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Mr.Sankichi
Yasui Representative of the Fact Finding
Group Mr.Yuichi
Hida Director of this
group. All other members of the Fact Finding Group
of Enforced Labors from Mr. Tom Fukubayashi Member of POW
Research Network , and mentor of Ms Noriko Hirata's translation work. Ms Yoshiko
Tamura Member of POW Research Network and
assisted in Ms Noriko Hirata's translation work. Ms Yuko Imada Who
also assisted in Ms Noriko Hirata's translation work Ms Yoko Suga Who assisted editing of translation
book Ms Noriko Hirata Chief translator
(and now a personal friend) Good
Day! That is Australian
for Konichi wa I am delighted to be with you all on this very special
occasion, at the launching of my book, "Summer Will Come Again" in
Nippon-go which tells the story of my three and a half years' experiences as
a Horyo of the Imperial Japanese Army ..............over two years of which
was spent here, in your lovely city of However, I have to tell you, of course, that, in June
1943, the little we saw of war-time We were a group of 300 Australians that had arrived at
Moji the previous day after surviving a miserable voyage from Finally, at There are certain days in one's lifetime that are so
dreadful, that they remain for ever in one's memory. We had already been prisoners of war on Having arrived at the sports ground thoroughly
exhausted after our all-night train journey, and then dropping our personal
packs on the grass at our feet, we looked forward to being speedily processed
and taken into our quarters where we could rest and recover and, hopefully
have a decent meal. Alas.............the reality turned out
to be just the opposite. In
very quick time a podium was placed to our immediate front, upon which a
sword- bearing Japanese officer climbed and, through an interpreter,
addressed us in an authoritative manner. We were told that because we had committed the
ultimate disgrace by surrendering instead of dying on the
battlefield, our lives had been spared only by the generosity
of the Imperial Japanese Army, and that from now on, we would be under
the same discipline and conditions as all their armed forces. To begin with,
all future words of command would be administered in the Japanese language,
consequently, we must now, immediately, have our first lesson in
numbering (counting) in Nippon-go. From that moment on, an utter state of
confusion existed as we were manipulated into several groups of men,
each group of about 40, forming into three ranks. Then, with the interpreter now on the podium, we
commenced our first lesson, as we repeated over and over agsin the words:-
ichi, ni, san shi, go and so on in progression. But there
was more to come. "Kiotski" "Yasume" "Kire" and
several other words of command were introduced until, in our tired and
confused condition, we soon incurred the wrath of the soldiers who
were now our guards. Hoblett, the interpreter was now instructed to shout
out the orders. We had to "fall in" in three ranks. We learnt that
"Bango" was the order to start numbering off. But we were not
permitted to just CALL out our number (if we could remember it)....we
had to SHOUT out the correct number at the top of our voice. And what happened to the man who failed to
remember his correct 'number' or the man who did not shout loud enough for
the guard's liking??? A most simple and very effective
solution happened. The sergeant simply raised his sword
(thankfully, still in its scabbard) and brought it down on the unfortunate
horyo's head. In retrospect...........what more effective way
could there be to stimulate the concentration??? On and on the torture went. Nothing was
forgotten. The horyo's ranks were even changed, so that the
front and middle ranks went to the rear in turn, so that enabled
every Australian to benefit from this unique method of instruction. In truth........this exercise would have frustrated men
in the fittest of condition. We who had
been exhausted at the start of this treatment, could not but feel dismay and
doubts about our future chances of survival. For the very first time,,,,we
now knew what it was like to be a slave. It is a statement of truth, that nothing is genuinely
and fully appreciated until one has been deprived of it. Without
doubt, freedom is the most precious thing of all. That day, our first day in However, there is an ending to everything, and when we
somehow discovered the word "Bemjo", we used it so frequently
that our guards eventually got the message and we were permitted to
enter an old three -storied brick building that from that moment on
,we named "Kobe House" You will read in my book, ladies and gentlemen, of how
we settled in to our lives in Kobe House and how we discovered that about 300
Englishmen (survivors from an horrific sea voyage from We very quickly adjusted to your culture of sleeping on
tatami matting and the removal of footwear inside the living quarters.
