“We were more afraid of the Japanese forces than the American forces that came ashore on Kume Island.”
“We were more afraid of the Japanese forces than the American forces that came ashore on Kume Island.”
Name: Shoken Motonaga (23本永昌健)
Date of birth: January 21, 1929 (16 years old at the time)
There was not much war damage on Kume Island. There wasn’t much suffering that we experienced because of the war (combat). There was not even a single store on Kume Island. There was no money, no stores, and nothing to buy. The Japanese Government was probably all manufacturing war supplies. If you ask me what my clothes looked like, I bought clothes only about twice during the 8-year period from first grade in elementary school to the second year in secondary school. We were barefoot. Even our clothes – if they got torn, they were patched up – so, they looked like the world map. Our clothes looked like the world map. We never wore shoes, so our soles cracked. We also had no soap. It was terrible. Speaking of distress, what I just spoke about was more distressing than trying to get food.
Interview: Is there anything you learned in school? About war, etc.
There was a Ho-an-den that housed a photograph of the Emperor and Empress. We would make a profound bow toward that, and then go to our classrooms. Then, at the beginning of the first period, when our classroom teacher came in, we would make a profound bow toward “Amaterasu Oomikami (Sun Goddess)” enshrined right above the blackboard. This is the goddess that hid in the Ama-no-Iwato (heavenly rock cave). Of course, there is no photograph of her, and the only thing decorated was a box about this size called Amaterasu Oomikami. Children between first year in elementary school to the second year in secondary school would make a profound bow toward that Amaterasu Oomikami box. I think we clapped our hands once and bowed twice. Then, we would listen to our teacher speak, and the first period would begin.
Around the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, people with great physical strength participated in the war. Some of them were apparently very barbaric guys. Around 1939 to 1940, there were some who returned to Kume Island after serving in the military for three of four years. Then, after a while, American soldiers came ashore on Kume Island. As they came ashore, those guys who came back here after the war in China were shaking in fear. Then, some people who had never gone to war as a soldier said: “Cowards. How can you guys who have served as soldiers be so stupid and look so scared? You guys even have experience serving in the army.”
I felt that what they were afraid of was that they had seen the reality of bullying and killing Chinese people in the war in China. They probably thought that the Americans would definitely do the same cruel things. We asked them: “Why were you shaking in fear when the Americans came ashore during the war?” They confessed: “Don’t you know? You must have heard of the cruel stories during the time that Japanese soldiers were fighting in China. We saw that right in front of our eyes. That is why we got scared, thinking that the same thing would happen to the people of Kume Island.”
However, how were the Americans who came ashore?
The only person killed by the Americans was the village chief who lived behind this house. No one else was killed. There probably were about 30 soldiers stationed in the mountains in Kume Island who got killed by Commander Kayama (a chief warrant-officer in the Japanese Imperial Navy), who was assigned here after the war broke out. Even fellow Japanese soldiers were shot to death.
My father was discussing such things as where we should evacuate. The American forces were coming ashore from the direction of Shimajiri (Kume Island). There was still time before the Americans would come here, so people gathered at the community hall to hold discussions. Among them were the Nakachi village chief and four or five school teachers. There were also group leaders and former soldiers gathered at the community hall. They apparently talked about how to evacuate. They were in an uproar with everyone voicing their own opinions at the same time, so they never reached an agreement. There was no one among them that had any experience evacuating when the enemy came ashore, so they did not know how to evacuate.
This is a story about an elderly man who was about 80 years old at the time. When his son returned from the talks on how to evacuate, the elderly man reportedly asked his son: “What happened? What happened?” The son apparently told his father that the talks ended without reaching an agreement, so they decided that everyone would evacuate to an appropriate place on their own. Remember what this elderly man said. Please remember it. He reportedly said: “A country that defeats Japan is academically superior to Japan.” That is a wise saying, isn’t it? It means (educated people) do not kill other people out right. He said that since a country that defeats Japan is academically superior to Japan, Americans will not kill human beings out right, so we should look for water and evacuate where there is water. It turned out just as this elderly man said. There was water flowing down the hill. It’s there by the rice paddies over there. Behind that is the hill. Everyone evacuated there. We had water to drink there. We had sweet potatoes, so as long as we had water, we would be fine. People who evacuated there never got sick, and they came out from there (after the war ended).
