Korean father and sushi chef boasts that his two children ages 3 and 7 not only don't know a single word of Korean, they don't even know yet that they're Korean, he doesn't let his 20 employees speak Korean, he hopes 'all Koreans will become true Japanese people as soon as possible' (Seoul 1942)

 

Left-to-right: father Umeyoshi (42), daughter Hideko (7), mother Tokuko (40), son Yōzō (3). 

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) May 22, 1942

Unification between Japan and Korea starts with the Japanese Language

Without the "Imperial Spirit", You Cannot Make Sushi, says Mr. Kaneko Umeyoshi

The family of Kaneko Umeyoshi (42) lives at 2-90 Motomachi and operates a well-known sushi restaurant called "Sakura Sushi" that everyone in the Yongsan neighborhood knows about. This family also regularly speaks Japanese and wears Japanese clothes like few others.

Mr. Kaneko is wearing Japanese clothes on a huge body of more than 20 kan (OP note: equivalent to 75 kg or 165 lb). It is hard to believe this uncle from "Sakura Sushi" when he says with a friendly smile that he is Korean-born. Fellow Koreans would dubiously ask themselves "What?" without thinking as they see how he impeccably wears his Japanese clothes and speaks Japanese so crisply. His wife and two children all love to wear Japanese clothes as well.

The Kaneko family lives by the spirit of the Imperial people and are Japanese people in body and soul, which is rare to see these days even among regular Japanese speakers. In 1925, at the age of 15, Mr. Kaneko went to Tokyo and worked hard at learning how to make sushi until he was 19. Then he returned to Korea and soon married his wife Tokuko (40). Since then, he has been at his current location for 20 years, gaining a reputation for his Japanese clothes and his Japanese language skills, and his restaurant "Sakura Sushi" has become widely known.

Since then, Mr. Kaneko says he has never spoken any other language than the Japanese that he learned in Tokyo. "It's funny. Nowadays, it is more difficult for me to speak Korean," he says with a wry smile. Of course, he doesn't own any Korean clothes, but he has never worn them even once since he was a child.

He adopted a Japanese name when he was in Japan proper. He considered his children's future prospects and reasoned that he should raise his children to become true Imperial people, so he should give his children Japanese-style names. First, his wife adopted a Japanese name. Then he named his eldest daughter Hideko (7), a first-grade student at Motomachi Elementary School (present-day Seoul Namjeong Elementary School). Next, he named his eldest son Yōzō (3). He raised his children speaking only Japanese and wearing only Japanese clothes. These days, his children not only don't know a single word of Korean, they don't even know yet that they are Korean. This resulted in an not-so-funny incident where he sweated quite a bit over how to enroll Hideko in school, and she was finally allowed to enroll even though he was told that there was no more room.

"I currently have about 20 employees, but I don't allow them to speak Korean at all. Two years from now, more and more men will become soldiers, even here in Korea, so it would be a pity if they cannot speak Japanese well", said Mr. Kaneko.

Mr. Kaneko really hopes from the bottom of his heart that all Koreans will become true Japanese people as soon as possible. (Photo: Kaneko's family)

A donation of prize money

Mr. Yoon Eung-Byeon, a fourth-grade student at Kyodong Elementary School, visited the Jongno Police Station on May 21 to donate the prize money that he received when his light control shading device was selected to receive a special prize in the "Air Defense Product Exhibition" held by the police station.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-05-22

(End of Translation)

This article is part of a series published by the government of Japan-colonized Korea in 1942 to highlight Korean families that were considered "households of the Japanese language" and exclusively spoke Japanese at home. Here are three other Korean families that were featured in this series:

• In 1942, pro-Imperial Japanese Korean parents boasted that their six children born and raised in Korea could not understand a word of Korean, because they 'bit to death' any Korean words which might accidentally slip out of their mouths, for which they were laughed at by other Koreans
• In 1942, one pro-Imperial Japan Korean family went to great lengths to force Japanese on their children, scolding a son for informally learning some basic Korean at school, making sure their Korean-speaking grandmother visiting them in Seoul from Kaesong did not influence them too much
• As a child, one Korean father was tormented by Japanese teachers who berated him as 'an idiot who can't understand Japanese', so he and his wife imposed the Japanese language on their six children to make sure they did not suffer the same trauma that he did 

Why am I posting this kind of content? Read my reasons here.

The Sakura Restaurant was located at Motomachi 2-90, as shown in this map of Seoul from 1933:

This is the same location in Seoul today as shown in Google Maps:

There appear to be an apartment building and some small shops where Sakura Sushi Restaurant used to stand - the restaurant appears to have disappeared.

(Transcription)

京城日報　1942年5月22日

内鮮一体は「国語」から

『皇民魂』無くして”すし”は握れぬよ
金子梅吉さん語る

龍山界隈で「桜ずし」といえば誰一人知らぬ人もないほど”おすし専門店”として有名な元町二ノ九〇金子梅吉（四二）一家も亦挙げて他に劣らぬ”国語常用と和服”の家だ。

二十貫余の巨躯に愛想のいい笑みを湛えた和服姿の「桜ずし」の親爺さんが”半島生れですよ”と云ってもちょっと信じかねるくらい板についた着物の着こなしから、歯切れのいい国語に同じ半島人でさえ思わず”？”と反問したくなるほどで、奥さんも二人の子供さんもみんな和服愛用者だ。

皇民精神に生きる金子さん一家には国語常用など今更ない、心身ともに日本人だ。大正十四年、十五歳のとき東京に赴き、十九歳までみっちり「おすし」の握り方に精を出して来た金子さんは帰鮮すると間もなく夫人徳子さん（四〇）と結婚。それ以来現在の場所に二十年間和服と国語で評判をとり、”桜ずし”として広く馴染まれて来た。

その後は東京仕込みの国語以外話したことがないという金子さんは「どうもなんですよ。今ではかえって朝鮮語の方が使いにくいんですよ」と面映ゆく笑っている。鮮服だって勿論持ってもいないが、子供の時分からただの一度だって着たことはないとのこと。

創氏なんかも内地にいるときからのことで子供の将来を考えると子供達の名前だって内地風につけていなくちゃ将来、真からの皇民には育てて上げられないと。先ず奥さんから創氏を始め、長女の秀子ちゃん（七つ）＝元町国民学校一年生＝長男の洋三ちゃん（三つ）と名付け、育児も一切国語と和服だけで押し通し、今では子供さん達は一つも朝鮮語を知らぬばかりか、半島人であるということすら知ってないそうだ。そのため秀子ちゃんの入学問題に就いては随分頭を悩まされ、定員で駄目だというのをやっと入学を許可して貰ったという笑えぬ挿話もある位だ。

「現在私のところには奉公人が二十人ほどいますが、これも全然朝鮮語は使わせないんですよ。再来年からは朝鮮からも、どしどし兵隊さんになって行くというのに国語を十分話せないようでは申し訳ありませんよ」

金子さんは本当に一日も早く半島人全部が真からの日本人になり切って呉れにやいかんですからね．．．と心から希うように語った。【写真＝金子さんの一家】

御褒美を献金

校洞国民学校四年生尹應變君は二十一日鐘路署を訪れ、同署主催の「防空作品展覧会」に灯火管制遮光具を出品し特選さた際貰った賞金をそっくり献金寄託した。

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/sv0kw4/korean_sushi_chef_boasts_that_his_two_children/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Simon Young Kim (김영근), a South Korean violin virtuoso and disciple of famous violinist Jascha Heifetz, Simon was once my teacher and mentor, and his son was my best friend in elementary school

Simon Young Kim is a violin virtuoso who is apparently somewhat of a celebrity in the South Korean classical music scene. When I was in elementary school, he was also my mentor and violin teacher. His son, whom I will call 'Alex' in this post, was my classmate and best friend at school (not using his real first name to respect his privacy). This post is my recollections of my time spent with Simon and Alex as a child in the late '80s.

Simon Kim is well known as a disciple of famous violinist Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987), and he has played for many symphonies and taught countless students throughout his long music career. You can find videos of his performances and articles about his life by Googling "Simon Young Kim" or "김영근 바이올린" ("Kim Young-geun violin" in Korean). However, I believe the articles forgot to mention one important aspect about his work: that he was not only a good violin teacher, but also a great ambassador for Korea, in that taught his students about his homeland. In this way, he had a big influence on my own attitudes about Korea and the Korean people.

