Russian Tatar refugee Shamshinoor Nugman in colonial Seoul after fleeing the Bolsheviks with the White Russians (November 1941)

This 1941 article introduces Mrs. Shamshinoor Nugman, a Russian Tatar refugee living in colonial Seoul. The immediate occasion for the article is her donation of one hundred comfort bags to the Imperial military, although it also notes that, following her late husband’s wishes, she had earlier donated a large vehicle for transporting wounded patients. The article then briefly recounts her family’s flight from the Bolshevik Revolution, tracing a long refugee journey across Siberia into Manchuria and, eventually, to Japan and Korea.

Mrs. Shamshinoor Nugman in Seoul

I have posted several articles about the small Russian Tatar community in colonial Korea, with links for further reading below. In another article, Mrs. Nugman (also referred to as Nugmanov) appears as a prominent benefactor within that community, helping fund a Tatar school where children learned the Tatar language, the Muslim faith, and the official imperial curriculum. Other articles suggest that clothing retail was a common line of work among Tatars in Seoul.

Originally from the Volga-Ural region of Russia, the Tatars fled the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 seeking refuge from religious and political persecution. The community fled across Siberia into Manchuria and then settled in several cities throughout Imperial Japan, including Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, Kumamoto, Seoul, and Busan. The Russian Tatar community in all of Imperial Japan numbered about 1000 residents, and there were about one hundred residents living in Seoul.

Imperial Japan appears to have seen political value in hosting Muslim refugees such as the Tatars, as part of its broader effort to cultivate Muslim goodwill under its wartime Islamic policy. In colonial Korea, that made the Tatars a 'model minority': they could be held up as loyal and assimilated Imperial subjects even while openly practicing their Muslim faith and speaking their language. That contrast would likely not have been lost on Koreans, who were seeing the public use of the Korean language becoming increasingly restricted and Korean culture becoming increasingly drowned out by militaristic Imperial Japanese culture.

Before the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 8, 1941, the phrase "blue-eyed" (hekigan, 碧眼), a term used to refer to white foreigners, was often used to describe the Russian Tatars. However, this subsequently stopped during the war years from 1942 onward, and they would henceforth be referred to as belonging to the Asian race. A recent Korea Times article notes that this expression still survives in Korean usage today as byeokan, though many now view it as awkward or dated.

After World War II, most of the Russian Tatar refugees in Japan and Korea left for the U.S. and Türkiye.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo), November 21, 1941
Grateful for Japan’s Benevolence
Blue-Eyed Woman Donates Comfort Packages to the Army Patriotic Association

Early in the morning on the 20th, a horse cart piled high with comfort packages arrived at the Korean Army Patriotic Association. A blue-eyed woman in Western dress came to visit and, in fluent Japanese, offered them to the Army, saying, “It is only a small gesture, but please send these to the soldiers serving at the front.”

This blue-eyed woman was 36-year-old Shamshinoor Nugman, the widow of Mr. Nugman, a White Russian of Turkic background who had run a clothing store at 2-19 Honmachi, Seoul. This past spring, as he lay on his deathbed, he left these final words: “We are foreigners who lost our homeland, yet we have been able to live in peace and security thanks to Japan. As a small token of our gratitude, please donate 20,000 yen as a relief contribution for the soldiers.” With that testament, he passed away.

“In accordance with my late husband’s wishes, we had the honor of donating one large motor vehicle for transporting wounded patients. We cannot easily find the words in Japanese to express our gratitude, and so we feel terribly sorry that the main way through which we express our feelings of gratitude and patriotism is through our donations of money and goods. What we truly feel from the bottom of our hearts is simply that we must be grateful, again and again, for the blessings of the Imperial nation. Today, though it is only a small gesture, we prepared and sent one hundred comfort packages.”

She spoke with faint tears of emotion in her eyes. Captain Hirai of the Patriotic Association was also deeply moved by her words and gladly accepted the donation.

Behind the deepening gratitude felt by this foreign woman, who had escaped to Japan and was able to live a peaceful and happy life, lay a strange and wandering past, full of memories too painful to recall. The story she told of her past was as follows:

“It was 1917 when the Red Revolution broke out. At that time I was still only thirteen years old, a schoolgirl in Penza Oblast near Moscow. We White Russians were pursued by the revolutionary forces. Together with my parents and siblings, with only the clothes on our backs, we fled Moscow by horse wagon. Shivering in the freezing cold, through falling snow, we changed at times to sleds and kept going east, farther and farther east, passing through Zabaikalsk, until at last we escaped to Hailar in Manchuria. It was still March, and the cold was severe. My husband Nugman had been in Samara, which is now known as Kuybyshev under Soviet rule. While he was in his first year at Kseniya University in Kazan, he too was driven out and fled to Hailar.

“After that we married, moved to Japan, lived in Kobe for six years, and then moved to Seoul, where we have now lived for sixteen years. Now we are in the process of applying for Japanese naturalization. Our homeland is now at the center of the calamity of the German-Soviet War. It seems that the hateful Red regime is gradually beginning to waver. We are filled with emotions beyond words. Compared with that, how can we ever adequately express my gratitude that Japan, even while at war, extends such warm-hearted kindness to foreigners like us?”

[Photograph: Widow Nugman]

[Transcription]

京城日報 1941年11月21日

日本の恵みに感謝
碧眼婦人が軍愛国部へ慰問袋

二十日早朝一台の荷馬車に慰問袋を山と積んで碧眼洋装の婦人が朝鮮軍愛国部を訪れ、『僅かですが戦地で活躍されている兵隊さんに贈って下さい』と巧みな日本語で献納を申し出た。この碧い眼の婦人はこの春死の枕辺に『郷土を失った異国人の我々が安穏な生活が送れるのは日本のお蔭だ。感謝の微意に二万円を恤兵金として献金せよ―』と遺言して逝った異邦人京城本町二の一九洋服商白系土耳古人ヌグマン未亡人シャムシノール・ヌグマンさん（三六）だ。

「亡夫の遺志で患者輸送用大型自動車一台を献納させて戴きました。私達は言葉が不自由で感謝愛国の気持を物とお金に託すのは大変済まないことだと思います。私たちの心底から思うことは、ただただ皇国のお蔭に感謝しなければならぬことです。きょう僅かですが慰問袋百個を作って贈らせて貰いました」と眼にうすく感激の涙すら浮かべて語るのだ。愛国部平井大尉も此言葉にいたく感激喜んで受納した。この異邦人が日本に脱出して来て安穏幸福な生活が送られる感謝の念を強めさせる陰には数奇な流転の過去が余りにもいたいたしかった思い出があるからだ。彼女が語る過去は

「赤色革命の巻起った一九一七年でした。当時私はまだ一三歳でモスコーの近郊ペンザ県の小学校の生徒でした。私達白系は革命軍に追われ、両親、兄弟と手をとり着のみ着のまま馬車に揺られてモスコーを避け凍りつく寒気に慄え雪のふりしきるうちを橇に乗り換えなどして東へ東へ、ザバイカルを経てやっと満州国ハイラルへ脱出しました。まだ寒さのきびしい三月でした。私の夫ヌグマンもまたサマラ（現在ソ連政府のあるクイビシェフ）に在りカザンのクサニヤ大学の一年在学中追われてハイラルに落ちのびたのでした。

その後私達は結婚して日本に移り神戸に六年住み、京城へ移って十六年。目下日本人帰化の手続中です。いま私達の郷土は独ソ戦の禍乱の中心になっています。恨みの赤色政権はだんだん動揺しているようです。私たちは感慨無量のものがあります。それに較べ戦争している日本が私たち異邦人に温かい心やりを下さるのは何と感謝してよいか分りません」