A teacher called me and eleven others and made us sit down. Do you know what that teacher said to the twelve of us? We were excited. We were delighted that the exam preparation period would finally start from the next day. However, what the teacher talked to us was about something completely unrelated. The teacher said: “Starting tomorrow, you will all go the camp and bring back news.”
Interviewer: “News?”
Motonaga: It’s about the announcements by the Imperial Headquarters.
Interviewer: “Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
Only the people in the hills knew what was happening. (No information could be obtained without going to the Japanese army barracks in the hills.) As it was considered that the situation was bad, we went in pairs to the hills to get information. Before going to the hills, we went to the principal's office. Since my name was Motonaga, I said: “I, Motonaga, and Uezu will now depart the kokumin gakko (national school) at such and such a time, and go to the barracks to get news.” We then bowed in front of the principal and headed for the barracks in pairs. We ran…we ran up to the hills.
The announcements by the Imperial Headquarters were all false. I went four times. From the third or second time, I immediately felt that these news reports were lies. I still remember them even now – those news reports.
They said that in Taiwan, the Japanese Imperial Navy – Japanese pilots – sank enemy battleships and heavily damaged aircraft carriers. And that the Japanese forces only lost two or three aircraft. They were releasing such groundless announcements. They said they sank all the enemy’s aircraft carriers and battleships – in their news reports.
Really, this commander named Kayama killed many people in Kitabaru. Because this commander was here, a lot more islanders would have probably been killed if the battle in Okinawa had lasted for even half a year longer.
Today, it is guaranteed by our pacifist constitution that Japan will neither manufacture (nuclear) weapons, nor shall it permit their introduction into Japanese territory. However, I am very concerned that the Constitution might be amended. I believe that war should be avoided by all means. I think there are many problems that can be resolved through peaceful diplomacy. Rather than resorting to military force, I want Japan to avoid war as much as possible and try to maintain national polity through peaceful diplomacy.
Name: Shoken Motonaga (23本永昌健)
Date of birth: January 21, 1929 (16 years old at the time)
There was not much war damage on Kume Island. There wasn’t much suffering that we experienced because of the war (combat). There was not even a single store on Kume Island. There was no money, no stores, and nothing to buy. The Japanese Government was probably all manufacturing war supplies. If you ask me what my clothes looked like, I bought clothes only about twice during the 8-year period from first grade in elementary school to the second year in secondary school. We were barefoot. Even our clothes – if they got torn, they were patched up – so, they looked like the world map. Our clothes looked like the world map. We never wore shoes, so our soles cracked. We also had no soap. It was terrible. Speaking of distress, what I just spoke about was more distressing than trying to get food.
Interview: Is there anything you learned in school? About war, etc.
There was a Ho-an-den that housed a photograph of the Emperor and Empress. We would make a profound bow toward that, and then go to our classrooms. Then, at the beginning of the first period, when our classroom teacher came in, we would make a profound bow toward “Amaterasu Oomikami (Sun Goddess)” enshrined right above the blackboard. This is the goddess that hid in the Ama-no-Iwato (heavenly rock cave). Of course, there is no photograph of her, and the only thing decorated was a box about this size called Amaterasu Oomikami. Children between first year in elementary school to the second year in secondary school would make a profound bow toward that Amaterasu Oomikami box. I think we clapped our hands once and bowed twice. Then, we would listen to our teacher speak, and the first period would begin.
Around the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, people with great physical strength participated in the war. Some of them were apparently very barbaric guys. Around 1939 to 1940, there were some who returned to Kume Island after serving in the military for three of four years. Then, after a while, American soldiers came ashore on Kume Island. As they came ashore, those guys who came back here after the war in China were shaking in fear. Then, some people who had never gone to war as a soldier said: “Cowards. How can you guys who have served as soldiers be so stupid and look so scared? You guys even have experience serving in the army.”