Simon Kim started learning violin when he was seven years old. As a child prodigy and as a young man, he performed at concerts touring all over the world. One day, he had a rare chance to audition for Heifetz, who then accepted him as a student. However, he could not immediately go to the US to study under Heifetz, since he did not fulfill his military service in South Korea. In 1973, Mrs. Yook Young-soo, the wife of South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee, intervened to let Simon Kim leave to go to the US. Mrs. Yook was subsequently assassinated the following year in 1974. Since then, his long music career has taken him to San Diego, Honolulu, and Boston, with performances all over Japan, Korea, the United States, and Canada. A few years ago, Simon moved back to South Korea to teach top music students in Seoul. Source: 하이페츠 연주법으로 고국에 보은하고 싶다! (m-economynews.com)

But when I first met him and his family in the late '80s, I was a Japanese kid in elementary school living with my parents and my sister in a small New England town. I was unhappy at the time, because I got to personally see both the US and Japan by traveling back and forth between the two countries, and I felt that life in the US sucked in comparison to Japan. I missed the food, the anime, the manga, the TV programs, the music, the toys, everything it seemed. This was before the Internet as we know it today, so I even used a shortwave radio to listen to crackly Japanese radio programs. I was that desperate to listen to any spoken Japanese that was not from my family, even boring news programs.  My grandparents took pity on us and sent us occasional packages of textbooks, magazines, video tapes, and cassette tapes with recordings of our favorite animes, but we still missed Japan. We often resented our parents for moving us to the United States for work. 

I also didn't like my elementary school very much. This was the late '80s, so some Americans felt threatened by the rise of Japan as an economic superpower, and some teachers directed that hostility towards me to some extent. When classmates learned I was Japanese, their reaction was like, "You're Japanese? You eat sushi? That's raw fish, right? Gross!" The student body was not very diverse, and I was one of only a very small number of minority children in the school.

So, I was glad to find that there was one other Asian kid in my class, Alex Kim. Alex and I became best friends almost immediately. Alex, who had lived in Hawaii before coming to New England, told me that there were lots more Asian people in Hawaii, and most Americans knew about Asian food there. I was very jealous and wondered why my family didn't move to Hawaii. We were in agreement that a lot of our classmates were racist and prejudiced. 

One time, he actually brought a large lunch box to school full of what looked to me like Korean-style sushi. I was very impressed by his bravery, since I would not have had the guts to bring a traditional Japanese bento box for lunch and risk ridicule by my classmates. But Alex really didn't care what other kids thought of him, and he generously offered to share his lunch with his classmates to let them taste some homemade Korean cuisine, but there were almost no takers. Indeed, the other kids thought he was a weirdo and shunned him in the cafeteria, except me. I was curious about his food, since I had never seen anything like it, but when I tasted it, I thought it was the most delicious food I had ever tasted. It sure beat the peanut butter and jelly or bologna sandwiches that my parents packed for me, or the stale chicken nuggets, cheese pizza, overcooked green beans, and baked beans that we would normally eat in the hot lunch line for a dollar. Those other kids had no idea what they missed out on.

Alex's example helped me build my self-confidence and not care so much about what other people thought of me. I think we gave each other confidence to be more openly Asian in school. So one day, Alex and I gave presentations to our classmates about our respective countries, and we explained the differences between Japan and Korea. I talked about the Japanese educational system, the clean and efficient Tokyo subway system, and the bullet trains. Alex talked in length about the Seoul 1988 Olympics, which had happened only a year or two before at this point, and how South Korea rapidly developed in the past few decades. After that, I believe that our classmates' attitudes toward us slowly started to change for the better.

National Geographic article about South Korea in 1988: https://imgur.com/gallery/hIQKHmX

My old Reddit post featuring the above article: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/iengmt/south_korea_in_1988_national_geographic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

One day, Alex invited me over to his house, where I got to meet his father Simon. I listened with interest as Alex spoke Korean to his father, the first time in my life that I ever witnessed Koreans speaking Korean to each other. My first impression listening to spoken Korean was that the endings of Korean sentences sounded somewhat Japanese-like with "-nida", "-nika", etc. 

I noticed that there was no TV set in the house. Simon explained that he did not find it necessary to have television in the house, because then his son could concentrate on reading books instead. The Kim family did not have beds in the house yet, but they did have mats and Japanese-style futon bedding which looked just like the ones that our family used in Japan.

Naturally, the conversation turned to music. I explained to him that my sister and I were playing both the piano and the violin. My sister was much more talented with the violin, preferring it over the piano, whereas I tended to like the piano more than the violin. 

Simon asked me how I felt about living in the US. I feel kind of embarrassed about it now, but I gave a rather extreme answer, telling him that I thought that the United States was hell, and Japan was heaven. I contrasted Tokyo and New York City, drawing from my own personal experience of living in both cities. I argued that Tokyo's subways were clean, safe, modern, and efficient while New York subways were dirty and scrawled with graffiti everywhere, crime-ridden, antiquated, and inefficient. I went on to say that Japan was clean, safe, orderly, efficient, polite, with better food, TV, anime, music, and toys. 

Simon Kim patiently listened to my rant with some bemusement, but then he expertly pivoted our discussions to my dreams. What do I personally want to do with my life? He said that the best country for you to live in is the country that offers you the most opportunities to pursue your dreams. He told me about his own life and asked me if I knew what a military dictatorship was. I didn't know what it was. He explained and told me that he grew up in a country under a military dictatorship, where his opportunities to pursue his dreams were limited. He was only able to leave South Korea with much difficulty to pursue his dreams in the United States, study under Heifetz, and teach music to students. 

I was only an elementary student at the time, but it did sort of make sense for me then. He did mention his Christian faith and the fact that Christian missionaries did not complain when they went to third world countries that were very inconvenient to live in, because they were pursuing their dreams of helping people. I still missed Japan, but Simon Kim helped me think a little more about the different possibilities about my own future, and be a little more grateful about my educational opportunities now. After all, unlike my counterparts in Japan, I was learning fluent English, which could help me in all sorts of different career paths, especially since I already knew my native Japanese. 

Simon then told me that his parents also spoke Japanese. I was surprised, and I questioned him some more. Then he told me that there was a time when the Japanese controlled Korea, so that's how they learned Japanese. I asked him, what do Koreans think of the Japanese language? Simon explained that, since the Koreans were forced to learn it under Japanese rule, many Koreans didn't have good feelings about the Japanese language.

I thought about it, then it made sense for me in a certain way, analogizing the Japanese language with the piano. I enjoyed playing the piano, even though my parents initially had to force me to practice. But other kids might not necessarily grow up enjoying the piano like I did, no matter how many times their parents forced them to practice the piano. 

Growing curious, I asked my parents what Japan did to Korea when it was a Japanese colony. My parents struggled to answer this question, but answered to the effect that the Japanese government forced Koreans to do things they didn't want to do, like speak Japanese, worship the Shinto religion, adopt Japanese customs, and that the Koreans were still mad about it. My curiosity stoked even more, I asked for more details, but my parents shut me off, ordering me to stop being so obsessed with lurid subjects. 

I went back to my friend Alex and asked him if he knew about this history. Alex reassured me that, since his family was Christian and practiced forgiveness, he didn't hold a grudge against me or Japanese people in general. But Alex told me that the Japanese in Korea were pretty bad. How bad? Alex and I headed to the library. We used card catalogs to look up some books, and then we found an old historical book that had some old black-and-white photos of the aftermath of the Sam-il Korean independence uprising in 1919. Particularly disturbing were the photos showing the Imperial Japanese soldiers standing guard as Korean rebels were crucified and burned. I was not supposed to see these as an elementary student, but here I was, looking at them. Don't these guys look like the Romans crucifying Jesus? Yeah, it was that bad, Alex whispered.

Later, Simon Kim took me in as a music student very briefly to correct my bad habits with my posture, but then he accepted my sister as a violin student. Today, she is quite an accomplished amateur violinist. I eventually gave up the violin and concentrated on the piano. I improved enough that, by adulthood, I could play some decent jazz pieces to sheet music, and I recently played the piano accompaniment to my sister's violin performance. After finishing elementary school, Alex and I went to separate middle schools, and I lost touch with Simon and Alex after we moved away from New England. But throughout the years, I would still reminisce about those days I spent in New England with Alex and his family.

Those fortuitous meetings with Simon and Alex kindled my interest in history which continues to this day. I cultivated my Japanese-English bilingualism over the years, and I also learned other languages, like Spanish, German, and Mandarin Chinese. As a college student, I studied in Germany and marveled at the frank and open discussions that Germans could have about the dark aspects of their history under totalitarian regimes. I researched my own family history and learned about my grandfather's military service as an Imperial Navy doctor in China, Indonesia, and the Pacific Islands during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. I visited Northeast China to examine the traces of its history under Imperial Japanese occupation. I read a lot about the experiences of Zainichi Koreans in Japan and the discrimination that they experienced.

