亜 共 栄 圏 , with the purpose of liberating Asian peoples of the Western Powers: of American Philippines, British Malaya, French Indo-China (Viet Nam), Holland‟s East Indies (Indonesia), Australian New Guinea, and so on.
In 1941, Japan began to wage the war, called the Great East Asian War.
After the end of the war, while occupying Japan, the US GHQ (General Headquarters) declared that the Great East Asian War printed in all documents be entirely abolished and replaced by the Pacific War. Ever since this new term has appeared on all the pages of the world history.
Japan waged the war by attacking the United States at Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941. Americans called it a stealth attack. Japanese Admiral Yamamoto initially intended to destroy the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in expectation of depressing American people‟s will to fight, and eventually leading to negotiation bringing favorable conditions onto the Japan‟s side so that Japan would be able to carry out her ambitious plans—to have a whole control over the oil, cotton, rubber and other resources in the southern areas of the Pacific Islands.
Just on the contrary, a completely reverse effect was the case. The United States did not fall into the Japanese pitfall. The stealth attack pragmatically
geared the whole nation in unison to retaliate by declaring war against Japan.
In reality, the Pacific War was initiated by Japanese army that landed and invaded Malaya, almost simultaneously when the navy paralyzed the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. It was only one hour and fifty minutes earlier, to be exact. A subsequent surrenders after furious battle followed: (Hayashi 2013)
The Philippines—December 8, 1941-May 7, 1942;
Guam—December 8-10, 1941;
Malay Peninsula (landed)—December 8, 1941—February 15, 1942;
Singapore (surrendered)—February 7-15, 1942;
Borneo—January 11-March 9, 1942;
Holland‟s Indies—March 1-9, 1942;
Rabaul (Bismarck Archipelago)—January 20-23, 1942;
Guadalcanal (landed)—August 7, 1942;
New Guinea (landed)—November 16, 1942, etc. (Sekigawa 2013; Wakitani 2013)
The news of Japanese army‟s victory after victory led the whole country to wild ecstasy.
All kinds of festivities people could think of were held to celebrate the Japanese army‟s victory which was marking the expansion of Japanese territory.
For instance, upon the conquest of Singapore, the school children and villagers joined a parade of victory along all the streets, a flag parade in the daytime, and
such a passionate circumstance, there was no reason that young men just remained silent. On the same day, a crowd of those seinendan trainees vied with one another at the police station in order to be enlisted for volunteers. I heard one of them say excitingly, “It‟s a golden opportunity to join the Japanese army.”
Today, from the battle schedule above, it is very clear to see that Japan had been casting a covetous stare at the Southern Pacific way in advance. She originally contemplated securing the oil resources of the Southeast Asia by occupying British Malaya, American Philippines, Holland‟s East Indies and Australian New Guinea.
It was regarded as Japan‟s national principle, Hakko Ichiu, or “the Universe is one family.” So it was taught to her people that the war was Sacred War. It is needless to say that on such a vast scale of battle front, the need of Takasago Giyutai‟s labor force was great.
Alianus’ War Experience
Believe in Fate
Nothing is so mysterious as a man‟s fate. The fact that Alianus returned home safely from New Guinea after the Pacific War is a mystery itself. He volunteered for the second Takasago Giyutai at 22. At departure, his father urged him never ever to deprive any enemy of their lives. This gave him an enormous confusion. “Is it possible not to kill the enemy?” He doubted it.
“If you don‟t kill him, he‟ll kill you.” Fortunately there were very few chances to contact enemies close enough to kill directly during the war time.
And he was consciously confident that he would not die in this war.
One day his reconnaissance unit was assaulted by the US troops, and his squad leader got shot in his breast. He instantly made a stretcher out of branches, and with the help of another guy, carried him on it and hurried to the field hospital. Several times, he heard his leader crying in agony in a weak voice, “Oka—san! Oka—san! (Mother! Mother!)” This made Alianus miss his mother so much, too. Although he cheered up the wounded leader from under from time to time on the way, by the time they got to the field hospital, alas, there was no trace of life on the leader any more. Probably that calling of his mother, Alianus recalled, had been the leader‟s utmost effort of the last breath—his last breath on this earth. With the help of the other guy, he dug a hole to bury the leader‟s body right away to keep it from being infected by maggots. He covered the tomb with taro leaves and left. He simply could not but feel shedding tears in torrents down the cheeks for a long while. To kill or to be killed, that was all but a matter of luck. The more he thought of his leader‟s death, the more he would want to take revenge on the enemy.
Alianus began to think what a war was: a war is to kill the enemy who you do not know at all and has done no harm to you. It was so in the ancient times; so it is now; and so it will be in the future.
The Worst of the Time
「精神一到何事か成らざらん!」“Nothing is impossible to a determined mind.” “Practice makes impossible possible!” recounted Alianus. “These were our mottos while every Takasago Giyutai was getting well prepared before going to the war.” But in the long run, nobody would deny that in front of
mention of Takasago Giyutai, turned out to be like hitting an egg against a rock.
(Shinmyo 2010)
“What was the worst enemy you encountered at the battlefield?” I asked.
