The last Japanese warrior...

9.3mauser said:
Ah, let me clarify then...

We ( Canada, Britain, USA, USSR ) did not start the war.
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Just a heads up, just like WWI can't be blamed on a single nation, neither can WWII. There is a theory out their that Germany never intended to start WWII but was just trying to reclaim the land it had lost from WWI (look at maps of Germany before and after WWI to see the difference). People also had a isolationist view point as well which also contributed, they did not want to fight another war the 'Peace in our time' speech is a perfect example of that.

Japan at that time had a mentality of earlier years (look at Britain and the other European nations imperial conquests and massacres to get a good idea of it). Am not saying what they did was right. What I am saying is all this is in the past, where frankly it belongs. The world has changed a lot since WWII, Communism has more or less fallen, the old empires of Europe are gone, and technology has drastically changed. So too has the view points of people. We will only be able to accurately judge things in history after the emotion has been taken out of it. Until then there will always be a bias one way or another.
 
Surrendering soldiers were shot out of hand by all nations in WW2, not right but it happened.
The 1,000,000 Germans starved to death by the Allies has been totally debunked years ago, A TOTAL LIE!!!
Terror bombing of civilian targets was started by the Germans and it has been shown that Allied bombing of German industrial targets DID NOT seriously impact German output of war material.
Japan was NOT defeated in 1945. Japan had no concept of defeat. If the truth were known, Japan was beaten by late 1943. It is estimated that the atomic bombs SAVED the lives of MILLIONS, both Japanese and American because the Japanese people had every intention of fighting bitterly in the event of the inevitable invasion of the home islands.
READ SOME HISTORY not internet garbage.

Rugdoc said:
I hate arguing WWII history with the cheerleaders on this site, but four things immediately come to mind here:

I personally know a Canadian veteran who was ordered to shoot surrendering Germans. The major told them he would personally shoot anyone bringing him a prisoner.

The Americans starved at least 1 million German POWs to death.

The allies bombed civilians in Essen and elsewhere but left the factories intact for the French to dismantle and take home after the war. How else did the German war effort continue despite the heavy bombing?

Japan was effectively already defeated in 1945 and the atom bombs were used to test them, and to demonstrate to the USSR who was going to be boss for the rest of the 20th century.

The Nazis and Japanese weren't the only bad guys at times.
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BeaverMeat said:
What about the British firebombing of German cities? Namely Dresden. Or the numerous "precision" night bombing raids. That is just one example. Don't get me started on the Russian (Allies)

I have done much research in the History of WW2. Each side is just as guilty of war crimes as the other. Only difference is that we were the victors and the victors pass judgment and write the history books.

Like I said before. It was War!

I am in no way condoning the actions of Japanese; or German soldiers for that matter, just putting it into perspective.

Oh yeah... Vietnam (different war, but my point stands)
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Sorry, but your perspective is wrong. You need to "open a book" or two more.

My Life with the Samurai
The Knights of Bushido
Slaves of the Son of Heaven
Japan's Imperial Conspiracy

A few I can think off off the top of my head.

Hopefully Onoda achieved the perspective and moral courage by the end of his life of someone like Sakai Saburo, who we can all respect I think. Once you've read his book you'll know why I say that.
 
RRCo. said:
Sorry, but your perspective is wrong. You need to "open a book" or two more.

My Life with the Samurai
The Knights of Bushido
Slaves of the Son of Heaven
Japan's Imperial Conspiracy

A few I can think off off the top of my head.

Hopefully Onoda achieved the perspective and moral courage by the end of his life of someone like Sakai Saburo, who we can all respect I think. Once you've read his book you'll know why I say that.
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Yes, I am not too versed in the Pacific theater. My studies have been mostly concentrated on the European front. I will have to take a look at them along with some African campaign material some day.

beltfed said:
Lt. Onoda should have been hunted down and shot and pissed on.
I can't believe the Philippines pardoned him.
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Suprisng to say the least.

Brings up an interesting notion. How many more might be out there? There was full fledged Nazis who escaped and were kicking around after WWII for quite some time. The possibility still remains that there could be some who were smart enough to emaglinate themselves into the general population to not be caught.
 
Well, I guess I can answer my own question: this is stated to be Onoda's article on "comfort women":


Fits perfectly when you think about it.
 
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I was watching a documentary series on film history and I was deeply unsettled by this documentary called The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor's_Naked_Army_Marches_On

It's a documentary from the 70s by a Japanese veteran who is tracking down members of a certain regiment who have been suspected of cannibalizing their fellow soldiers during a certain battle. His motives and his sanity become questionable when begins physically assaulting his interviewees who don't give him the answer he wants. It shows Japanese culture as psychologically unstable as a result of the Emperor worship. Many veterans have selective memory about the horrors they saw or committed. It's not a fun piece to watch, but it's certainly important.
 
TJspeller said:
The Japanese beheaded hundreds, thousands, of prisoners and civilians. It was a planned strategy of terror exacted upon people that they had dehumanized and felt no remorse towards. It was done in cold blood, over and over, in many different places by many different individuals. It was policy.

Allied soldiers shooting surrendering Germans, or Japanese, occurred in the heat of, or soon after, battle. There are no reports of POW camps in the US or controlled by the Allies where prisoners were sysmatically put to death as a means of punishment by their hundreds and thousands.