I also followed with much concern the international flash points that have made the news in recent years and inflamed tensions between Korea and Japan, like Dokdo and comfort women. Many Japanese right-wing commentators observing the passionate anti-Japanese protests in South Korea would dismiss these protesters as all having a mental illness called Hwa-Byung, being unable to properly deal with their own personal anger issues. I found such racist caricatures of Koreans very troubling, since I knew that their anger was legitimate, especially given my increased knowledge of the history of Imperial Japan and my personal friendship with Simon and Alex. 

However, as I closely followed what the protesters were saying, I noticed that no one was saying things like "you committed cultural genocide on us!" or "you tried to wipe out our language!" I was confused as to why the Korean protesters did not also protest the cultural and linguistic genocide that Imperial Japan attempted on the Koreans, which I thought would be the overarching issue that not only covers Dokdo and Korean comfort women, but also many other abuses under Imperial Japanese colonial rule. To me, it was almost like if the Jews neglected to mention the genocide of their people, and instead just focused on the confiscation of their property and the rape of their women. But then it occurred to me: maybe those protesters really don't know about these aspects of their own history that well, and that's way they weren't being brought up in the protests.  

The Imperial Japanese authorities believed in a totalitarian ideology called the Imperial Way (皇道, kōdō) as they colonized Korea. Motivated by the Imperial Way, Governor Koiso put Korean girls in concentration camps to marry them off to Imperial Japanese soldiers. Motivated by the Imperial Way, Governors Minami and Koiso tried to eradicate the Korean language. Imperial Japan attempted cultural and linguistic genocide on Korea.

Yet these basic historical facts are not as well known or talked about as much as the basic facts about the Holocaust. Hitler believed in a totalitarian ideology called National Socialism, or Nazism. Motivated by Nazism, Hitler put Jews in concentration camps. Motivated by Nazism, Hitler tried to eradicate the Jews. Many more people in the world know these basic facts about the Holocaust than about the Imperial Japanese colonization of Korea.

It was clear to me that, among Koreans in general, there was a deep reserve of unresolved anger that was not far beneath the surface, because they all knew that they were somehow wronged in a profound way by the Imperial Japanese who colonized them. However, while Koreans generally know about some colonial policies, like Sōshi-kaimei (創氏改名, pressuring Koreans to adopt Japanese names), the imposition of the Japanese language, and the exploitation of Korean comfort women, few knew about Minami (the self-proclaimed Father of the Korean Peninsula) or Koiso and their key roles in the attempted cultural and linguistic genocide of the Korean people. If they did, there would probably be more effigies of them burning in the streets and more defaced images of their faces on posters alongside Shinzo Abe's effigies and defaced images. 

I believe that, without sufficient knowledge about how the ideological belief system of Imperial Japan worked and how the decisions of the key political leaders of Japan-colonized Korea led to these oppressive colonial policies towards the Korean people, it's hard to channel anger effectively. What would things be like, if the Jews didn't know that Hitler put them in death camps, that Hitler tried to eradicate them, that Hitler believed in a totalitarian ideology called National Socialism? I venture to guess that, if the Jews didn't know any of this, they would probably just aimlessly blame the entire German people for what happened to them. That's why I believe that proper historical knowledge is an important first step towards a proper Vergangenheitsbewältigung, or properly dealing with the past.

The more I learn about the unresolved historical issues between Korea and Japan, the more daunting they seem. I have felt at times hopelessness and at times felt anger towards the Imperial Japanese leaders who committed these crimes in the first place, and also towards the postwar Japanese leaders who left these issues unresolved and passed them onto the younger generations instead. However, I always look back at my memories of my great friendship with Simon and Alex and remind myself that true reconciliation between Koreans and Japanese is still possible. 

The closest that the postwar Japanese government ever got to issuing a formal apology was the Kono statement of 1993, which specifically addressed the wartime comfort women issue, and the Murayama statement of 1995, which acknowledged that "Japan ... through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations". However, it became clear that most of the key leaders of the Japanese government were not on board, and those statements were fiercely criticized. 

Those statements were ineffectual not only because they did not reflect the views of the majority of the leaders of the Japanese government, but also because it did not do enough justice to acknowledge the severity and seriousness of the crimes that were committed. Cultural genocide is a very serious matter. The crime victims were not statistical figures. Rather, they were families and individuals who each had their own stories of humiliation and degradation to tell. Korean schoolgirls who were ordered to rat out fellow students who spoke Korean. Korean farmers who sent off all the rice that they made to Japan, while only receiving Manchurian chestnuts in return. Countless Korean civilians who were killed during the suppression of the Samil independence movement of 1919. The list goes on and on, and some of their stories are documented on this blog.

I don't pretend to have the answers to these difficult questions. I'm just one individual, and there is little that I can personally do as one person. But the one baby step that I am taking on my own is maintaining this blog, which translates some contemporary Japanese news articles published in Japan-colonized Korea which document some disturbing things that I believe merited closer study. By making these articles more accessible to the international audience, I am hoping that I am moving the historical discussion in a productive direction. Ideally, a government or institution would be doing this work, but since no one else is doing this, I am taking the initiative and doing this as a private citizen.

Many of you will notice that this blog is ad-free, so I am not making any money off of it. This is a purely a nonprofit activity that I am personally paying for as my way of giving back to the community. Simon Kim, who has selflessly given back so much over his long music career, is my inspiration as I continue maintaining and expanding this blog. I hope this blog can continue to be a helpful resource to you as we continue to try to make sense of this crazy world.

Korean schoolgirls make improvised 'tadon' coal dumplings for the war effort, and they gang up on a dissenting girl who protested against the dirty working conditions, taunting her as being a weakling since before the battles in the Solomon Islands started (1943, Duksung Women's Vocational School)

 

Notes: The vocational students of Duksung Women's Vocational School were making improvised, handmade coal briquettes, or balls of coal dust that were kept together with some gluing agent. Coal/charcoal briquettes are known as 'Yeontan' in Korean and as 'Rentan' in Japanese, and their spherical form is known as 'Tadon' in Japanese. Fuel shortages were becoming more acute throughout Japan and its colonies as World War II progressed, so this must have been a desperate measure to salvage as much coal scraps as possible to increase energy production. Yeontan continued to be used in South Korea until they were mostly phased out by the 2000's. 

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) August 22, 1943

The spirit of the fighting maidens

Students of Duksung Women's Vocational School make coal briquettes

The sun-blackened maidens were rolling out 'tadon' coal dumplings in their hands.... This was the work of the students of Duksung Women's Vocational School making coal briquettes, trying to cultivate the ingenuity of material production as warrior maidens. After much deliberation on how to make use of the more than ten tons of coal and briquette debris and detritus left over from the winter, Principal Fukuzawa turned to the labor of the students to make 'tadon' (coal dumplings), and every day since the beginning of the second semester, each grade has been working hard perspiring holy sweat to make 'tadon' dumplings.

There was a student who complained, "I don't want to do this kind of work, because it makes my hands dirty", but fellow students admonished her as being a weakling since before the ocean battles in the Solomon Islands started. The maidens silently worked hard to increase production, forgetting that their pure white work clothes and athletic caps were being stained black. Their tough appearance helped repel the midsummer heat. (Photo: Duksung Women's Vocational School students making coal briquettes)

Source: http://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-08-22

There are three other articles I previously posted of Korean schoolgirls keeping each other in line.

Correcting each other's spoken Japanese: 

https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/12/korean-residents-of-seoul-once-spoke.html

https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/12/in-japan-occupied-korea-koreans-often_16.html

Reporting each other for speaking Korean: https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/12/korean-high-school-student-uses.html

Why am I posting this kind of content? Read my reasons here: https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/11/nostalgia-for-imperial-japan-and-its.html

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年8月22日

戦う乙女の意気

徳成女実生が練炭作り

赤黒く陽灼けした乙女達の手にいくつともなくタドンの団子が丸められてゆく．．．これは決戦乙女に物資生産の工夫心を啓培しようとして実施した徳成女子実業生徒の練炭製造作業である。一冬に使った石炭や練炭などの屑や燃え残りが十トン以上もなるのをいかに利用すべきかといろいろ考究した福沢校長はタドン作りをと忽ち生徒の勤労作業に振り向け、二学期の初めから毎日各学年別にタドン団子の製造に聖汗を流しているのだ。

”手が汚れるからこんな仕事はやりたくないわ”と不平を漏らす生徒はソロモン海戦以前の弱い生徒だとお互いに戒め合い、純白の作業服や運動帽子が真黒汚れるのも忘れて黙々と生産増強に励ましむ乙女達の逞しい姿は真夏の暑さを撥ね飛ばしている。【写真＝徳成女子実生の練炭作り】

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/smlgop/korean_schoolgirls_make_improvised_tadon_coal/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

British and Australian prisoners of war arrive in Seoul and Incheon on September 25, 1942

 

Notes: For the best experience, I recommend also reading the first-hand accounts of the Allied prisoners of war to get the perspectives of both sides.