I felt that what they were afraid of was that they had seen the reality of bullying and killing Chinese people in the war in China. They probably thought that the Americans would definitely do the same cruel things. We asked them: “Why were you shaking in fear when the Americans came ashore during the war?” They confessed: “Don’t you know? You must have heard of the cruel stories during the time that Japanese soldiers were fighting in China. We saw that right in front of our eyes. That is why we got scared, thinking that the same thing would happen to the people of Kume Island.”
However, how were the Americans who came ashore?
The only person killed by the Americans was the village chief who lived behind this house. No one else was killed. There probably were about 30 soldiers stationed in the mountains in Kume Island who got killed by Commander Kayama (a chief warrant-officer in the Japanese Imperial Navy), who was assigned here after the war broke out. Even fellow Japanese soldiers were shot to death.
My father was discussing such things as where we should evacuate. The American forces were coming ashore from the direction of Shimajiri (Kume Island). There was still time before the Americans would come here, so people gathered at the community hall to hold discussions. Among them were the Nakachi village chief and four or five school teachers. There were also group leaders and former soldiers gathered at the community hall. They apparently talked about how to evacuate. They were in an uproar with everyone voicing their own opinions at the same time, so they never reached an agreement. There was no one among them that had any experience evacuating when the enemy came ashore, so they did not know how to evacuate.
This is a story about an elderly man who was about 80 years old at the time. When his son returned from the talks on how to evacuate, the elderly man reportedly asked his son: “What happened? What happened?” The son apparently told his father that the talks ended without reaching an agreement, so they decided that everyone would evacuate to an appropriate place on their own. Remember what this elderly man said. Please remember it. He reportedly said: “A country that defeats Japan is academically superior to Japan.” That is a wise saying, isn’t it? It means (educated people) do not kill other people out right. He said that since a country that defeats Japan is academically superior to Japan, Americans will not kill human beings out right, so we should look for water and evacuate where there is water. It turned out just as this elderly man said. There was water flowing down the hill. It’s there by the rice paddies over there. Behind that is the hill. Everyone evacuated there. We had water to drink there. We had sweet potatoes, so as long as we had water, we would be fine. People who evacuated there never got sick, and they came out from there (after the war ended).
A teacher called me and eleven others and made us sit down. Do you know what that teacher said to the twelve of us? We were excited. We were delighted that the exam preparation period would finally start from the next day. However, what the teacher talked to us was about something completely unrelated. The teacher said: “Starting tomorrow, you will all go the camp and bring back news.”
Interviewer: “News?”
Motonaga: It’s about the announcements by the Imperial Headquarters.
Interviewer: “Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes.”
Only the people in the hills knew what was happening. (No information could be obtained without going to the Japanese army barracks in the hills.) As it was considered that the situation was bad, we went in pairs to the hills to get information. Before going to the hills, we went to the principal's office. Since my name was Motonaga, I said: “I, Motonaga, and Uezu will now depart the kokumin gakko (national school) at such and such a time, and go to the barracks to get news.” We then bowed in front of the principal and headed for the barracks in pairs. We ran…we ran up to the hills.
The announcements by the Imperial Headquarters were all false. I went four times. From the third or second time, I immediately felt that these news reports were lies. I still remember them even now – those news reports.
They said that in Taiwan, the Japanese Imperial Navy – Japanese pilots – sank enemy battleships and heavily damaged aircraft carriers. And that the Japanese forces only lost two or three aircraft. They were releasing such groundless announcements. They said they sank all the enemy’s aircraft carriers and battleships – in their news reports.
Really, this commander named Kayama killed many people in Kitabaru. Because this commander was here, a lot more islanders would have probably been killed if the battle in Okinawa had lasted for even half a year longer.
Today, it is guaranteed by our pacifist constitution that Japan will neither manufacture (nuclear) weapons, nor shall it permit their introduction into Japanese territory. However, I am very concerned that the Constitution might be amended. I believe that war should be avoided by all means. I think there are many problems that can be resolved through peaceful diplomacy. Rather than resorting to military force, I want Japan to avoid war as much as possible and try to maintain national polity through peaceful diplomacy.