However, the one thing we never got used to was the never -ending meals of
rice. Day after day...week after week.....month after month, it was rice,
rice and more rice. It would have been tolerable if there had been something
palatable to go with the rice. But usually all we got in Kobe House was a
bowl of very watery soup. Fortunately........for a few months we were issued with
a small roll and a half of bread for our midday meal which broke
the monotony of our diet, and which was greatly appreciated, particularly as
we quickly discovered, when we started going out to various jobs, that there
was an acute shortage of food everywhere. The fact was that upon
every vacant patch of ground, even on the street verges, vegetables had been
planted to augment the general shortage of food. You will read too that after that first traumatic day
on the sports ground, how we were placed in various factories and harbourside
jobs along the waterfront and how we quickly adjusted to our different
environment. Those
of us who had to travel by train to work at Yoshihara, Toyo Steel and Showa
Denki, discovered that even though we were POWs, there were certain
privileges that came our way. For instance........After marching to the
station and being lined up on the platform with crowds of locals on both
sides of our group, when the incoming train stopped, there was always an
empty compartment right in front of us. All we had to do was to walk
quietly to fill the empty seats, while all around us a mass of people jostled
and fought their way into the already crowded carriages. When we alighted from the train at Nishinomia (I
think), on our kilometre march to tjhe Yoshihara factory, groups of small
children entertained us with a tuneful chant of "Americano Horyo"
which we thoroughly enjoyed. Yoshihara
was a good place to work because the factory produced oil from crushing a
variety of seeds, amongst which were peanuts. (nanki mami)......rich in
vitamin "B" and also satisfying an empty stomach. We soon found
ways to smuggle the nuts back to Kobe House where they could be exchanged for
stolen foodstuff that 'came in' from other horyo groups that worked for
various firms along the waterfront. Takahama or "Takies" as we called it was the
best job of all because they handled lots of tinned foods that had been
shipped back from countries that had been conquered by Japaneese
Armies. The British horyos had that job because they arrived in It wasn't long before a thriving bartar system existed
in Kobe House where, because money was useless, the standard of currency was
cigarettes. 30 cigarettes could buy a bowl full of sugar, or peanuts or a can
of fish. All
this activity, of course, was done with considerable risk of being
caught in the act of stealing. Every day, we were searched before we
left our jobs in the evening and we would have to go through another
search when we got back to Kobe House. This would take place out in the
street called Higashii Machi. This was where all our parades were held,
simply because there was no space inside the buildings. Naturally, horyos were constantly being found with loot
(stolen goods) on and around our bodies which, naturally, brought about
severe punishment by beatings. But it was a risk that we were prepared to
take and, if loot was discovered on us, we were prepared to take whatever
punishment the guards gave us. During my captivity, I kept a written diary, which as
you will understand was strictly forbidden, so I had to find a safe place to
hide it. I found the best place to be beneath our sleeping platform, so
every time I wanted to write an entry, I had to crawl under to bring it out,
and ask my mates to watch out for a guard on the prowl. AS the weeks and months went by, we
naturally learnt enough of Nippon-go to make ourselves understood and we
discovered a surprising result. We realised that the ordinary working Japanese were no
different from ourselves. They had wives and children and families and
everyone did as their Government dictated. In other words......they were in
the same situation as we were. Governments make political decisions while
ordinary citizens have to endure the consequences. AS the war progressed, the Japanese people
had to endure terrible consequences because of the decisions made by their
Government. During 1944 and 1945, your homeland was subjected
to an intense bombing campaign from American B29's and, of course, we horyos
had to share this danger with your people. Eventually,
on the morning of The incendiary bombing went on and on with huge fires starting
up all around. Inevitably, Kobe House was in flames so we were ordered to
escape to the adjoining sports field. Within an hour it seemed that the whole city was ablaze
and as the heat increased, cooler air swept in from across the Along with half the city, Kobe House had vanished and
we were lucky to survive after saving what we could before the whole place
collapsed. A few weeks later, after the war was over, I managed to get a
camera and went back to the ruins of Kobe House to take the only picture
that is in existance. You
will see it in this book. It is not a perfect picture because the film I used
was several years old, but every time I look at it, it brings back
memories of the place I called home for two years On You
will understand of course, that we horyo's were deliriously happy. After
being away from home for nearly 4 years, we were FREE at last. We hoisted our
flags on the School building we then occupied on the main Highway at
Wakinohama. There is no doubt about it......we who came
to We also learnt later of the horrific
sacrifice the people of In effect, the people of these two cities actually
saved the lives of all us horyos. Documents exist to say that if the Allied armies
had landed in Why
is it then, I ask myself ......Why , on The Answer, I think, must be that I survived in order
to stand before you today to inform you of the horrors of war Yet.........I ask myself...............Are there not
some positives that have surfaced from the ashes of W.W.2?? Thousands and thousands of young Japanese
tourists come to In conclusion, I have to tell you of my experience in
this city of From the interior of a damaged warehouse along the
wharf, several of us horyos knew where there was a stack of sugar, so we
raided the place and took much of it back to our Wakinohama quarters..
By this time, we were free, our stomachs were full and we had nothing to
fear. As a very young and innocent 22 year old, I decided one
night to go in search of some female company. So, taking with me a haversack
full of sugar I eventually found a very young Japanese girl who agreed
to share her tatami matting with me for the night, in exchange for my
bag of sugar. I will not bore you with the details (you can
read about it in the chapter, "Here The End of The
Lesson") but I have often thought about that experience. Here was a young girl whose people had
been reduced almost to live in famine; whose citizens had been subjected
to horrendous bombings; whose city lay in huge piles of ashes; all brought
about by an enemy of which I was a part. Yet this young lady, treated me with the utmost
courtesy, respect and compassion. Needless
to say, I think Japanese women are the most polite and gentle in
the world It could only happen in Thank you all very much for your welcome today. I shall
be honoured to sign your book, BACK |