Some links that I found showing the first-hand stories of the Allied prisoners of war in Korea:

Keijo Camp | RFHG (fepowhistory.com)

familyhistory-markkirk - AlfKirk1916 (google.com)

Microsoft Word - PAC-JINSEN CAMP (axpow.org)

In his blog, Professor Akizuki Nozomi of Meiji Gakuin University identifies the former location of the former Seoul (Keijō) Prisoner of War Camp at present-day Singwang Girls High School (신광여자고등학교) at 서울시 용산구 청파동 3가100: (Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/U2dmKCo5U7XvBBTK8)

His blog entry in Japanese: Part 1: https://ameblo.jp/onepine/entry-12449283025.html Part 2: https://ameblo.jp/onepine/entry-12449507571.html

Below is the route that the Allied prisoners of war took during their march from Yongsan station to Keijō Camp (credit to Professor Akizuki):

Why am I posting this kind of content? Read my reasons here: https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/11/nostalgia-for-imperial-japan-and-its.html

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) September 26, 1942

British prisoners of war in disgrace
Alas, their walking pace tends to be unsteady

Having dreams on the first night in the prison camp

British prisoners of war with faces as if they had swallowed lead marched in four lines from Yongsan Station to the Seoul (Keijō) Prisoner-of-War Camp in Aobachō at midnight on the afternoon of September 25. The streets were packed and lined with spectators who had come to see the living spoils of war, the British prisoners of war, walking from the train station along Hangang-daero, turning at Samgakji and then toward Kyōmachi, and then walking from Motomachi 1-chōme to Aobachō 3-chōme.

Protected by military guards and honorable POW monitors of Korean descent, the prisoners of war walked with the same disheveled gait as on the day they were defeated on the Malaysian front. For a while, the crowd gasped upon seeing the varied appearances of the prisoners of war, whose eyes were unashamed and unabashed: neatly trimmed faces, shaved heads, curled up mustaches in the shape of the Chinese character for eight (八), carrying rolled up blankets and military packs resembling rucksacks on their backs, messy clothes and demeanor, stylishly dressed Australian soldiers. "Oh my! You see, we must not lose the war," the crowd whispered to each other here and there.

The prisoners of war arrived at the prison camp at 1:30 p.m., and a military-style internal affairs team was immediately organized in the camp yard. British officers and enlisted men, and Australian officers and enlisted men were selected in separate groups, and the enlisted men joined their respective groups. Their movements were extremely slow, and in contrast to the disciplined demeanor of our Imperial troops, there was no sense of bravery to be found in the soldiers.

At 2:00 p.m., after the division of the prisoners had been completed with an interpreter, all the prisoners lined up for the solemn announcement and swearing-in ceremony by Colonel Nagano of the Seoul Camp. Lt. Col. Cardell (the highest ranking officer among the prisoners of war) received the title of commander and gave the order "Kiwotsuke! (Attention!)" which he had already learned. Then he saluted Colonel Noguchi with a "Kashiranaka" salute.

Colonel Noguchi, the Director, stood on the center stage and gave the following instructions in a solemn tone through the microphone. Simultaneous interpretation was provided.

"The following is an admonition to you on the occasion of your internment in this Korean prison camp. In the first place, the United States and Great Britain have oppressed East Asia and attempted to invade and overrun a billion people. At this time, the people of our nation of 100 million rose up springing into action. In less than a few months, the Imperial Army, the sons of the gods, defeated the United States and Great Britain with valor and fury, achieving unprecedented results in the world.

This is a testament to the fact that the heavens favor the righteous. You have been defeated by the divine army. It is a natural consequence of your actions. You have lost the power to fight now, but you did face us once. You must well understand that your defeat was by the divine army.

Some of you may still be troubled by your defeat. But since you surrendered to us, you must clear your mind of hostility and follow our rules. You must endure being placed in a different environment and experiencing inconvenience due to different customs. If you　do not wipe away your hostilities today and obey us, we will give you the warm treatment prescribed by our excellent, world-renowned Bushido (the Japanese way of the warrior)."

Upon listening to these words, they realized that tides of the Greater East Asia War were turning decisively, since their own British military was defeated on all fronts in the fighting to the south, and their moods thickened with resignation. Dark shades appeared on their faces for a moment, as if they were more troubled by homesickness than by thoughts of their country's military strength.

After the admonition, they signed an oath that they would not flee and would obey all orders. It was three o'clock in the afternoon when everyone had completed the forms. Then they went to the internal affairs team. Each person was provided with four warm blankets. The prisoners of war assigned to the cooking team worked diligently to prepare dinner. Brown-haired hands began to chop the vegetables that filled the aluminum dishes. There was also a liquor store. The signs here and there were written in both Japanese characters and English letters. Nervous Korean monitors were working actively.

A rare sight: "soldiers in women's clothing"

Headed to Incheon Camp in silence

Incheon Telephone Report: Defeated prisoners of war numbering (redacted) people, who had no courage in the face of our righteousness, arrived at Sangincheon Station by special train at 2:15 p.m. on the 25th. This marked the first step in their march to enter the camp. From the square in front of the station and from the second-floor windows, they were gazed at by the proud Japanese people. Prisoners of war numbering (redacted) people lined up in four rows and columns under the command of our Imperial Army, remaining silent under the "white flag of silence".

Some of them were carrying bags with the numbers "B42" or "B52" written on them, and some were carrying backpacks with water bottles and lunch boxes hanging from them. Some wore navy blue and red women's clothing, perhaps given to them as mementos of their wives, and some even wore red flowers in their hats.

There was also an old prisoner of war who looked like a tourist in khaki shorts and hat, carrying a large trunk with labels stuck all over it. There were some wounded soldiers who were carried away in trucks. This was the pitiful state of the British prisoners of war, who had always been proud of the British Empire with their immorality and cruelty. They marched from the train station for 40 minutes, and then entered the camp in front of the Port train station (Photo: Prisoner of war unit on its way to Incheon Camp)

Three photos of the British prisoners of war: [Top] Director Noguchi's speech, [Middle] Entering the camp headquarters, [Bottom] Signing an oath with tattoos exposed

Surrender is the only known gesture

A glossy note to be preserved for posterity

The British prisoners of war, who we can only assume had been educated to believe the motto, "If our enemy is strong enough, we should surrender, then our lives will surely be spared," were sent here with facial expressions that almost looked as though they had never been involved in war. The words and deeds of these captives, who were uneducated and had a false worldview imbued in them, were full of bittersweet smiles from ignorance. Here are a few glimpses that we caught at the landing scene.

The prisoners of war afflicted by ringworms were dangling canvas bags resembling first aid kits on their backs and in front of themselves, clinking aluminum lunch boxes and thermos cups made out of coffee cans clink, and carrying flour bags under their arms. A young military doctor disinfected them with a sprayer at the bottom of the ramp as the prisoners of war with the ringworms walked about. The young military doctor then made a hand gesture instructing them to show him the palms of their hands, but instead they let go of their luggage under their arms and raised both hands. It seems they were only taught to surrender.

Then came material inspection. Every playing card they showed us was soiled and worn. These were the tools of gambling. There were many letters sent from the delinquent young women at the ports. Their blue eyes were darting desperately throughout all this.

The whole city of Busan was filled with hundreds of thousands of spectators. When they saw the wartime Japanese national uniforms, the perms, the Korean chima skirts, and the Korean durumagi overcoats, their blue eyes lit up and they innocently asked their captors if they were charging admission fees.

Chasing the dream of history

Surprised by their conceit

Private First Class Funakoshi, who graduated from the University of Washington and returned to Japan in 1939 with dual nationality, is working as an interpreter for the British prisoners of war. He recounted the following regarding his first time interacting with the British.

This was the first time I had come in contact with the British people, and I was surprised at their strong self-esteem. They must be having dreams of history. The reason why the British and Americans are so confident of their final victory is that they say that the military power of the United States is increasing day by day, while the military power of Germany is getting weaker day by day, which is inconceivable. Among the British officers who said such things, many are of noble extraction. The Australian soldiers were generally pure-hearted.