【写真＝ヌグマン未亡人】

Source: Digital Newspaper Archive, National Library of Korea

Here is an excellent academic paper about the history of the Russian Tatar refugee community in Imperial Japan from their origins in the Volga-Ural region through the Russian Revolution in 1917, migration to Imperial Japan, and later emigration to the United States and Turkey after the war: [Link]

Imperial Japan’s support of Islam and Muslim communities has a fascinating historical background. For those interested in delving deeper, here’s a link to an academic paper on the topic: [Link] 

Other Keijo Nippo Articles:

• Shamseinoor Berikova, 19-year-old blue-eyed Russian Tatar refugee woman and Seoul resident in 1938, featured in Keijo Nippo as a pro-Imperial Japan patriotic model minority speaking fluent Japanese and supporting Imperial soldiers on their way to China [Link]
• The Sulemans were a Russian Tatar refugee family in Seoul who gained acceptance as assimilated Imperial Japanese people while holding strong to their Muslim faith, and left for Turkey amid warm farewells in 1939 [Link]
• Spotlight on 1943 Seoul: A Glimpse into the Russian Tatar Refugee Community, Marja Ibrahim’s Poetry Tribute to Tatar National Poet Ğabdulla Tuqay on the 30-year anniversary of his death [Link]
• Small community of ~100 Russian Tatars in Seoul featured in 1942-1944 propaganda articles: a young 19-year-old Tatar girl is praised for filling out immigration forms for her neighbors, a Tatar woman is commended for scolding her friends with red fingernails for wearing ‘British-American’ cosmetics [Link]
• In 1942 Busan, Korean pastors and foreign residents (Russian Tatar family, English woman, Chinese consul) praise Imperial Japan as British POWs captured in Malaysia start arriving in the city [Link]

Note: The article mentions that Mr. Nugman studied at "Ksenia University" in Kazan, but I could not find information online about any university by that name in Russia. It is unclear what Russian academic institution the article was referring to.

Shamseinoor Berikova, 19-year-old blue-eyed Russian Tatar refugee woman and Seoul resident in 1938, featured in Keijo Nippo as a pro-Imperial Japan patriotic model minority speaking fluent Japanese and supporting Imperial soldiers on their way to China

This article from 1938 features Shamseinoor Berikova, a 19-year-old blue-eyed Russian Tatar woman who was a daughter of a clothing merchant in Kōgane-machi, which today forms the northern area of the present-day Myeongdong district, in the area immediately to the east of present-day Euljiro 1(il)-ga station. She was part of the Russian Tatar refugee community from the Volga-Ural region which escaped persecution during the 1917 Russian Revolution. Her family was driven out from Hailar, Manchuria in 1926, when Manchuria was still ruled by various warlords, and they settled in Seoul by way of Kumamoto.

Original caption: Photo: Shamseinoor, the blue-eyed member of the National Women's Defense Association

This article may have also had a propaganda purpose to put this Tatar teenager on a pedestal as a 'model minority' to encourage the Korean people to follow her example by embracing Japanese language and culture and supporting the Imperial Japanese military.

Here is an excellent academic paper about the history of the Russian Tatar refugee community in Imperial Japan from their origins in the Volga-Ural region through the Russian Revolution in 1917, migration to Imperial Japan, and later emigration to the United States and Turkey after the war: [Link]

Imperial Japan's support of Islam and Muslim communities has a fascinating historical background. For those interested in delving deeper, here's a link to an academic paper on the topic: [Link] 

Here, you can also find links to other articles about the Tatar people in Seoul during the colonial period that I've found in the Keijo Nippo newspaper so far:

• The Sulemans were a Russian Tatar refugee family in Seoul who gained acceptance as assimilated Imperial Japanese people while holding strong to their Muslim faith, and left for Turkey amid warm farewells in 1939 [Link]
• Spotlight on 1943 Seoul: A Glimpse into the Russian Tatar Refugee Community, Marja Ibrahim's Poetry Tribute to Tatar National Poet Ğabdulla Tuqay on the 30-year anniversary of his death [Link]
• Small community of ~100 Russian Tatars in Seoul featured in 1942-1944 propaganda articles: a young 19-year-old Tatar girl is praised for filling out immigration forms for her neighbors, a Tatar woman is commended for scolding her friends with red fingernails for wearing 'British-American' cosmetics [Link]
• In 1942 Busan, Korean pastors and foreign residents (Russian Tatar family, English woman, Chinese consul) praise Imperial Japan as British POWs captured in Malaysia start arriving in the city [Link]

As is my norm, I've included links throughout the translation to cultural and historical references that might be unfamiliar.

[Translation]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) June 7, 1938

Strengthening the Korean Peninsula on the Home Front: The Blue-Eyed Girl with Sen'ninbari Amulets

Wearing a Lovely White Sash of the National Women's Defense Association

The blue-eyed young woman who has fled from demonic persecution offers her thanks and consolation to the valiant Imperial Army fighting on the front lines by sending gifts like Sen'ninbari amulets. As a foreigner finding refuge, she is deeply grateful for the boundless benevolence bestowed upon her. Though her arms may be weak, she has resolved to repay this kindness and has joined the National Women's Defense Association, bringing an inspiring story to life.

The girl in question is Shamseinoor Berikova (age 19), the only daughter of Mr. Shah Berikov, a clothing merchant in Seoul in the district of Kōgane-machi 2-70. As the Imperial Army set out for a punitive expedition against China, she was at the station waving the Japanese Hinomaru flag to send off the soldiers. She received astonished looks and words of thanks from the soldiers who said, "Oh, young foreign lady, thank you!" for the care packages that she gave. Alongside these farewells at the station, she has followed the tradition of Sen'ninbari, creating them with diligence and sending them along with care packages. She has already sent six to the warriors on the battlefield and has received several letters of gratitude in return.

Impressed by her actions, the caring people of the district encouraged her to join the National Women's Defense Association. "I would be so happy if someone like me could join the National Women's Defense Association and work alongside you," she happily responded, joining the Kōgane-machi-2 sub-chapter of the association on the 29th of last month, painting a beautiful picture of support from the home front. As Shamseinoor stood at the storefront in place of her parents, working diligently, she said the following:

"I am very happy that, even as a child, I am entrusted with work that can contribute even a little for Japan. I have sent Sen'ninbari and care packages. However, I'll feel uncomfortable if my acts are reported in the newspaper, since it may be perceived as bragging. Now that I have been accepted into the National Women's Defense Association, I wish to be of service," she spoke in fluent Japanese.

Shamseinoor fled from Hailar with her parents when she was seven years old, and sought asylum in Japan. She studied for about half a year at Kasuga Elementary School in Kumamoto. She has been in Seoul for eleven years now, and she mentioned that she would like to get married there.

Additionally, a few days ago, a letter of thanks for a care package arrived from Mr. Watanabe Kyōichi, a brave soldier of the Kimura Unit on the Northern China front. It read: "Flowers like dandelions bloom innocently among graves, only to be trampled in the dust of war. Why have the Chinese not opened their eyes? I never dreamed of receiving a care package from a person of a different nation like yourself. I am truly grateful. To put your mind at ease, I will strive to accomplish great deeds in this punitive expedition against China."