“Dysentery, malaria and mosquitoes were the most commonplace,” he recounted. Now and then they cupped their hands to drink water from marsh after a long dry thirst. Marsh water was always so harmful that one who drank it had got to suffer from diarrhea or dysentery. The worst of all, there was no medication to cure it. So if anyone was to suffer from either of them, he would repeat evacuation of bowels, say, twenty times a day or even as many times an hour. In the end, nobody could help and it would be all up with him. This was the case with numerous soldiers on the Pacific Islands. It does not need much imagination to realize that troop after troop of the Japanese army was collapsed without fighting.
“How did you make it out yourself?” I wanted to know the secret of avoiding death like that. He explained: Alianus and other Takasago Giyutai alike instinctively can discern drinkable from harmful. They know what plant, fruit, and root are edible, and how to climb and pluck coconuts from the trees and get water. These skills are something they have acquired since childhood in the mountains of homeland. And that was what the Japanese soldiers have to rely on Takasago Giyutai to live on. There are too many kinds of plants and fruits that are fatally poisonous. Once mistaken, he will be doomed to death.
One of the best ways to get safe water from is rattan. “Many times I found rattan vines, cut in one end and got dripping water, clean, safe and sufficient. I saved my combat mates several times,” said Alianus proudly.
Coconuts were a very good source of drinking water. Usually they belonged to the tribal people. So it was critically important for the Japanese
troops to develop a strong feeling of kinship with the natives. The Japanese troops were strictly requested of 3 No‟s—No stealth; no robbery; No offending.
(Hayashi 1998; Tsuchibashi 1976.) Here Takasago Giyutai‟s role came in. They looked quite alike in appearance. Although not 100 %, their languages sounded common in many phases. Alianus remembers some Amis vocabulary resembled that of a few tribes in New Guinea. He gave a couple of instance: tulu (three), lima (five), mata (eye), etc. As for more others he has forgotten. Yet he made great friends with one of the chiefs, who supported and stood along side with the Japanese because of the simple communication through their verbal and body language.
Human or Inhuman?
When one faces starvation, one would do anything to get anything available at hand. Almost close to the end of the war, there was very little trace of fight spirit among the Japanese soldiers. Every dawn the first thing in the morning was to think what to eat. Because food supply was hopelessly out of sight, everyone had got to keep himself alive. Eating seemed to be absolutely more important than fighting. Since they were hiding from the enemies in the deep jungle, it was Takasago Giyutai‟s job to find food, such as edible wild leaves, flowers, roots, and wild animals. (Kadowaki 1993.) One day with his troop of seven Alianus came upon a hill side where they saw some soldiers‟ dead bodies here and there, nothing but white bones. Apparently the flesh part had been cut off to appease hunger. Later he came across the similar scene many, many times. When asked if he had joined the action, he hesitated but said, “To
It is extremely hard to imagine what it is like to be „starved to death.‟ I surely wonder whether I would insist on human act were I faced with the crucial circumstance of inhuman cannibalism. (Shinmyo 2009.)
Manifestation of Defeat
Once Alianus and other Takasago Giyutai were leading a group of comrades along a large marsh where he saw quite a few corps in Japanese soldier‟s uniform lying here and there dead for at least a couple of days. Evidently they died of starvation. They must have been left behind unattended by their fellowmen because they were too hungry or sick to walk any farther. The sick fell down on the roadside and were never able to get up again. He saw swarms of maggots moving on the face, arms and body. One guy approached a corpse, knelt down by it, raked in the maggots with fingers of one hand onto the palm of the other hand, and then put them into his mouth. Another and another followed. You can imagine how starved this guys were.
This plight accounted for the soldiers‟ last struggle for survival, not for fight.
Had they bumped into the enemy, they would have inevitably raised hands high up and surrendered, which act would have been deemed as a Japanese soldier‟s humiliation, though. Alianus had learned that kuwanakya ikusa wa dekinu, meaning “if you don‟t eat, you simply can not afford to fight.” It implies the emphasis of sufficient food supply for the warriors the commander must take into consideration. That is one of well-known Japanese warriors‟ sayings, too.
(Wakitani 2013.)
Alianus at this time could not but perceive the manifestation of Japanese defeat, only deep in his mind. He was reminded of one of the soldiers‟
admonitions: if ever any mate is unavailable to follow the troop, and even any helping action may influence the advancement of the troop, he should be neglected and left behind. At this point Alianus was quite accustomed to seeing such plights.
The Last Drop of Water
Dry days continued. One sultry afternoon, Alianus was following a team of men marching onward. Among dead bodies lying along the jungle path he heard a faint voice calling, “Mizu. Mizu.Water. Water.” Nobody in his front cared him as if nothing were heard. He deliberately passed like the others ahead.
But something stopped him and he moved a few steps backward and saw a foot- soldier in a Japanese uniform lying and panting there hopelessly. Alianus took out his water bottle, knelt down beside the soldier and began to pour the last few drops of water which he intended to drink later at the destination. Drop by drop into the mouth Alianus dripped until it came to the precious last drop.