To the farming villages at harvest time
Sending soldiers home

Reinforcement personnel for bereaved family farmers

(Tokyo Telephone Report) The Army and Navy are very concerned about securing food supplies during wartime, and have decided to give some of the enlisted troops in Japan proper some leave time to return to their villages during the harvest season this year, when a good crop is expected. They are taking some really precious time off to return home while the Army is extremely busy defending the homeland during the Greater East Asia War as well as taking care of affairs for the departed troops. We request that ordinary farmers take this point into consideration and work with an awareness of themselves as a collective of warriors, while not falling into useless dependency.

In addition, the Army and Navy will provide active support and cooperation to the farmers of the families of fallen soldiers.

The authorities of the Army and the Navy will soon issue a memorandum to each corps under their control regarding this matter.

Young Pioneer Corps

Visited Seoul on the 29th

One hundred and forty-eight members of the Manchurian Pioneer Youth Volunteer Corps, who had undergone intense training at the Naepo Pioneer Training Center in Gangwon-do for one month and at the Naewon Training Center for three months, respectively, gathered in Seoul at 10:00 p.m. on the 29th. At 9:00 a.m. on the 30th, a send-off party was held in front of the main entrance of the Governor-General's Office with Commissioner Tanaka in attendance. They will take the 8:10 p.m. train to Manchuria.

The Youth Volunteer Corps will enter the Ning'an Training Center in Mudanjiang Province, where they will undergo a refresher training for three months before constructing a model pioneer village in Manchuria.

Source: http://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-09-26

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) September 24, 1942

Defeated British prisoners of war
British POWs land in Busan
Arriving in Seoul tomorrow

The living spoils of the Imperial Army

The living spoils of the Greater East Asia War... British prisoners of war from the Malaysian front numbering (redacted) people have finally landed at Busan on the morning of the 24th. This will mark their dramatic first step in the Korean peninsula, the military logistics base of the Asian continent, showcasing our transport team's globally top-ranked iron wall. In the past, British troops were running rampant in the world, treating it as if they owned it, but once the Imperial Military arose, they raised their white flags and surrendered for their lives. Now, with their defeated bodies, they are clearly showing their defeat to the eyes of the 24 million people on the Korean peninsula. On December 8 of last year, upon receiving the Imperial Rescript, the Imperial Military conquered the Pacific Ocean in just nine months. The gratitude and excitement of the Korean peninsula in receiving the souvenir of victory grew even more intense, and the resolve to complete the Greater East Asia War was inflamed to the utmost.

On this day of excitement, the port of Busan was completely ready to receive the prisoners of war, and everywhere you went in the city there were stories about them. It was the first time that they were seen on the silver screen of the news programs. And although they had heard about the prisoners of war and wondered what they would look like, they were filled with the joy of being able to see them with their own eyes one night later, their imaginings now turned into reality.

At the Arai Ryokan (guesthouse) in front of the station, where Colonel Atsuchi of the Korean military press office was stationed, groups of newspaper reporters, photo crews, and news cameramen came and went, busy communicating with each other so that the excitement of the announcement of the landing of the prisoners of war on the 23rd would be known behind the front lines. The port of Busan was filled with the excitement of the century that night. (Censored by the Korean Army)

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

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) March 1, 1943

Prisoners of war who arrived in Korea

Demons! Behold the raw remains of the U.S. and Britain's insidious defeat!

Published on March 8

Greatly Moving!

The day of rejoicing is coming for our 24 million compatriots!
Two great cultural films by Korean Films!

(Censored by Imperial General Headquarters, edited by Ahn Seok-yeong)

1944

Recommended by the Governor-General of Korea

Directed by Kenjiro Morinaga, supervised by the Korean Military Command and the Governor-General of Korea
Kenjiro Morinaga, Director
Akira Seto, Cinematography

Korean Film Distribution

March 1, all Korean red and white films are released simultaneously

Source: http://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-03-01

(Transcription)

京城日報　1942年9月26日

うらぶれの英人俘虜

哀れ歩調も乱れがち
収容所に第一夜の夢を結ぶ

鉛を嚥んだような面持ちの英人俘虜が四列の隊伍を組んで龍山駅から青葉町の京城俘虜収容所への市街行進に移ったのは二十五日の午後零時半、駅頭から漢江通、三角地を京町へ迂回し元町一丁目から青葉町三丁目までの俘虜通過の沿道は活きた戦果の英人俘虜たちを見んものと押しかけた観衆でギッシリと埋まっている。

警衛の兵隊と誉れの半島出身俘虜監視員に護られ、マレー戦線で敗れたその日を姿で歩調も乱れがちに往く俘虜の眼は恥ららいもなく臆する色もない綺麗に刈り込んだ顔、坊主頭、尻をピンと刎ねた八字髭、リュックに似た背嚢に巻いた毛布に肩にした雑然たる服装と風態、小粋な恰好をした濠洲兵ととりどりなこの俘虜の姿に観衆はしばらくは声をのんでいるが、”ああ！矢張り戦争は敗けてはいけない”とそこでもここでも囁き合っている。

俘虜たちが収容所に到着したのが午後一時三十分、収容所の営庭で直ちに軍隊式な内務班の編成が始められた。英人将校、下士官、濠洲人の将校、下士官が別班に選び出され、下士官班にそれぞれの兵隊が編み込まれる。動作は至極緩慢で、わが皇軍の規律ある態度と打って変わってどこを押しても勝ち目のない勇ましさの感得出来ない兵隊である。

通訳つきで班編成が終り、午後二時一同整列して京城収容所長野口大佐の諭告と宣誓式が厳粛に行われる。カーデル中佐（俘虜中最高官）が指揮官の名を受けて早くも覚えた”キヲツケ”の号令をかける。そして野口大佐に対し”カシラナカ”の敬礼を捧げる。

中央壇上に立った所長野口大佐はマイクを通じ荘重な口調で諭告をなす。逐条通訳が行われる。

汝らを朝鮮収容所に収容するに当り諭告を発す。そもそも今回の戦争は米英が東亜を圧迫し、侵略を企て十億の民を蹂躙せんとした。この時わが皇国一億の民は蹶然起ち上がった。神の子たる皇軍は勇猛を揮って米英を撃破し、数ヶ月を出でずして世界未曾有の戦果を挙げた。

これはまさに天は正義に与することを物語っているのだ。汝等は神軍に敵してしかして敗れたのである。当然の帰結である。汝等は今戦う力を失っているが、しかし一度はわれに立ち向かったのである。汝等が敗れたるは神軍に敵したことをよく了解しなければならぬ。

敗れてなは悩み続けている者もあろう。しかし、われに降伏した上は敵意を清算し、われの規定に従わなければならぬ。習慣の異なるため不自由なる環境に置かれることこれは我慢しなければならぬ。敵性をきょうこの日払拭して従いなば、われは世界に優れたる武士道によって規定されたる温かき取り扱いを与えるであろう。

と諄々と説けば自国英軍が南方各戦線でことごとく敗れ去り大東亜戦の戦局は既に決定的であることに気づき諦めの色が濃く動く。祖国の戦力のことを思うことよりも、望郷の念に虜われるのが重いのか暗い陰が一瞬顔を斑どる。

諭告が終ると次いで『逃亡を為さず総ての命に従う』宣誓書へのサインが行われる。全員が記入し終ったのが午後三時。それから内務班に入った。暖かい毛布が一人に四枚宛支給されている。炊事班にそれぞれ割り当てられた俘虜はせっせと夕食の仕度にかかった。アルミの食器に埋まる野菜が茶色の毛の手で切り始められた。酒保もある。そこここの標識には日本文字と英字が併記してある。緊張した半島出身の監視員が活発に動いている。

珍景”女服の兵隊”

黙々、仁川収容所へ

【仁川電話】わが正義の前には勇を語らぬ敗残捕虜〇〇名が二十五日午後二時十五分特別臨時列車で上仁川駅に到着。収容所入りの第一歩を印した。駅前の広場から二階の窓から射るような誇りだかい『ニッポン人』の視線を浴びて〇〇名の捕虜がわが皇軍の指揮にしたがい、四列縦隊に整列、”白旗の沈黙”をまもってなにも語らぬ。

彼らの中には『B四二』あるいは『B五二』の数字を記入したバッグを手に水筒、飯盒をぶらさげたりリュックサックを背負っているものもあり。また妻の形見に貰ったのか紺に赤の女服を着て帽子には赤い花までつけている。

またレッテルのべたべた貼りつけられた大きいトランクを提げてカーキ色の半パンツに帽子という観光客のような捕虜のじいさんもある。中にはトラックで運ばれる負傷兵もあった。これが不倫非道をかつてほしいままにし、大英帝国を誇った英捕虜のあわれな姿であった。駅前に四十分市中を行進。港駅前収容所に入った【写真＝仁川収容所に向かう俘虜部隊】