[Transcription]

京城日報 1938年6月7日

銃後半島の固め

千人針の碧眼娘

可憐国婦の白襷姿で

悪魔の迫害に追われた碧眼の少女が皇軍の奮戦に蔭ながら感謝を捧げ慰問。千人針などを贈り異邦人として安住の地を得るのも一重に君恩の無辺な御慈悲と感激。か弱い女の腕ではあるが報恩の誠を尽くしたいと意を決し国防婦人会に入会して甲斐甲斐しく立働き麗しい佳話を投げかけている。

話題の少女は京城黄金町二の七〇洋服商シャ・ベリコフ氏の一人娘シャムセイヌル・ベリコフ娘（一九）で、暴支膺懲の征戦に皇軍が進発するや駅頭に日の丸の旗を打ちふって勇士を歓送し勇士達から『お、外国人のお嬢さん、有難う』と贈った慰問品に奇異な眼と感謝のこもった言葉を受けていた。こうした駅頭の歓送のかたわら、街頭に立って教えられた千人針のいわれを汲み、懸命になって千人針を作り慰問袋と共に既に六枚を戦地の勇士に贈り、戦地の勇士から数通の感謝の手紙を貰っている。

この篤行に同町の心ある人達は感心し国防婦人会に加入を勧誘。『私のような者でも国防婦人会に入れて貰って一緒にお仕事をさせて戴ければ、これほど嬉しいことはありません』と喜んで去る二十九日黄金町二の国防婦人会分会に加入。銃後の固めに麗しい情景を描いている。シャムセイヌル嬢は両親に代って店頭に立ち甲斐甲斐しい姿で立働いているが、

『私のような子供でも日本のために少しでもお役に立つ仕事をさせて貰えるのはとても嬉しいです。千人針や慰問袋も贈りました。それでもこんなことを新聞に書いて貰うといばるように見えて困るです。国防婦人会にいれて貰ったので、その方のお役に立ちたいと思います』と達者な日本語で語った。

シャムセイヌル嬢は七歳の時、両親と共にハイラルから追われて日本に亡命。熊本の春日小学校で半歳ほど勉強。京城へ移って既に十一年になり、京城で結婚したいと語っていた。

なお数日前、北支戦線木村部隊の勇士渡辺恭一氏から届いた慰問袋の礼状には、『墓タンポポの草花が無心に咲き揃ったのが戦塵に踏みにじられています。支那は何故目覚めぬのでしょう。国のちがったあなた方から慰問品を受けようとは夢にも思いませんでした。本当に感謝します。そしてあなた方に安心して貰うよう、うんと手柄をたて支那膺懲に努めます』とあった。（写真は碧眼の国婦会員シャムセイヌル嬢）

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1938-06-07/page/1/mode/1up

The Sulemans were a Russian Tatar refugee family in Seoul who gained acceptance as assimilated Imperial Japanese people while holding strong to their Muslim faith, and left for Turkey amid warm farewells in 1939

This article from 1939 features the remarkable story of a Tatar family in Imperial Japan. This particular article bids a heartfelt farewell to the family who decided to move to Turkey.

This Tatar family, despite being refugees from Russia, managed to not only learn fluent Japanese but also seamlessly assimilate into the local Japanese community, all while preserving their unique religious Muslim identity. They ran a successful clothing business, actively participated in local patriotic activities supporting the Imperial Japanese military, and fervently promoted the Muslim faith in Imperial Japan.

From what I can surmise from the dates and ages in the article, Karim Suleman was 5 years old when he arrived in Imperial Japan in 1916. He became 'Japanese' in 1920 when he was 9 years old, which could mean that he obtained Imperial Japanese residence or citizenship? When he was 18 years old in 1929, he owned a clothing store in Myeongdong in Seoul. Shortly thereafter, he married his wife Munira who was a year older than him, and had a daughter and a son.

They resided in what was then known as Meiji-chō in Seoul, which is now called Myeongdong. It's a popular tourist destination today. To make it more relatable, I've opted to use the contemporary Korean term, Myeongdong, in my translation rather than the old Japanese term.

This article may have also had a propaganda purpose to put this Tatar family on a pedestal as a 'model minority family' to encourage the Korean people to follow their example by embracing Japanese language and culture and supporting the Imperial Japanese military.

You might notice that the article refers to them as 'Turkish'. However, based on subtle hints in this article and other related articles, we know that this family was part of the Tatar ethnic group, refugees from Russia. It's understandable that the reporter may have been confused. The distinctions between 'Turkic', 'Tatar', and 'Turkish' can be intricate and are often misunderstood. While both Tatar and Turkish peoples belong to Turkic ethnic groups, they are distinct and different from each other. The confusion was likely compounded by the family's decision to move to Turkey.

Imperial Japan's support of Islam and Muslim communities has a fascinating historical background. For those interested in delving deeper, here's a link to an academic paper on the topic: [Link] 

Here, you can also find links to other articles about the Tatar people in Seoul during the colonial period that I've found in the Keijo Nippo newspaper so far:

• Spotlight on 1943 Seoul: A Glimpse into the Russian Tatar Refugee Community, Marja Ibrahim's Poetry Tribute to Tatar National Poet Ğabdulla Tuqay on the 30-year anniversary of his death [Link]
• Small community of ~100 Russian Tatars in Seoul featured in 1942-1944 propaganda articles: a young 19-year-old Tatar girl is praised for filling out immigration forms for her neighbors, a Tatar woman is commended for scolding her friends with red fingernails for wearing 'British-American' cosmetics [Link]
• In 1942 Busan, Korean pastors and foreign residents (Russian Tatar family, English woman, Chinese consul) praise Imperial Japan as British POWs captured in Malaysia start arriving in the city [Link]

As is my norm, I've included links throughout the translation to cultural and historical references that might be unfamiliar.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) June 15, 1939

Nineteen Years as a Japanese Person

Exceptional: Letter of Thanks from the Community

Farewell, Mr. Suleman!

After being forced to leave tumultuous Russia, they have made Japan their home for the past nineteen years. Not only have they fully adapted to the Japanese language and lifestyle, but they have also exhibited a patriotic spirit rivaling the Japanese, evident from the onset of the current conflict. Turkish clothing merchant Karim Suleman (aged 28) and his wife, who have comfortably resided at 2-66 Myeongdong District of Seoul for a decade, have become prominent figures in their neighborhood. This October, they are bidding farewell to Seoul and setting sail from Yokohama, heading back to their homeland, Turkey.

After coming to Korea in 1916, Mr. Suleman traveled around Osaka and Kobe before opening a foreigner-owned clothing store at his current location in July 1929, which was unusual at the time. He remains a fervent believer of Islam to this day. He has a lovely daughter Muslaika (7 years old) and son Gumal (4 years old) with his wife Munira (29 years old), and the family of four have completely become Japanese people.

Not only have they fully integrated into the local community, but they have also adopted Japanese customs and habits, such as going to public baths and wearing summer yukatas. Mr. Suleman, a former leader of the Seoul Muslim Community and a current member of the Japan Muslim Council, was so passionate about the movement for the official recognition of the Muslim faith that he traveled all the way to Tokyo.

Ever since the start of the recent conflict, the beautiful Mrs. Munira has made a name for herself in Seoul, which now has a heavy military atmosphere. She can be seen regularly at the train station, donning the sash of the National Defense Women's Association diagonally across her shoulders, waving the Japanese flag to welcome and bid farewell to the Imperial soldiers. Not only that, she can be seen standing on city street corners at night, holding sen'ninbari cloths. Furthermore, she has donated to national defense funds and provided care packages several times, endearing her to the military as a "Patriotic Turkish Person". Last summer, they held an all-Turkish "Prayer Festival for the Longevity and Military Success of the Generals and Soldiers of the Imperial Army" at the Wakakusa-chō Mosque, which deeply moved us.