I think there is a difference.
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I think you not know the Italin POW in Kenya and South Africa in the Second World War; the italian had the same problems like the Boers in 1900. The Italian army has done some terrible things in the Colonies of Africa and during the occupation of Greece and Jugoslavia ( we and the slavs doesn't like each other too much since the Great War). We hade our War Criminals but we prefer to not remebmber that part of History; also because we had also a civil war started in 1943 and finished in 1945 between the Members and supporters of the Fascist pro Germans and the so called Italian Partisans ( Liberals, Democrats, Socialist, Repubblicans, Comunist, Monarchist and Anarchist).

history is not so simple

regards
 
Heimrick said:
Being an historian and having the chance to teach history for a living is a blessing, beleive me. I like the many discussions about historical topics in this forum because they show so many differents points of vue and perspectives. But honestly, I must state that because one have read a few books and have a opinion, that still doesnt make him an historian. The historical porcess by itself is a long one and it demands a solid formation. That being said, everyone is intitled to his own point of vue, that still doesnt means its the truth. As many knows, in history only the facts are certain, the rest, mostly interpretations, are a construction made by historians by reaching some concensus in the scientific community. Many would be surprised how difficult it is to reach a concensus within this historians community nowadays. The Interpretation of historical facts must be made after considering the facts themself, selecting the sources, taking in account the past historiography and so on and so on... Its called the historical method and its teached at the university. Its teached during the first year of most history programs so the futurs historians wont be tempted to give quick, emotional or easy interpretations to historical facts after reading a few books on the subject. The same goes for the books themselves. Not all of the monographies (about ww2 for exemple) have been written by qualified historians. Some history books are political statement, other are only giving the point of vue of the author etc etc. So all of this to say the one must be very very carefull when attempting to give a judgment about historical event as we know them. Of course history is written by those who won, but that doesnt mean its all lies and propaganda... Honestlly, you'd be surprised by the way most historians today consider that period. We shoulld have some modesty when its time to make sens of historical events, its not as simple as many seems to think. But about the present subject, I can say that its broadly admitted that the Japan and Germany went way deeper in the organized horror then the western allies all combined (I,m not talking about the soviets here because they werent in the initial discussion). I'm not saying that the allies had their hands clean all along, but to put them on the same level as germany and Japan is an insult to the victims and an shortcut in historical reasoning.
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Not to be a prig sir, but you spell atrociously for a Historian.
 
While I am at it may as well tell you that the past participle of the verb 'to teach" is the word taught. Might come in handy. Surprised that the people who "teached" you didn't do a better job.
 
"Not to be a prig sir, but you spell atrociously for a Historian. "

I usually hate terrible spelling too, but it's pretty obvious English isn't his first language, but his points are correct; that's the main thing.

How many languages do you speak and read and write in?
 
Kirk1701 said:
I was watching a documentary series on film history and I was deeply unsettled by this documentary called The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor's_Naked_Army_Marches_On

It's a documentary from the 70s by a Japanese veteran who is tracking down members of a certain regiment who have been suspected of cannibalizing their fellow soldiers during a certain battle. His motives and his sanity become questionable when begins physically assaulting his interviewees who don't give him the answer he wants. It shows Japanese culture as psychologically unstable as a result of the Emperor worship. Many veterans have selective memory about the horrors they saw or committed. It's not a fun piece to watch, but it's certainly important.
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There was also evidence of isolated groups of Japanese soldiers keeping Australian POW like cattle and eating them because all their re-supply lines were cut. They also used to make games out of killing civilian and POW's that were sanctioned indirectly by their superiors, one that I heard of was putting POW in bamboo cages in the Asian FOB out at the low tide mark so that only their heads were exposed at the high tide and listen and laugh as the large mangrove crabs would eat then them alive.

They are very nasty people to fight against, especially if you are captured alive or surrender to them, they show no mercy.
 
BeaverMeat said:
Suprising to say the least.

Brings up an interesting notion. How many more might be out there? There was full fledged Nazis who escaped and were kicking around after WWII for quite some time. The possibility still remains that there could be some who were smart enough to emaglinate themselves into the general population to not be caught.
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Why do you find that surprising?
Orders to not surrender or kill himself - that means fight to the death.
After cessation of hostilities the Philipinos find out there are Japanese soldiers still out there killing civilians - what do you think they are going to do?

The big difference with most Nasis is they melted into civilian life.
 
beltfed said:
The big difference with most Nasis is they melted into civilian life.
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Some joined the French Foreign Legion and fought on. Many Nazi scientists were welcome by their captors with open arms and continued to ply their trades in military R&D programs.
 
mkrnel said:
There was also evidence of isolated groups of Japanese soldiers keeping Australian POW like cattle and eating them because all their re-supply lines were cut. They also used to make games out of killing civilian and POW's that were sanctioned indirectly by their superiors, one that I heard of was putting POW in bamboo cages in the Asian FOB out at the low tide mark so that only their heads were exposed at the high tide and listen and laugh as the large mangrove crabs would eat then them alive.

They are very nasty people to fight against, especially if you are captured alive or surrender to them, they show no mercy.
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I don't know if we can characterize an entire race of people as vicious fighters. What we can say is, this group of soldiers seems to have given into their blood lust. The stories bear out the theory that the Emperor worship not only resulted in subhuman behaviour, but was keenly encouraged. A sobering thought. That entire war is full of stories of soldiers of all sides going "over the edge" into murderous insanity. It's unfortunate for the Japanese that many of these stories come from their side.

I know nothing of Japan, but I'm glad this veteran (whatever he might have done) has been given a warm welcome home. At last, his people can release him from the delusion that he let them down somehow. This is speculation, but the fact that he didn't commit harakiri tells me he was having a crisis of conscience about the whole thing. He couldn't kill himself, so he must have believed there was hope for a better life. The warrior who believes all is lost will kill himself content that he did all he could. This man seems to be in deep conflict. Also the shame that he had a conscience seems to have kept him in the field all those years. It's a brave man who can fight with his own mind and win.
 
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