英人俘虜の三態：【上】野口所長の訓示【中】収容所本部に入る【下】入れ墨を覗かせて宣誓文にサイン

降伏しか知らぬ仕草

後世大事に守る艶文

”敵は強ければ降伏するのだ。命だけは確かに助かる”と教育されて来たとしか思えない英軍俘虜たちは凡そ戦争とは縁遠いといった顔つきで送られてきた。無教養な上に誤れる世界観をつめ込まれている俘虜たちの言動には無智からくる微苦笑ものの数々がある。これは上陸風景の中から拾い上げた一つ二つ。

救命袋のようなズックの袋を前後に吊るしコーヒー缶の湯呑、アルミの弁当箱をからから鳴らし小脇にメリケン袋を抱えた田虫だらけの俘虜がタラップの下で噴霧器の消毒を受ける若い軍医さんの消毒の恰好に田虫の俘虜は一廻りする。若い軍医さんが更にハンドという、手のひらを廻せばよいものを小脇の荷物を放って両手を挙げる。彼等は降伏することだけしか教えられなかったらしい。

物品検査だ。出されるどのカードも手垢でよれよれだ。これが賭博の道具なのだ。港の莫蓮女から送られた沢山の手紙。こればかりはと碧眼をきょときょとさせて必死である。

釜山市中は数十万の観衆で埋まった。国民服をパーマをチマをツルマキを見て碧眼がぱちり、入場料でもとっているのかとは俘虜の偽らざる質問。

歴史の夢追う

自惚たっぷりに驚く

ワシントン大学を卒業し、昭和十四年帰国した二重国籍をもつ船越一等兵は英人俘虜の通訳をしているが、同一等兵は英人にはじめて接して左の如く語る。

英人に接するのは今度はじめてだが、自尊心の強いのには驚いた。歴史の夢をみているのだろう。英米が最後の勝利を確信しているその理由に彼等は米国の軍事力が日毎に増大するのに反し独逸の武力が日毎に弱くなっているとあられもないことをいう英人将校には華族的素質を持つものが多い。濠洲兵は概して純情だ。

刈り入れ時の農村へ
在営兵を帰郷さす

遺家族農家へも援兵

【東京電話】戦時下食糧の確保に重大な関心を寄せている陸海軍当局では今年豊作を予想される刈り入れ時の農村へ内地在営下士官兵の一部に特に休暇を与え帰郷させることとなったが、陸軍としては大東亜戦争下国土防衛、留守業務など極めて繁忙な中から真に貴重な時間を割いて帰郷させるものであり、一般農家として、この点をよく考慮し、徒な依頼心に流れることなく農家自体が総力戦士としての自覚をもって活動するよう要望している。

また陸海軍としては出征遺家族農家の刈り入れに対しては特に積極的な援助と協力を示すことになっている。

なおこれに関しては近く陸海軍当局から管下各団隊に通牒が発せられる。

開拓の若人隊

二十九日に寄城

江原道洗浦開拓民訓練所で一ヶ月内原訓練所で三ヶ月それぞれ猛訓練を受けた満州開拓青年義勇隊百四十八名は二十九日午後十時京城着列車で集合。三十日午前九時から総督府正面玄関前で田中総監臨席して壮行会を挙行。同午後八時十分発列車で渡満する。

青年義勇隊は牡丹江省寧安訓練所に入所、三ヶ月間の再訓練を受けて満州に模範開拓村を建設する。

京城日報　1942年9月24日

敗残の英軍俘虜
港釜山へ”白旗上陸”
京城へはあす到着

皇軍の生きた戦果

【釜山にて大山、須山両特派員発】赫々たる大東亜戦争の生きた戦果．．．マレー方面の英軍俘虜〇〇〇〇名はいよいよ二十四日朝釜山に上陸。世界に冠たる我が輸送陣の鉄壁を誇示して大陸の兵站基地半島に劇的な第一歩を印すのだ。嘗ては世界も我もの顔に横行していた英軍がひと度起った皇軍の前に命欲しさに白旗を掲げて降伏。いま敗残の身を提げて凋落の表情を我が半島二千四百万の目の辺りにはっきりと見せるのだ。昨年十二月八日畏くも大詔を拝してより皇軍の征くところ敵なく開戦僅かに九ヶ月にして太平洋を征服。勝利の土産を迎える半島の感謝感激はいよいよ昂まり、ここに大東亜戦完遂への覚悟を爾が上にも煽らせるのである。

感激のこの日の玄関釜山の港は俘虜を迎える態勢全く成って街のどこへ行っても俘虜の話で溢れている。ニュースの銀幕に初めて観た。そして聞いた俘虜ではあったが『一体どんな恰好をしているんだろう』その想像もいまや現実と化して一夜経てばこの眼で見られる嬉しい感激で一ぱいだ。

朝鮮軍報道部厚地大佐が陣取っている駅前の荒井旅館には二十三日俘虜上陸発表の感激を銃後に知らせるようと新聞記者団、写真班、ニュース・カメラマンの群が足しげく出入りして連絡に忙しい。釜山の港はこの夜世紀の感激に更けて行った。（朝鮮軍検閲済み）

京城日報　1943年3月1日

朝鮮に来た俘虜

鬼畜！米英のうらふれた敗残の生々しき姿を見よ！

三月八日公開

大いなる感激！
二千四百万同胞の上に喜びの日は来る！！
炸裂する朝映二大文化映画

（大本営検閲済・安夕影編）

昭和十九年

朝鮮総督府推薦

朝鮮軍司令部・朝鮮総督府　指導
森永健二郎　演出
瀬戸明　撮影

朝鮮映画配給

三月一日全鮮紅白一斉封切

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/skrzm3/british_and_australian_prisoners_of_war_arrived/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Editorial says the unity of god and man realized by the Japanese Imperial Way cannot be found anywhere else in the world, so Imperial Japan must 'turn the world into a single realm, let all nations take their places, and let all people rest in peace' starting with the colonization of Korea

 

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) March 6, 1943

The True Meaning of National Identity and the Righteous Peninsula

By Kamata Sawaichiro

The Idea of the Formation of the Greater East Asian Nation
Current World Affairs and the Reaffirmation of the Idea

Not only is there is no contradiction in the Japanese spirit and Japanese culture being the guiding principle in the construction of the New World Order, but the remarkable broadening of their universality will surely speed up progress towards their purpose.

Japan is constantly creating itself, and therefore Japan itself is constantly reforming itself and developing itself. What this fact teaches us is this: that Japan-centrism must also transform itself and develop itself along with the creation and development of Japan. In this context, we must make clear the fact that the interpretation of the spirit of Hakko Ichiu is not a narrow nationalism that is concerned only with selfish development.

Rather, it is concerned with forming a true Gemeinschaft (community) inside and outside the country. This philosophy cannot be born from an insular, island nation mentality. If we are narrow-minded and obstinate, we will not be able to realize the historical necessity of the Japanese nation's grand, high-minded, and positive mission in world history, which is to proclaim the cause of righteousness to the whole world, to turn the world into a single realm, to let all nations take their places, and to let all people rest in peace.

Let us consider the issue of the word 'kami' in Japanese. The Chinese character for 'god' (神) is normally applied to the word 'kami', but in fact the Chinese character which should actually be applied to this word should be the one for 'above' (上). That is, the word 'kami' actually refers to ancestors with whom you have a blood connection and who are 'above you', or superior to you in spirit. In other words, the first meaning is to revere your ancestors, and the second meaning is to sublimate your personality into a divine status. You are to see the divine within the human being.

Much has been told regarding human beings who have attained divine status. Look at the amazing fact that even a lowly man in a hut can die and be enshrined as a god of national protection. It is not only those who have died in wars, but also those who have acquired divinity through deeds and practices. Look at Kusunoki Masashige. Look at General Nogi. Look at General Togo. The heroic spirit, the high-minded will, and the beautiful innocence that human beings leave behind in this world like a glow of light are the most concrete examples of the sublimation of personality into the divine. Further, it is a combination of historical ideals that originated from the respect for the gods and veneration of ancestors, which form the essence of Shintoism, the true meaning of national identity. The gods are the actual source of our life. There is no absolute line of separation between the gods and human beings in the organic relationship of life. We, the Japanese people, are the ones who most honestly confirm and realize the unity of the noble gods and man.

I think this kind of phenomenon cannot be seen in any other ethnic group or nation in the world. It is said that individualism and liberalism are based on respect for human beings, but is there anything else that teaches the dignity of human beings as much as the Japanese Imperial Way, which is based on the unity of god and man? Compared to the foreign gods, who are defined metaphysically as ideal gods, abstract gods, or idol gods, this is the purest form of respect for human beings.