As tensions between Japan and Britain escalate, the Sulemans are leaving Japan for Turkey, a country which is considered pro-British. When reporters visited, they expressed their farewell sentiments in fluent Japanese with their beloved children on their laps.

"Nineteen years ago, my first step in Korea was when I got off at Seoul Station and stayed at the Hōrai Inn, which was in front of the train station at the time. It has been ten years since I settled in Myeongdong District. Living alongside a battling, strong, and righteous Japan, we have come to share the same sentiments as the Japanese people. My wife intends to take her National Defense Women's Association sash as a souvenir back to our homeland. One way we plan to repay Japan, where we've lived for so long, is to let people in our homeland know about Britain's transgressions and Righteous Japan's true position, as viewed correctly from Japan. While we think we won't have another chance to come back, we will probably never forget our life in Japan."

In recognition of Mr. Suleman's virtues, the Myeongdong District Association has decided to honor him with an unprecedented letter of thanks, celebrating him as a foreigner who has truly become part of the community.

Original caption: The Suleman family returning to Istanbul.

(Transcription)

京城日報 1939年6月15日

十九年の日本人

異例：町内で感謝状

さよならスレマンさん

動乱のロシアを逐われて日本に住むこと十九年、言葉も起居動作もスッカリ日本の風習に馴染んでいるばかりか、今事変当初から日本人に負けない愛国者ぶりを示して、今では町内きっての頭役にまでなり切った京城明治町２の６６トルコ人洋服商カリム・スレマン氏（二八）夫妻が丸十年住み馴れた京城を去り、今秋十月横浜出帆故国トルコへ向う。

スレマン氏は大正五年来鮮引き継き大阪、神戸と歩き廻り昭和四年七月現住所に当時として珍しい外人経営洋服商を開店して以来、現在に至った熱烈な回教徒だ。妻ムニラさん（二九）との間には可愛いムスライカ嬢（七つ）グマル君（四つ）があり、親子四人とも全く日本人に成りきってしまった。

町内の附合は勿論銭湯行きも、そして夏の浴衣掛けなど堂々板につくまで日本の風俗習慣を身に沁み込ませていた。氏は元京城回教徒団体団長で現在日本回教徒評議員をしており、過ぐる回教公認運動には遥々上京東奔西走したほどの熱教徒だった。

美貌のムニラ夫人は事変以来国防婦人会の襷を斜めにかけて皇軍将士の歓送迎には必ず駅頭に日章旗を振っていたばかりでなく、夜は街頭に千人針を持って立つなど、軍事色に塗り潰された京城でも異彩を放っていた。また幾度となく国防献金や慰問品を提供して軍方面からも『愛国トルコ人』として可愛がられ、昨年夏は若草町回教徒教会でトルコ人ばかりの『皇軍将士武運長久祈願祭』を挙行して吾々を感激せしめたものだった。

対英関係が尖鋭化して来つつある昨今日本を去って親英国と目されるトルコに帰るスレマン氏夫妻を訪えば、愛児を膝にして巧みな日本語で別離の情をしみじみと述べるのだった。

『十九年前、京城駅に降り当時駅前にあった蓬莱旅館に泊ったのが来鮮第一歩だったでしょう。此の明治町に住みついてから早いもので十年になります。戦う日本、強い日本、そして正義日本と共に暮らした私達はもう日本人と同じ気持ちです。妻など国防婦人会の襷を故国に土産として持って帰るといっています。そして日本から正しく眺めた英国の暴状や正義日本の真の立場を故国の人に知らせることを永く住まわせて頂いた日本へのご恩返しの一つだと思っています。今後再び来る機会も無かろうと思いますが、日本の生活は恐らく何時までも忘れられないでしょう。』

なお明治町町会では去り行くスレマン氏に対して異人としては最初の感謝状を贈り氏の徳を讃えることとなった。【写真＝イスタンブールへ帰るスレマンさん一家】

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1939-06-15

Spotlight on 1943 Seoul: A Glimpse into the Russian Tatar Refugee Community, Marja Ibrahim's Poetry Tribute to Tatar National Poet Ğabdulla Tuqay on the 30-year anniversary of his death

 Following on from a previous post about the small community of Russian Tatars residing in Seoul in 1943, I'm glad to bring you fresh insights from two additional articles I've discovered from that era—two articles published in March and April 1943, respectively. These pieces provide further details on the lives and experiences of the Russian Tatars who were exiled from their homeland.

In the previous post, we delved into the interesting story of a 19-year-old Tatar woman named Martiya Ibrahim, who was extolled by the colonial regime for her selfless leadership within her diasporic community. Intriguingly, this April 1943 article introduces us to another figure, a 20-year-old Tatar woman named Marja Ibrahim. She is depicted reciting an epic poem in a poignant tribute to Ğabdulla Tuqay, a celebrated Tatar national poet. This leaves us with an intriguing question—could Martiya and Marja be the same person?

An additional facet of interest emerges from the March 1943 article, shedding light on how even in colonial Korea, foreign communities were not exempt from the far-reaching grip of the war. It reveals that war donation efforts were an expectation levied not only upon the local population, but also on the foreign diaspora residing there. This compelling detail draws us deeper into the complexities of life in 1943 Seoul, from a unique perspective rarely explored.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) March 26, 1943
To the Wounded Warriors
Donations from Turkic Muslims

As the movements of Muslims within the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere through Burma and India, draw attention, playing an increasingly significant role behind the scenes of the battlefield, a Muslim group composed of Turkic Tatars residing in Seoul said, "We owe our peaceful day-to-day lives entirely to the greatness of Japan, and we must especially express our sincere gratitude for the efforts of the warriors wounded in the Greater East Asia War."

Under the advocacy of Mr. Yankuraj (70), the head imam of the Muslim group living at 106-3, Wakakusa-chō [present-day Cho-dong (초동)], Seoul, Mr. Muslin (50), a Turkic Tatar who runs a Western clothing store on Namdaemun Street in the Golden District, along with over ten others, brought 118 yen to the Honmachi police station on March 25th. Simultaneously, a children's group contributed 65 yen. They stated, "It's a small amount, but we are offering our savings as consolation money for Japan's brave wounded warriors," which deeply moved Police Chief Masaoka. [Photo = Turkic Tatar Muslim group donating consolation money to wounded warriors]

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) April 11, 1943
Tatars are commemorating a Patriot Poet
Welfare visits in the city

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the death of Mr. Ğabdulla Tuqay, revered as a national poet, the Turkic Tatar Cultural Association in Seoul plans to host a memorial service on his death anniversary. The service will take place at noon on the upcoming 15th at the Hasegawa Town Christian Youth Center. They will pay tribute to Mr. Tuqay, the patriot poet who passed away young, and remember his achievements.