Then he licked the mouth of the bottle for himself. The man looked satisfied, and then closed his eyes for good. Alianus cut a taro leaf with his funus to cover the face, and on he went, thinking that this guy was also a beloved son of his mother. What would she feel if she were to know even a little about how her son died in that unknown land? Alianus could not press his tears streaming down his cheeks incessantly. “This very scene has been frequently appearing in his mind. I feel as though one of my family were suffering starvation,” Alianus said, looking so deeply sympathetic.
At the Frontline
One day an avalanche of bills were falling down from the sky. Bills—white pieces of paper—were everywhere over the valleys, in the fields, on the branches of trees of the woods, even floating on the rivers. On the bill were written in plain Japanese katakana which read, “Senso wa owatta. Mo tatakawanai. The war is over. No more fight.”
No one would want to believe that Japan lost the war. One Takasago Giyutai yelled, “Takasago Giyutai is never defeated. The Great Imperial Japan will definitely win. Tenno heika banzai Long Live the Emperor of Japan!”
Another shouted, “We‟re not defeated in the war. The US troops only defeated our weapons and provisions. That‟s that!”
Later of the day, it was proved true: the war was over. One higher rank officer did not say that Japan was defeated, but only confirmed that the war was over. He added in sad words, “We‟ll no longer fight.” Later it was proved that Japan surrendered. Many of the Japanese high rank officials, upon hearing the Emperor‟s sacred announcement about the end of the war, burst out crying, and some even committed suicide with grenades. Some of them began to get busy burning and destroying all the paper documentaries to ashes partly because there was no point leaving them any longer, and partly because by doing so might reduce the weight of the burden. (Ikema, 2005.) The burning of papers made smoke into the sky but no enemy‟s attack was heard. The war really ended. The news spread wide very quickly. More and more soldiers did come out of underground trenches. (Watanabe 1981)
All the troops had an order to rendezvous at Wewak to wait for ships for repatriation. On the way Alianus spotted many foot soldiers stagger and fall one by one. They were too weak and starved to move any farther. Some lay dead
here and there. It was easily observed that they were suffering from dysentery which was killing them on the last homeward journey. The corpses had maggots swarming on the face, around the neck so soon. Alianus saw most of the soldiers discarded the rifles which were supposed to be the sacred symbols Japanese soldiers‟ souls bestowed by the Emperor of Japan. Now that the war ended, those rifles turned out to be nuisance. The thought that might have resulted in a disastrous punishment was completely overlooked. Carrying it might waste their precious energy and might prevent them from getting to the destination. Not only rifles, even backpacks, helmets, empty water bottles and so on were cast away. By the time they reached the venue, many of the warriors appeared half-naked, or poor in rags.
At the POW Camp
Kulian put it: “The war ended. The survived were captured and packed in the American detention camp (Prisoner of War Camp). A number of Japanese high rank officers were called by name, brought out of the camp to the martial court and sentenced. Some were said to be executed by shooting. Everybody of them was down in spirit. One low rank officer consoled my Man, „There‟s nothing to worry about. We‟ll sure meet again somewhere in the future.‟ The next day he was called out and never returned.
Kulian continued, “My Man told me they were given American food full of cheese and butter, which he had never tasted before. Bread, meat, milk and water were nice and plenty and smelt good but hardly could he swallow them when he thought of his poor comrades and tribal men who had died of mortal wounds or starvation only a few days ago. If only they
One can imagine what differences the survived Takasago Giyutai experienced before and after the end of the war. Besides food, they were also dressed in new US-army uniforms, dark green in extra large size with huge three English letters POW printed on the back so that it was very clear to distinguish the prisoners of war from GI‟s. The combat cap was unique in its design, which the Japanese soldiers were not used to appreciating at first. The most grateful things were the boots and socks. Almost all of those prisoners had barely endured their barefooted days. Quite a few of them got alternatives from dead soldiers‟ feet when his had been worn out at the field. Now they were allowed to take all those accessories home.
Extravagant Bath
At the bath time, the Japanese prisoners were greatly surprised that the enormously plenty of water was “wasted” daily. The shower place was in the open field, no roof, no bath tubs, and no doors. Soldiers took turns having a shower. There were about twenty shower heads in a line on one side and as many on the opposite side. The prisoners made a line and entered at the entrance; after washing, they went out from the exit. Since most of Japanese Giyutai and soldiers were only accustomed to the Japanese way of furo bathtub bathing, or just jumping into the river; they had never seen a shower before.
“Everybody felt revived,” said Alianus., and continued, “The shower is so strong, and you can take it as long as six maximum minutes. The faucet is controlled by a tap, not a screw. Soap and shampoo—oh, what an aroma!—are provided free.” Alilanus said that everybody just out of the jungle was extraordinarily amazed at the American invention and their extravagant
“Everybody felt revived,” said Alianus., and continued, “The shower is so strong, and you can take it as long as six maximum minutes. The faucet is controlled by a tap, not a screw. Soap and shampoo—oh, what an aroma!—are provided free.” Alilanus said that everybody just out of the jungle was extraordinarily amazed at the American invention and their extravagant