Through the true meaning of the Japanese national identity, let us now consider the most serious and urgent of Japan's problems: the ethnic problem.

How to unite and concentrate the many different peoples scattered over the vast area of Greater East Asia, so that they may be at ease and have a place in the world, is the greatest problem that pervades the present and the far future. It is no exaggeration to say that of the two directions of practice, one of war and one of construction, all construction should be concentrated on work with the ethnic groups.

Politics, economy, and culture will be newly generated and reorganized for each ethnic group. This is the liberation and construction of Greater East Asia. At the same time, it is a fool who does not understand the nature of today's long-term war to think that it will be realized only after the war is over. The construction has already begun as the military flag moves forward. Work with the ethnic groups is also on the march. Thus, the formation of a new Greater East Asian Nation has begun. This is the manifestation of Hakko Ichiu in Greater East Asia, which is the only national destiny in Greater East Asia.

We emphasize here anew that the most important thing in the ideology and action of the formation of the Greater East Asian nation is our governance over Korea itself. Amid changes in current world affairs, people must reaffirm that Japan's continental policies and work with the ethnic groups originated in Korea in the first place and are bearing fruit.

Source: 京城日報 1943-03-06 : 京城日報社 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Why am I posting such content? Read my reasons here: https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/11/nostalgia-for-imperial-japan-and-its.html

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年3月6日

国体の本義と道義半島

鎌田沢一郎

大東亜民族形成の理念
世界新情勢とこれが再認識

かくして日本精神、日本文化が世界新秩序建設の指導原理たらんとする上に何等の矛盾を来さないのみか、著しき普遍性の増大によってその目的の歩度を速め得るであろう。

日本は絶えず自己創造し、従って又日本そのものが絶えず自己改革し、自己発展する。この事実のわれわれに教えているものはこうである。日本主義も亦日本の生成発展とともに自己改造し、自己発展してゆかなければならぬと。茲に於いて、八紘一宇の精神についての解釈に於けるが如きもそれを自己の発展のみを、利己的に考える狭い意味の国家主義にあらざることを明かにせなければならない。

国の内外を通じて真のゲマインシャフトを形成せんとするのである。この理念は鎖国的島国的な根性からは生れないのである。もし偏狭にして固陋であれば、大義を八紘に宣揚し、坤輿を一宇たらしめ、万邦をして各々その所を得せしめ、万民をしてその堵に安んせしめるが如き、日本民族の雄大高邁な積極的意味を持つ世界史的使命の歴史的必然は産まれて来ないのである。

『神』の問題を考えてみる。日本のかみは漢字の神を一応当てはめているが、事実は『上』であると言う。即ち現実の上の方血縁的には祖先、精神的には上位を意味する。つまり一は崇祖敬神であり、一は人格の神格への昇華である。人間の内に神を見るのである。

現人神は申すも長し。賤が伏屋の匹夫と雖も死して護国の神を祀らるる驚異すべき事実をみよ。このことは決して戦争に死にたるもののみでなく、人は行為と実践によって神格を獲得出来るのである。楠木正成をみよ。乃木大将をみよ。東郷元帥をみよ。人間が光芒のようにこの世に遺してゆく雄勁な志操や、高邁な意志や、美しい純情が人格を神格に昇華せしむる最も具体的な実例であり、且つは又国体の本義たる惟神の真髄たる敬神崇祖より発生し来りたる歴史的理念との結合である。神々こそは我々の生命の実際の根源である。神と人間との間に生命的有機的関係を置いて、絶対の隔離線を設けない。尊貴なる神と人との一体を最も正直に確認し実現しているのが我々日本人である。

思うにかくの如き現象は、世界のいずれの民族、いずれの国家にも見られない。個人主義、自由主義は人間尊重にその根底を置くと唱えるが、およそ神人合一のこの日本の皇道主義ほど人間の尊厳性を教えるものが他にあろうか。外国の神がまず形而上学的に神を規定し、単に理想の神、抽象の神、或いは又偶像の神であるに比べて何という人間尊重の純一化であろう。

扨かかる日本国体の真意義を通じて吾々は茲に日本の当面せる諸問題中最も重大にして喫緊なる民族問題を考察して見よう。

広汎なる大東亜の諸地域に、散在する数多くの異民族を、如何に統合し、集中し、その堵に安んぜしめ、その處を得せしむるかということこそ現在及び遥かなる未来をも貫く最大の問題である。否一面戦争、一面建設の二つの実践の方向のうち、建設に関する限り一切が民族工作に集中さるべきものといっても過言でなかろう。

政治も経済も文化も夫々の民族を対象として茲に新しく発生し再編成される。それが即ち大東亜の解放と建設である。同時にそれは戦争の終了を俟って実現されると視るのは今日の長期戦争の本質を知らざる迂遠の徒である。建設は軍旗の進むところ既に始まっている。民族工作も又進軍しつつある。かくて新しき大東亜民族の形成が始められた。これこそ大東亜に於ける八紘一宇の顕現であり、これのみが大東亜に於ける唯一の民族運命である。

大東亜民族形成の理念と行動に於いて、最も大切なものは朝鮮統治そのものであることを茲に新しく強調する。日本の大陸政策、民族工作等はそもそも朝鮮にその端を発し、その実を結びつつあることを人々は新しき世界情勢の変化のもとに再認識せなければならぬ。

As a child, one Korean father was tormented by Japanese teachers who berated him as 'an idiot who can't understand Japanese', so he and his wife imposed the Japanese language on their six children to make sure they did not suffer the same trauma that he did (Seoul, 1942)

 

Notes: (Top row right-to-left): father Kametsuru (41), mother Su-in (37), daughter Ranhime/Ran-hee (4). (Bottom row right-to-left): daughter Eihime/Young-hee (14), daughter Senhime/Seon-hee (12), daughter Haruhime/Chun-hui (6), son Hideo (8), son Hideyama (10).

I'm not sure if I've identified Young-hee and Seon-hee correctly, since they look the same age. I may have also mixed up Hideo and Hideyama, since they also look the same age.

The male members of the family have Japanese first names, while the female members of the family have Korean first names. The daughters have Korean names that could also pass as Japanese first names if the Hanja were read as Japanese Kanji. For example, the Hanja 英姫 would be read in Korean as Young-hee, while it would be read in Japanese as Eihime.

This article is part of a series published by the government of Japan-colonized Korea in 1942 to highlight Korean families that were considered "households of the Japanese language" and exclusively spoke Japanese at home. Here are two other Korean families that were featured in this series:

https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2022/01/pro-imperial-japanese-korean-parents.html

https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2022/01/in-1942-one-pro-imperial-japan-korean.html

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo), May 24, 1942

Unification of Japan and Korea starts with the Japanese language
Ignorance of the Japanese language is a disgrace for Imperial people

Mr. Kametsuru Ishikawa speaks sternly

This is a reliable "household of the Japanese language" where even the infant who has just turned four is regularly using the Japanese language. When I went to Dohwa-dong 40 and visited the home of Mr. Kametsuru Ishikawa (41), a doctor commissioned by the medical office of the Mapo Railroad, I was greeted by Su-in (37), the housewife who was wearing an apron and busy preparing a meal as she said "Come in" in fluent Japanese.

The family consisted of eight peaceful members: Eihime/Young-hee (14), the eldest daughter who was in the first year at Aoba Middle School (note: present-day Cheongpa Elementary School); Senhime/Seon-hee (12), the second daughter who was in the fifth year of Motomachi National School (note: present-day Namjeong Elementary School); Hideyama (10), the eldest son who was in the third year of Mapo Elementary School; Hideo (8), the second son who was in the first year of the same school; Haruhime/Chun-hui (6), the third daughter; and Ranhime/Ran-hee (4).

During his spare time while treating patients, Mr. Ishikawa, the head of this "household of the Japanese Language," explained his motivation for using the Japanese language regularly as follows.

"I went on to middle school without going through elementary school, so I was tormented by teachers who said that I was 'an idiot who couldn't understand Japanese'. Because of this painful experience, my wife and I comprehensively took the initiative to use the Japanese language regularly and encouraged our children to do the same from the time they could speak. The first thing we did was to train them to read books. The children learned the language very quickly, and now they are even teaching me how to pronounce the words correctly".

Thus, he humbly tried to hide the fact that he had been resolutely educating his beloved children for a long time. Then he continued,

"Before they enter elementary school, I always send my children to a kindergarten that Japanese children attend. For the past year, I have been thoroughly teaching them the Japanese language, so that they naturally learn not only the language, but also daily etiquette in pure Japanese style, and I hear that they are setting a good example for their classmates at school".