On the day of the event, Miss Marja Ibrahim (20), who resides in Honmachi 3-chōme, will be performing a recitation of a long poem, along with charming children's poetry dramas, to commemorate the great deeds of the pioneers of Asian revival. [Photo = Miss Marja Ibrahim reciting poetry]

(Transcription)

1943年3月26日 京城日報
傷つける勇士へ
トルコ回教徒の献金

ビルマ、印度を通じて大東亜共栄圏内の回教徒の動向が注目され、戦果の蔭に大きな役割が果たされつつある時、京城在住のトルコタタール人から成る回教徒団体では『私共が朝夕平和な生活が送れるのも全く日本の偉大さのお蔭であり、殊に大東亜戦争に傷つかれた傷痍勇士の方々のお働きには真心から感謝の誠を捧げねばなりません』と京城若草町一〇六の三、回教徒団体長牧師ヤンクラジ氏（七〇）の主唱で黄金町南大門通りに洋服商を営むトルコタタール人ムスリン氏（五〇）他十余名で百十八円同じく児童女子側が六十五円を二十五日、本町署に持参。『僅かですが、平素の貯金を勇敢な日本の傷痍勇士の慰問金にお捧げ致します』と献金正岡署長を感激させた。【写真＝傷痍勇士慰問献金のトルコタタール回教徒団体】

1943年4月11日 京城日報
憂国の詩人を偲ぶ韃靼人
街の慰問袋

”民族の詩人”としてその偉大さを謳われるガブドラトカイ氏逝いて早くも三十周年在城のトルコタタール文化協会では若くして逝いた憂国の詩人ガブドラトカイ氏の功績を偲ぶため命日に当る来る十五日正午から長谷川町キリスト教青年会館で追悼会を催すが、当日は本町三丁目に住むマルジャ・イブラヒム嬢（二〇）が長編詩の朗読を行うほか可憐な児童の詩劇など上演して亜細亜復興の先人の偉業を偲ぶと言います【写真＝詩を朗読するマルジャ・イブラヒム嬢】

Source 1: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-03-26

Source 2: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-04-11

Small community of ~100 Russian Tatars in Seoul featured in 1942-1944 propaganda articles: a young 19-year-old Tatar girl is praised for filling out immigration forms for her neighbors, a Tatar woman is commended for scolding her friends with red fingernails for wearing 'British-American' cosmetics

This is my translation and transcription of four news articles from Keijo Nippo, a propaganda newspaper and mouthpiece of the government of Japan-colonized Korea. These have never been republished or translated before, to the best of my knowledge.

The following articles, spanning the period from 1942 to 1944, are about a very tiny (~100 member) Russian Tatar community which existed in Seoul during World War II. The Russian Tatars were refugees from the Russian Revolution who fled persecution in Russia. Many of the Russian Tatar refugees who arrived in Imperial Japan settled in mainland Japan, most notably in Kobe where the first mosque in Japan was built in 1935 (Kobe Masjid), but a few also settled in places like Japan-colonized Manchuria and Korea. The community in Seoul apparently engaged in trading mostly in clothing and miscellaneous goods in the Honmachi area, which is now the area just south of Myeongdong Cathedral. In 1943, about a block away from present-day Seoul City Hall on Mugyo-ro, they built their own elementary school called the Nugman Academy, where their children could learn the Tatar language and culture, including Islamic doctrine. 

Imperial Japan had a very complicated policy towards Muslims, as shown in this excellent academic article, but to ordinary Koreans who knew nothing about this, it must have seemed very unfair that this small community was given special privileges not given to the Koreans, who made up 97% of the population of Korea but were largely not allowed to teach their children Korean language and culture in schools by the 1942-1944 period.

Sorry if I have butchered some of the transcriptions of the Russian Tatar names, since Japanese kana transcriptions of foreign names confuse l and r, b and v, s and sh, etc. To those readers who are more familiar with Russian Tatar names, please let me know if you can suggest any corrections.

Martiya, the 19-year-old Tatar girl who helped fill out immigration forms for her neighbors, belonged to a local cell of the Korean Federation of National Power (国民総力朝鮮連盟, 국민총력조선연맹), the single ruling party of Japan-colonized Korea. The local neighborhood cells were known as 愛国班 (aikoku-han or aeguk-ban), which roughly translates to 'patriotic organization'. Members of the cells would report each other for infractions, perhaps for breaking rules like speaking Korean in public. They would organize 'patriotic' activities like defacing effigies of Roosevelt and Churchill, and also distribute food rations and other assistance. Similar local cell organizations still exist in countries like Cuba and North Korea.

See also the Russian Tatar family in Busan featured in this 1942 article: https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/12/in-1942-busan-korean-pastors-and.html

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo　(Keijo Nippo) February 28, 1942 

Thanksgiving Dedication to Victorious Japan

Refined Turkic Tatar Daughter

The Central Cultural Association of the Turkic Tatar Nation in Seoul, whose members number more than one hundred and are definitely ethnic Asians despite differences in appearances, are united in their gratitude for living in Japan during the Greater East Asia War. The temporary travel control regulations for foreigners came into effect on December 10 of last year, and all foreigners residing in Seoul were required to submit a notification form in the new format all at once. More than one hundred Tatar city residents prepared to complete the form, but filling out a two-page application form for each person proved to be a difficult task for those who were not literate in Japanese.

The one who took on the task of filling out the forms on behalf of the Tatar residents was Martiya (19), the second daughter of Mr. Waliullah Ibrahim of the Noor Trading Company at 20 Honmachi 3-chōme, Seoul. Knowing the confusion of her compatriots, she said, "Please let me do it. It is the greatest joy to be allowed to live in Victorious Japan as a member of the Asian race, and it is my duty to protect the homefront as one of the Imperial people." Every night, she would diligently write on behalf of her compatriots, and she has completed nearly three hundred pages of forms without delay.

As a member of local patriotic organization living the 'neighborhood cell' spirit, Martiya's actions were highly praised by Mr. Shimada, chief of foreign affairs at the Honmachi Police Station, who accepted the documents. On February 27th, he recounted the following about Martiya's actions:

"Martiya is the second daughter of Mr. Waliullah Ibrahim, the vice president of the Tatar Cultural Association. She is a warm and kind girl who graduated from Naniwa High School in Fengtian (present-day Shenyang). She alone worked at home taking care of the paperwork of more than a hundred people from the same ethnic group as their representative when the regulations came into effect and foreigners had to file notifications. Her recognition of the current situation and her initiative in cooperating with the authorities is admirable." [Photo: Martiya, the subject of this beautiful story]

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-02-28

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) September 9, 1943 

Japanese Language School

Established by Turkic people in Seoul

The Holy War to establish the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere continues with extreme intensity to the south and the north, and all Asians in the Co-prosperity Sphere rose up in the autumn to "stand with Japan". The Turkic Tatar group living in Seoul was grateful for the Imperial Army's struggle and wished to establish an educational institution for their own people to become a fully Asian people. On the Day of the Imperial Rescript on September 8th, a new private school, "Nugman Academy," was established to provide Japanese-style education. There are currently 72 Turkic Tatars in 21 households in Seoul, mainly centered in the Honmachi precinct, who are engaged in the clothing and ready-made goods trade. All of them came to Japan after the Russian Revolution and are spending their days living comfortably in Japan, but they have not been blessed with educational institutions. With the donation of 50,000 yen from Ms. Shamshinoor Nugmanov (45), who lives at 366 Sindang-dong in Seoul, a two-story building was purchased for 39,000 yen at 31 Mugyo-ro in Seoul, and the "Nugman Academy" was established. The founder, Mr. Kabdullah Hakimov (52), who lives at 3-28 Namdaemun Avenue in Seoul, applied for approval from the Seoul Provincial General. The school is to open at the beginning of October, and the first class of 20 boys and girls is to be admitted. The school is to emphasize the Japanese character of the school by teaching the Tatar language, Islamic doctrine, and National Education mainly in Japanese. [Photo: Ms. Shamshinoor Nugmanov]

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-09-09

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 2, 1944

Consoling the Heroes in White with the Tatar Dance

The billion people of the Co-prosperity Sphere stood together in solidarity and vowed to unite as Asian peoples holding each other's hands. A group of Turkic Tatars living in Seoul could not contain their emotions: "Let us offer our sincere thanks to the heroes of the Imperial Army," said 12 lovely students of Nugman Elementary School in Mugyo-ro, Central District, whose school had recently opened. They will hold a performance to comfort the heroes in white at the Army Hospital on the occasion of the auspicious occasion of the Anniversary of the Founding of Japan. The 19th performance of the classical "Tatar Dance" by Saniya and three other children will be a flower bouquet of consolation filled with sincerity, and is expected to be applauded by the heroes. [Photo: Tatar Dance]

