Horror of Being Suspected of Spying
Horror of Being Suspected of Spying
Name: Kenji Takara (11高良健二)
Age at the time: 14 years old
Status at the time: Student at the Second Prefectural Junior High School (Male Student Corps)
[Suspected of Spying]
I was in the first year of junior high school. Another boy from the same area was in the second year. Yet another boy was in the third year of the Okinawa Technical School. One other boy, originally from the mainland Japan, was also in the third year at the Okinawa Technical School. His family had evacuated to the mainland, but he remained in Okinawa so he could graduate after finishing the third year.
It was an evening with bright moonlight. The four of us were playing our harmonicas in front of the gate of a house. Students at the time were influenced by militarism, and even when we were playing the harmonica, we played as if we were doing it for a military drill. Also, we were only taught military songs; therefore everyone knew how to sing military songs and so we sang a military song while one boy played the harmonica. Then suddenly Japanese soldiers approached us from behind and ordered, "You lot move into the courtyard." They surrounded us, in two and three rows. They pushed their shiny bayonets against us. Then the squad leader said to me, "Our troop was right behind you, and we could hear some whispering going on behind the house. We could hear a lot of whispering going on here and you were singing military songs to hide all that talking. That's why we came. There is a spy in this house."
I was flustered and said "We were just playing the harmonica and singing a song" and so we demonstrated it and were cleared of the misconception.
[Fear of war does not go away even now]
War causes an abnormal mentality. People are no longer in a sound psychological state, and they can quickly kill each other, even their friends. I felt that war created these types of fearful situations. Such circumstances occurred on a number of occasions. Even between parents and children. When bullets flew in, a parent could push a child aside to save himself. The will to survive is the inherent nature of mankind. The abnormal psychology that war brings is unfathomable. It is also about killing each other. Either you die or they die. I still dream of the war, even now. Many years have passed, but memories will never go away.
[School days singularly blanketed under militarism]
When we entered high school, we were given an oral examination. During the examination when asked "Where would you like to go after graduating," everyone at the time would respond that they wanted to join the army military academy or naval military academy, in a vivacious military tone. Junior high schools competed against each other for the number of students who made it into the army military academy and the naval military academy. Such was our school days and our youth.
[To young people]
We in Okinawa, of all places in Japan, experienced ground battles in our area, so we understand what war is like. The people of Okinawa have an obligation to call on the world for peace, to send that message from Okinawa, with a consideration for history. I believe we should retain the memory securely, so that war never occurs again.
I would like young people to feel gratitude for the peace they have and learn about what the war was like through documents and records, while becoming friends with all the countries in the world, with the commitment to "Never again engage in war."
Name: Kenji Takara (11高良健二)
Age at the time: 14 years old
Status at the time: Student at the Second Prefectural Junior High School (Male Student Corps)
[Suspected of Spying]
I was in the first year of junior high school. Another boy from the same area was in the second year. Yet another boy was in the third year of the Okinawa Technical School. One other boy, originally from the mainland Japan, was also in the third year at the Okinawa Technical School. His family had evacuated to the mainland, but he remained in Okinawa so he could graduate after finishing the third year.
It was an evening with bright moonlight. The four of us were playing our harmonicas in front of the gate of a house. Students at the time were influenced by militarism, and even when we were playing the harmonica, we played as if we were doing it for a military drill. Also, we were only taught military songs; therefore everyone knew how to sing military songs and so we sang a military song while one boy played the harmonica. Then suddenly Japanese soldiers approached us from behind and ordered, "You lot move into the courtyard." They surrounded us, in two and three rows. They pushed their shiny bayonets against us. Then the squad leader said to me, "Our troop was right behind you, and we could hear some whispering going on behind the house. We could hear a lot of whispering going on here and you were singing military songs to hide all that talking. That's why we came. There is a spy in this house."
I was flustered and said "We were just playing the harmonica and singing a song" and so we demonstrated it and were cleared of the misconception.
[Fear of war does not go away even now]
War causes an abnormal mentality. People are no longer in a sound psychological state, and they can quickly kill each other, even their friends. I felt that war created these types of fearful situations. Such circumstances occurred on a number of occasions. Even between parents and children. When bullets flew in, a parent could push a child aside to save himself. The will to survive is the inherent nature of mankind. The abnormal psychology that war brings is unfathomable. It is also about killing each other. Either you die or they die. I still dream of the war, even now. Many years have passed, but memories will never go away.
[School days singularly blanketed under militarism]
When we entered high school, we were given an oral examination. During the examination when asked "Where would you like to go after graduating," everyone at the time would respond that they wanted to join the army military academy or naval military academy, in a vivacious military tone. Junior high schools competed against each other for the number of students who made it into the army military academy and the naval military academy. Such was our school days and our youth.
[To young people]
We in Okinawa, of all places in Japan, experienced ground battles in our area, so we understand what war is like. The people of Okinawa have an obligation to call on the world for peace, to send that message from Okinawa, with a consideration for history. I believe we should retain the memory securely, so that war never occurs again.
I would like young people to feel gratitude for the peace they have and learn about what the war was like through documents and records, while becoming friends with all the countries in the world, with the commitment to "Never again engage in war."