After saying this, he distracted us with a hearty laughter: "Ha, ha, ha!" (Photo: Mr. Ishikawa's family)

Source: http://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-05-24

Why am I posting this kind of content? Read my reasons here: https://tpjv86b.blogspot.com/2021/11/nostalgia-for-imperial-japan-and-its.html

Reddit Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/seknq5/as_a_child_in_japancolonized_korea_one_korean/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

(Transcription)

京城日報　1942年5月24日

内鮮一体は「国語」から
国語を知らぬは皇民として恥辱

厳然と語る石川亀鶴さん

四つになったばかりの幼児までが国語を常用するという頼もしい”国語の家”。桃花町四〇麻浦鉄道医務室嘱託医石川亀鶴氏（四一）宅を訪れると食膳の支度に余念のないこの家の主婦水仁さん（三七）はエプロン姿のまま流石に流暢な言葉で「いらっしゃい」と迎えてくれた。

家族は青葉国民学校高等科一年の長女英姫ちゃん（一四）、元町国民学校五年の次女仙姫ちゃん（一二）、麻浦国民学校三年の長男秀山君（一〇）、同一年の次男秀雄君（八つ）、三女春姫ちゃん（六つ）、それから蘭姫ちゃん（四つ）の平和な八人暮らしである。

患者治療の寸暇を割いて”国語の家”の部隊長石川氏は国語常用の動機を左の如く語った。

私は国民学校を経ずに中学校へ進んだ為に『国語も解らぬ馬鹿者だ』と随分先生から虐められました。こうした辛い経験をしたので子供から口をきく頃から全面的に私達夫婦は率先して国語を常用すると共に子供等にもそれを奨励してきました。先ず書物を読む為の修練を積ませることから始めました。子供達が言葉を覚えるのは実に早くて、今では却って子供達から正確な発音を教えられている始末です。

と謙譲な同氏は日頃の愛児たちへの撓みなき訓育振りを押し隠そうとするのだった。そしてなおも言葉を続けて、

私は子供達が国民学校へ入学する前に必ず内地人側の幼稚園に入れて、この一年間は国語を徹底的に吹き込んでいますが、子供達も自然と言葉だけでなく日常の礼儀作法までも純然たる内地式になり、学校へ行っても同級生に模範を示しているらしいんですよ。

あとは”ハッ、ハッ、ハッ”と豪快な笑いに紛らしてしまった。【写真＝石川さんの一家】

Part 1 - Thousands of young Korean men were recruited to guard Allied POWs, and guards were told to teach the POWs to "recognize the superiority of the Japanese people and to make them respect the Japanese Empire from the bottom of their hearts"

 

Notes: Some 3000 young Korean men were recruited by Imperial Japan as civilians to work as civilians to guard Allied POWs in Southeast Asia. The prisoners were mostly forced to build airstrips and railways for the Imperial Japanese military. These included the 415-km Thai-Burma railway, which was made famous with the movie "The Bridges on the River Kwai". One of the more notable Korean guards working on the Thai-Burma railway was Lee Hak-rae, the last surviving Korean Class-B/Class-C war criminal from World War II who died in Japan last year in March 2021. 

One term that was hard to translate into English in this article was gunzoku (軍属), which I translated as "civilian members of the military", but this classification refers to the lowest ranking civilian employees in the service of the Imperial Japanese military. So, the status of the ethnic Korean prison guards was quite low in the Imperial Japanese military hierarchy. A lot of former prison guards argued this fact before the war crimes tribunals with varying degrees of success.

This Asia-Pacific Journal article is a good overview of Lee Hak-rae's story.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo) May 23, 1942

Direct cooperation in the Greater East Asia War
Thousands of young Korean men are recruited to monitor American and British prisoners of war
The pride of the Imperial People is getting higher and higher

The government has decided to enact a soldier conscription system for our Korean compatriots and allow them to be recruited as soldiers starting in 1944, giving them an epoch-making honor in the governance of the peninsula. This time, it has been decided to send even more talented young Korean men to serve as civilian members of the military. Due to the brilliant results of the Imperial military in the Greater East Asia War, they have been assigned to monitor the American and British prisoners of war being held in various locations. At the same time, it has been decided to bestow upon them the great mission of making these arrogant and insolent people realize the superiority of the Japanese people. On the 22nd, the Intelligence Division of the Governor-General's Office announced the following:

Announcement by the Intelligence Division

At the request of the Army, several thousand young Korean men of merit will be recruited as civilian members of the military in order to monitor the American and British prisoners of war who are being held in various location as a result of our brilliant war accomplishments in the Greater East Asia War. In the meantime, large numbers of young Korean men have been recruited to work on urgent government projects in accordance with the National Conscription Order. It is not only a great honor for the young Korean men to have been assigned such honorable duties, but it is also a great honor for Korea to have had their qualities as Imperial subjects be recognized as sufficient to assume such honorable duties.

The duties of those recruited are not only to watch over the American and British prisoners of war, but also to teach them to recognize the superiority of the Japanese people and to make them respect the Japanese Empire from the bottom of their hearts. Since this mission is a serious one, the young Korean men who are selected to serve in such an important mission assume a great responsibility, which has an extremely deep significance in light of the current decision to adopt the policy of enforcing the soldier conscription system in Korea. 

The applicants will be carefully selected by the provincial governments and related county governments south of Hwanghae Province and Gangwon Province, and those who are selected will be trained for about two months in the military and then mostly transferred to the field (partly in Korea), where they will be treated with great care and preferential treatment.

Those of you who have been recruited are requested to bear in mind the spirit of the above, and to make every effort to do your best, so that you may truly become subjects of the Imperial State, and thereby perform a splendid job of manifesting the majesty of our Empire as the leader of East Asia.

We hope that the general public will be as sincere to those who have done this honor as they would be to a soldier, and that they will cooperate in the completion of their duties without fear of regret.

Source: http://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1942-05-23

Reddit Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/sbhogc/thousands_of_young_korean_men_were_recruited/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

(Transcription)

京城日報　1942年5月23日

大東亜戦に直接協力
米英人俘虜の監視に半島青年数千名採用
皇国民の誇り、愈よ高し

政府はさきに半島同胞に対し徴兵制を施行し、昭和十九年度からこれを徴集し得る如く決定、半島統治上画期的な栄誉を付与したが、今回更に多数の有為なる半島青年を軍属として現地に派遣し、大東亜戦争における皇軍の赫々たる戦果により各地に収容中の米英人俘虜の監視に当らせると同時に傲慢不遜なる彼等に日本国民の優秀性を認識せしめる大いなる使命を負荷することに決定。二十二日総督府情報課から次の如く発表された。

情報課発表

今般陸軍の要求に基づき大東亜戦争に於ける赫々たる戦果に依り各地に収容中の米英人俘虜の監視に従事せしむるため、半島に於ける有為なる青年数千人を軍属として採用せらるることとなった。裏には国民徴用令の発動に依り多数の青年が徴用せられて喫緊な政府の事業に従事し、今回又斯かる名誉ある職務を負荷さるるに至ったことは独り半島に於ける青年の光栄であるばかりでなく、斯くの如き光栄ある責務を担うに足る皇国臣民としての資質が其の有るがままに認めらるるに至った結果として朝鮮の大なる栄誉である。

採用せられた者の任務は単に米英人俘虜を監視するのみでなく、傲慢不遜の彼等に真に日本国民の優秀性を認識せしめて衷心より日本帝国に対する尊敬の念を抱かしむるよう指導するに在るのであって、其の使命は重く斯かる重要な任務に半島に於ける青年が選ばれて従事することは、其の責務弥々重大であると共に朝鮮に徴兵制度を施行する方針の決定せられた今日、其の意義極めて深きものがある。

応募者に対して黄海、江原以南の各道庁及び関係府郡庁に於いて慎重選考し、採用せられた者に対しては軍に於いて約二ヶ月間訓練を施した上、主として現地（一部は鮮内）に赴任することになるのであるが、其の処遇についても軍に於いて充分なる注意を払い、種々優遇の途を講ぜられるのである。

採用せられた者はよく叙上の精神の存する所を肝に銘じ愈よ精神努力して真に皇国臣民たるの実を挙げ以て東亜の盟主たる我が帝国の威容を顕現する立派な働きをなしとげられたい。

なお一般国民は斯かる名誉を担った者に対し兵士に対すると同様な誠意を以て後願の憂なからしめ其の責務の完遂に協力せられんことを希望する次第である。