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1944-02-02

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) February 20, 1944 

"No Red Fingernails!", scolded the Turkic woman

On February 11th, during the festival of the Founding of Japan, Erestan Tarpishov and 12 other lovely Turkic Tatar children from Nugman Elementary School in Mugyo-ro, Seoul held a performance to comfort the heroes in white, and they had a thrilling day. One of the ladies who accompanied the children, Salima, saw that many of her friends had painted their fingernails red. The comfort visit ended as Salima asked the young women, "What is the matter with you inappropriately showing red fingernails to the Japanese soldiers? Let's put a stop to all these British-American cosmetics..." This extraordinary act by Ms. Salima Battersen was brought to the attention of Mr. Masaoka, Director of Gyeonggi Provincial High School, who recently visited the provincial government office and praised her for her Japanese spirit. [Photo: Ms. Salima Battersen]

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1944-02-20

(Transcription)

1942年2月28日　京城日報

”戦捷日本”へ捧げる感謝

床しいトルコ・タタールの娘さん

容貌こそ異なれ亜細亜民族に違いなく大東亜戦争下の日本に住まう有難さに結束して起つ在城トルコ・タタール民族中央文化協会に属する会員は百名からある。昨年十二月十日から外国人臨時旅行取締規則が施行されて京城在住の外国人は一斉に新様式の届け出を為すこととなったが、百名を超ゆる在城のタタール人居住者は夫々手続き準備を進めたものの、一人頭二枚宛の願書は文字を知らぬこれ等の人々にとって困難な仕事であった。

同胞の困惑を知って「私にさせて下さいな」と代書を一手に引き受けたのは京城本町三丁目二〇ヌル商会ワリウラ・イブラヒム氏次女マルチヤさん（一九）で『私共亜細亜人種として戦勝国日本に住まわせて戴くことは、この上ない喜びであり、国民の一人として銃後を守ることは当然の務めです』と毎夜代書に精出し三百枚近い同族間の届け出を滞りなく済ませたのであった。

”隣組精神”に生きぬく愛国班員としてマルチヤさんの行為は書類を受け付けた本町署島田外事主任も激賞しているが、二十七日マルチヤさんの人為を次の如く語った。

マルチヤさんはタタール文化協会副会長ワリウラ・イブラヒム氏の次女で奉天の浪花高女出身の温順で感心な娘さんです。規則施行に伴う外国人届け出に際し百人余りの同族間の書類を一人で引き受け自宅で代表役を勤めたのです。時局を認識して率先協力するマルチヤさんの行為は見上げたものです。【写真＝美談の主マルチヤさん】

1943年9月9日　京城日報

日本語学校

在城トルコ人設立

大東亜共栄圏確立の聖戦は南に北に極度の激烈さで続けられ、”日本と共に起て”と共栄圏の全亜細亜人は総起ちの秋、京城在住のトルコタタール人団体では皇軍の格闘に感謝すると共に、完全なる亜細亜人に成り切る為の同族間の教育機関設立を願望していたが、八日大詔奉戴日を期し日本的教育に新発足の私設学校『ヌグマン学院』の開設をみることとなった。本町署管内を中心に現在府内で洋服既製品商を営むトルコタタール人は二十一戸の七十二名があり、何れも帝政露西亜革命後日本に渡り安居楽業感謝の日を送っているが、教育機関に恵まれず現在に至ったが、府内新堂町三六六シャムシノール・ヌグマノフ女史（四五）の寄付金五万円をもって学校開設をみることとなり、府内武橋町三一に二階建て一棟を三万九千円で買受け、『ヌグマン学院』を開設することとなり、設立者府内南大門通り三ノ二八カブドラ・ハキモ氏（五二）は京城府尹に認可申請を行った。十月初旬開校をまって第一回男女二十名を入学せしめ日本語を主体にタタール語、マホメット教義その他国民教育一般を教育し、日本的性格を強調することとなった。【写真＝シャムシノール・ヌグマノフ女史】

1944年2月2日　京城日報

タタール踊りで

白衣勇士慰問

亜細亜人は亜細亜人の手でと、十億の共栄圏民族は団結の誓いも固く総蹶起した。府内に住むトルコタタール人の一団も感激の情抑え難く、『皇軍の勇士へ感謝の誠を捧げましょう』と新しく開設をみた中区武橋町ヌグマン小学院の可愛い生徒さん十二名は紀元の佳節を期して陸軍病院に白衣の勇士を慰問の演芸会を催します。サニヤ嬢ほか三名の古典舞踊”タタールの踊り”第十九種目は何れも児童の赤誠こもる慰問の花束で勇士にヤンヤの喝采が期待されます。【写真＝タタールの踊り】

1944年2月20日　京城日報

赤い爪は駄目

叱るトルコ娘

去る紀元節の十一日府内武橋町ヌグマン小学院の生徒エレスタン・タルピーショフ他十二名のトルコタタールの可愛い児童が白衣の勇士慰問の演芸会を催して感激の一日を送りました。そのとき付き添いの婦人の一人サリマさんは友人の多くが指の爪を赤く染めているのを見て『苟も日本の兵隊さんにお見せするのに赤い爪とは何事ですか。米英的な粉飾は一切止めましょう．．．』と若い娘さんの間を説いて廻って慰問を終えました。この奇特なサリマ・バテルセン嬢の行為は正岡京畿道高等課長の知るところとなり、この程道庁に出頭してその日本精神をいたく賞讃されました。【写真＝サリマ・バテルセン嬢】

In 1942 Busan, Korean pastors and foreign residents (Russian Tatar family, English woman, Chinese consul) praise Imperial Japan as British POWs captured in Malaysia start arriving in the city

 

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) September 24, 1942

People on the ground asked about the captured prisoners of war landing on the peninsula

By Oyama (Korean surname: 'In') and Suyama, correspondents at Busan

Prisoners of war are coming, prisoners of war are coming! Prisoners of war who were captured in Malaysia have come to Korea in big ships. The British soldiers were once seen together in the midst of war, but on the 24th, [redacted] prisoners of war are to land in Busan, vividly showing the war achievements of the Imperial Military. Hearing the announcement of the Korean army, the 24 million people on the peninsula were filled with gratitude and excitement that they had been born in the Imperial Kingdom on this day and at this time. We would like to ask each of the 280,000 residents of Busan Prefecture, who are now looking at the crumbling remains of the British Empire with their own eyes, striving to complete the Greater East Asia War and learn wisdom from the follies of others, to give thanks for the announcement made today.

"Don't be arrogant after victory"

Shin'ichi Yamashita, Prefectural Governor of Busan

We have to win the war. The British prisoners of war who were defeated in the war also took up their swords for the sake of their country, but in the end they spared their own lives and exposed their own shame. The final decision and attitude of a person, not just a warrior, is important. I felt deeply that the saying in Hagakure's Analects, "A warrior must find it in himself to die," was true in all cases. It is only natural that they should be punished for their selfishness and injustice in East Asia before the war. No matter what kind of nation you are, you should never get carried away. Winning and not being arrogant about it is the essence of the Japanese spirit. Japan, as a victorious nation, must not make the same mistake that Britain, the home country of these prisoners of war, made. Photo: Yamashita, Prefectural Governor of Busan

The Joy of Living in Japan

A pro-Japanese White Russian family

By correspondent Takahashi

Mr. Baigudin Gusman (45), who has lived in Japan for 21 years and now runs a clothing business in Okura-machi 3-chome, Busan, has a very pro-Japanese family. He is a Turkish Tatar with the same red blood of the Orient running through his veins as ours. Mr. Gusman praised the greatness of Japan as follows.

"I think it is a natural judgment of God that the U.S. and Britain, which did not realize Japan's fundamental strength and underestimated its economic power, were defeated without a moment's hesitation and came ashore as pitiful prisoners of war. We are observing the one month Muslim fast since the eleventh day of this month in order to express our gratitude for the happiness of living peacefully and without inconvenience as residents under the grateful patronage of Japan. During this period, we will pray to God for the completion of the Greater East Asia War. On the day the fast ends, we will donate the living expenses we have saved during this period to the National Defense Fund and offer a small token of our gratitude". Photo: Mr. Gusman and his family

Mr. Bunkichi Sakata, a member of the Gyeongnam Provincial Council

The destruction of the Anglo-Saxon race is a self-inflicted wound. In contrast to their misjudgment of Japan's capabilities before the war, our country is well aware of the other side and is steadily making giant strides in building a new world order. We the gun-toting people must strengthen our determination to work together and be ready for tomorrow.

Comments by Reverend Minister Elder Yang 

"In all my dealings with the British and the Americans over the past few decades, they have never expressed their own faults or regretted them. I think it is because of their greed and contempt for East Asians. That is why they pretend to be sheep on the surface, but when you look deeper, you see that they are always two sides of the same coin. Although they are people who believe in Jehovah God, they have been using the natural resources and man-made treasures given to them by God for the purpose of exploiting East Asia, hiding behind the name of religion. In the Bible, it is said that 'God opposes the proud'. The fact that they were defeated by the righteous advance of the Imperial Army and are now prisoners of war who have arrived in Korea, I believe that God has taken away their blessings".

Heaven's Punishment

Comments by Elder Seo

"It is a great joy to be able to use the British and American prisoners of war from the Greater East Asia War for the construction of East Asia in Korea. Of course, they should be defeated if they extend the evil hand of aggression in the name of religion. That is the punishment that Heaven has sent down. I can remember when I was in church and they were preaching the way of God with their mouths, but their attitude was always one of contempt. I have no doubt that we, the people of East Asia, should strive for the construction of Greater East Asia with a Japanized Christianity". (Photo: Elder Seo)

Now I know the sins of my ancestral country

Englishwoman Maria's Story of Repentance

By correspondents Suyama and Aoki

Maria Yarmouth Debritt (21), also known as Keiko Suzuki, whose parents are both British, has been living in Japan for over 20 years and is now making her own living running a coffee shop in Busan, in order to live strongly in accordance with her strange fate. When it was announced that the prisoners of war would arrive in Korea on the 24th, she told her defeated ancestral country about her joy of living in Japan.

"I was born in Kobe and grew up in Japan, and I imagined my ancestral country as though it was an illusion to me. But now, with this reality in front of my own eyes, I know East Asia more clearly, and I have come to know Japan as a country with a strong sense of justice. The sins of my ancestral country over the past several hundred years have been thrown off the face of the earth, along with their mask hiding their aggression in East Asia. I am determined to live my whole life in Japan, offering my gratitude for this great unfolding history, in which a brighter world will be built together with Japan". (Photo: Keiko speaking)

Very moved to contribute to this country

Consul Zhou of the Republic of China

"By welcoming the British prisoners of war, we can clearly understand how bravely our friends of the Japanese military fought for the construction of Greater East Asia. Witnessing the capture of the British prisoners of war has become a splendid teaching tool for those who have little awareness of war, teaching them that 'the war is something that should be won'. All the peoples of East Asia must cooperate with each other as much as the heroes on the front lines, and push forward to complete the objectives of the war with all the strength of our alliance. I am pleased to have the honor of expressing my feelings today in the same spirit as the Japanese people, who are my friends". (Photo: Mr. Zhou Jiren)

Industrialization of Logistics in the South Pacific

The peninsula is the best place

Remarks by Mr. Hoshihiyoshi Konishi on his visit to Seoul

Naval Captain Hoshihiyoshi Konishi (51), a former researcher at the Planning Institute and managing director of the South Pacific Economic Research Institute, a foundation famous for its research on the South Pacific, came to Seoul on the 21st as a member of the Colonial Management Committee.

He visited Governor Koiso, and held various discussions on the issue of corporatization of South Pacific resources on the peninsula. On the 23rd, he visited his nephew Ukita at his lodgings in 46 Kitayonekura-cho, and we asked him about his visit to Korea. (Photo: Mr. Konishi speaking)

"I have a deep connection with Korea. Around the time of the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, my father came to Korea to advocate for the spread of the Imperial Way, and his relatives have lived here since then. That's why this place is very nostalgic for me. I had visited here when I was in the naval academy and last June, but this time I wanted to do a field survey on the economic partnership between the peninsula and the South Pacific.

First of all, I think that the goods that Korea needs from the South Pacific are wood, rubber and iron. In particular, Korea has made great progress in the rubber industry, which is ideal. We should bring both wood and iron and industrialize them on a large scale. Also, I think it is urgent to send more and more settlers from Korea to the South Pacific, especially to Mindanao and New Guinea".

Reporting about the situation on the ground

Association President Hada

To the Imperial Cooperation Conference

How is the total power movement in Japan proper becoming more active? How should the general movement in Korea make great strides in the future? With such aspirations for the management of the Association in mind, Lieutenant General Hada left Seoul at 14:40 on the 23rd on the Akatsuki train accompanied by Mr. Akita, Chief of the General Affairs Division, to attend the Central Cooperation Conference of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and the Third Liaison Conference for the Imperial Supporters' Movement for Japan and the Colonies to be held in Tokyo from the 26th to the 29th as a representative of Korea. Before his departure, the President said that he would bring back many gifts and that he had the following aspirations for his trip.

"The Central Cooperation Conference, which includes the principals of national schools and even the principals of girls' schools, is truly a general meeting of the people. For this reason, Japan proper is a step ahead of Korea in terms of the total power movement reporting the situation on the ground to the higher-ups, and there is much to be heard.

Fortunately, I will be there as a representative of Korea, but I would like to listen to this conference from a Korea-centered standpoint, asking myself 'How should I apply this?' I am sure I will bring back many gifts. Representatives from Taiwan, the South Seas, Sakhalin Island, Kwantung Leased Territory, and other areas will gather at the liaison conference on October 1, and three representatives from Korea are scheduled to attend. The liaison conference has not yet reached the point where the various regions can come up with a comprehensive agenda and make it a movement at once".

The president is scheduled to return to his post on October 5.

All the above photos have been censored and the articles have been approved by the Korean Army.

Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-09-24

Reddit Link: In 1942 Busan, Korean pastors and foreign residents (Russian Tatar family, English woman, Chinese consul) praise Imperial Japan as British POWs captured in Malaysia start arriving in the city : korea (reddit.com)

(Transcription)

京城日報　昭和十七年九月二十四日

俘虜、半島に上陸を現地に聴く

【釜山にて大山（寅）須山両特派員発】

俘虜が来る、俘虜が来る、マレーの俘虜が大きな船で朝鮮にきた。一度は戦火の中に相見えた英兵ではあったが、皇軍の生々しい戦果を物語る俘虜〇〇〇〇が二十四日釜山に上陸するのだ。朝鮮軍の発表をきき、半島二千四百万は此の日此の時こそ皇国に生を享けた感謝と感激の深念にひたるのであった。崩潰してゆく大英帝国の敗残の姿を今此の眼で眺め、前車の覆えるをよき戒とし、大東亜戦完遂に邁進せんとする釜山府民二十八万の各層に今日発表せられた感謝を訊く。

”勝って驕るナ”

釜山府尹　山下真一

戦争には勝たねばならぬ。敗戦英国の俘虜も一応は祖国のために剣を執ったのであるが、最後の場合に身命を惜しんで生き恥を曝してしまった。武人に限らず人は最後の決心と態度が大切である。葉隠論語の”武士は死ぬこととみつけたり”ということは、いずれの場合においても真実であることをしみじみ感じた。戦前東亜をわがもの顔で歩き、不義非道を働いた彼等であると思うと当然な酬いを受けたとも思われる。如何なる国民と雖も決して思い上がってはいけない。勝って驕らざるは日本精神の真髄である。戦勝国日本はこれ等の俘虜の母国である英国のとったような轍を踏んではならないと深く府民と共に感ずる次第である。【写真＝山下釜山府尹】

日本に住む喜び

グ親日白系露人談

【高橋特派員発】

日本在住二十一年いまは釜山府大倉町三丁目で洋服商を営むバイグージン・グスマン氏（四五）は大の親日家庭だ。その血管には我等と同じ東洋の赤い血が脈々と流れるトルコタタールだ。そのグスマン氏は日本の偉大さを次の如く讃えるのであった。

日本の底力を悟らず経済力を軽視した米英が呆気なく敗退して哀れな俘虜の姿で上陸して来ることは当然な神のお裁きだと思います。私達在住者が不自由なく日本の有難い御庇護で安穏に生活し得る幸福を感謝するため、去る十一日から一か月間、モハメット教の断食を続けていますが、この期間中私達は大東亜戦争完遂を神に祈願し断食の終った日には、この間に節約し得た生活経費を国防献金して感謝の微衷を捧げたいと話し合っています。【写真＝グスマン氏一家】

慶南道会議員　坂田文吉氏談

アングロサクソン民族の滅亡は自業自得といわねばならない。彼等が戦前日本の実力を見ることを誤ったのに反し、わが日本がよく対局に刮眼し着々建設の巨歩を進めていることは世界新秩序既に成るの感が深いのである。われわれ銃後国民は一致協力不退転の決意をいよいよ強固にし、明日への備えを固めなければならない。

長老　粱聖奉氏談

過去数十年間に亘って英米人と交って来たが、彼等は自己の過失を絶対に表明せず、それを悔いようとせぬ。それは東洋人に対する侮蔑と貪欲からだと思う。それだけに表面羊の如く装うが、一歩踏み込んでみると何時も表裏不同である。彼等はエホバの神を信ずる国民であるに拘わらず、神より与えられた天然資源並びに人為的財宝をもって東洋搾取のために侵略政策を宗教の美名に隠れて敢行して来たのである。聖書に「高慢なる者は退けよ」といわれた。皇軍の正義進撃に連敗し、今や俘虜の身となって来鮮したことは、神が彼等から祝福を取り上げたものと思う。

天の刑罰
徐長老の談

大東亜戦争の戦果たる英米人の俘虜を朝鮮で東亜建設に使役することは何より嬉しいことです。宗教の名の下に侵略の魔の手を伸ばす彼等は当然敗れるべきだ。それは天が下した刑罰です。今に思い当るが、教会で口に神の道を説きながら、その態度たるや何時も侮蔑そのものであった。我等東洋人は日本化されたキリスト教によって大東亜建設に邁進すべきだと信じて疑いません。【写真＝徐長老】

今ぞ知る祖国の罪

英人マリヤさんの悔悟談

【須山、青木両特派員】

父母を英国人にもつマリヤ・ヤルモデブリートこお鈴木圭子さん（二一）は奇しき運命に強く生きるべく在日二十年の生活を経て、今は釜山府内の某喫茶店に自活の途を辿っている。二十四日朝鮮に俘虜来るとの発表の報に彼女は日本に生きる喜びを敗戦祖国に告げるのであった。

神戸で生れ日本で育った私には祖国の姿が一つの幻想でもあったのですが、今この現実の眼の前にして私ははっきりと東亜を知り、正義に強い日本を知り得ました。祖国がなした過去数百年来の罪は東亜侵略の仮面と共に地球の外になげ出され、明るい世界が日本と共に建設されてゆくこの大歴史に感謝を捧げ、一生を日本に生きる決心です。【写真＝語る圭子さん】

親邦へ献ぐ感激

周中華民国領事談

英兵俘虜を迎えて友邦日本軍が大東亜建設のため如何に勇敢に戦い抜いたかがはっきり理解されます。この俘虜を目撃して戦争に対する認識の乏しい人々に「戦争は勝つべきものだ」ということを教える立派な教材にもなり、全東亜民族が前線勇士に劣らぬ協力の下に盟邦の総力を挙げて戦争目的完遂に邁進せぬばなりません。自分は中旦如親邦日本国民と同じ心持で今日の感激を表明し得る光栄を喜ぶものであります。【写真＝周済人氏】

南方物資の工業化

半島こそ最適地

小西干比吉氏来城の弁

前企画院調査官で南洋通りとして著名な財団法人、南洋経済研究所、常務理事、海軍大佐小西干比吉（五一）は今回拓務省委員として二十一日来城。

小磯総督を訪れ、南方資源の半島での企業化問題について種々懇談を遂げたが、二十三日宿舎北米倉町四六の令甥右喜太氏方に訪れ来鮮の弁を訊いてみた。【写真＝語る小西氏】

私は朝鮮とは深い因縁がある。明治二十七年ごろ日清戦争当時、父は皇道普及を提唱して来鮮したことがあり、その後身内もこちらに在住している。そんなわけで非常に懐かしい土地だ。それに海軍兵学校時代と去年六月に訪れたわけだが、今回は半島と南方の経済的提携に就いて現地調査をしたいと思い来たわけだ。

まず朝鮮へ南方から求める物資は木材とゴム、鉄等であると思う。殊に朝鮮はゴム工業では長足の進歩をしていることはうってつけだ。木材も鉄も持って来て大規模な工業化することにならう。それから朝鮮から今後どしどし南方、特にミンダナオ島やニューギニヤ地方に開拓民を送ることが急務だと思う。

下情上通を聞きに

波田聯盟総長

翼賛協力会議へ

内地の総力運動はどのように挺身しつつあるか。朝鮮の総力運動は今後どのように躍進するべきか、と聯盟運営の新抱負を胸に秘めて総長波田中将は来る二十六日から二十九日まで東京に開かれる大政翼賛会中央協力会議及び第三回内外地翼賛運動連絡会議に朝鮮代表として出席するため、飽田庶務課長を帯同二十三日十四時四十分京城発”あかつき”で東上することとなった。出発前に総長は沢山土産を持って帰るぞと東上の抱負を次のごとく語った。

”中央協力会議は国民学校の校長や女学校の校長までを網羅して真に国民総常会の観がある。それだけに総力運動としての下情上通には朝鮮よりも一歩前進したものがあり、聴くべきものも多いだろう。

幸いに私は朝鮮代表として臨席するが””如何に参考すべきか”という朝鮮の主体的地位からこれを聴きたいと思っている。きっと沢山な土産が持って帰れるだろう。十月一日に開かれる内外地連絡会議には台湾、南洋、樺太、関東州、その他の代表が集るが、朝鮮からは三名出席の予定だ。連絡会議はまだ各地が綜合的議題を出して一斉にこれを運動化するというころまでは行っていない。

なお総長は十月五日帰任の予定。

【以上何れも写真は釜要検閲済、記事ー朝鮮軍許可済】