Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 4:18 pm Post subject: Zero Ace and Unit 731
Where do testimonies like those of 'zero Ace' and 'Unit 731' take what we thought were honor, awareness, un-awareness, patriotism, guilt, and the gift of being a prisoner of war? Are these ideas better associated with the individual Japanese or with the collective (the nation as a whole)?
The testimonies from "zero Ace" and "Unit 731" have almost no difference between testimonies from other stories such as Korean Guards. Simliar with what happened in other testimonies, in Zero Ace and Unit 731, they were all used as tools by the Imperial Japan. Tamura Yoshio said, "Yes, yes, they were just the same. We were all experimental material" (152). Also, in Zero Ace story, when Debun Shigenobu returned back to base in Iwa Jiwa from painstaking battle, he finds out that him and his companions were already considered dead. Both Debun and Tamura realize, despite their diligent effort for Empire's victory, they were just a part of tool. One can disapprove by saying that maybe the empire was in the middle of the war and that death of soldier is not a big deal. However, my point is that just like what happened in all other testimonies, everyone fought till their death for honor that does not even exist. Everyone thought that it was honorable to die for its Empire and its victory, but the empire considered the sacrifice as obvious duty of soldiers to one's nation.
The testimonies, "Zero Ace" and "Unit 731", spoke to the complete loyalty instilled in both Tamura Yoshio and Debun Shigenobu and their commitment to the empire. Like Alex said, they serve the role of simple tools to the Japanese Empire, both in very different ways. In Shigenobu's story the part that I found to best represent the brainwashing of the Japanese, especially the military, was his conversation with comrade Muto Kaneyoshi over their assignment on a suicide mission, "'They say 'go'; what do we do?' 'What do we do, you say? It's decided,' he said. 'We go.' 'We can't live long anyway. You're right, let's go,' I chimed in." Both are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice of life in hopes of bringing Japan to victory; for them, life seems a small price to pay for their homeland.
In class, we had several discussions on honor and patriotism of Japanese. For the most part, Japanese were taught to respect the Emperor and be patriotic towards Japan through strict education. However, from reading stories of Sakai Saburo and Tamura Yoshio, I did not feel any patriotism from them. More than patriotism, I felt like both men struggled through the war for "self-satisfication." Sakai Saburo, for example, trained his sights to become better at spotting enemies planes. "Everyone laughed at me then, but I was able to see stars in daylight by the time the Pacific War broke out. I refused to let myself be killed." During the war, he tried so much to win. Even when he was injured and became almost blind, he begged his authorities to get back into action. He confessed that he never thought, "Long Live the Emperor." "To bring the nation to victory was our thought, and what was that nation? The land of my parents, younger brothers, and sister. Can we bear seeing our country invaded by outside enemies? That's what was on my mind" said he. Reading this, I definitely believed that his efforts come from his own will to stay as a great naval officer. Tamura Yoshio had never shot a gun before, but technically "contributed" to Japan's war. Possibly because of the value of the particular job at the institution, he was "getting paid what a university graduate made in those days." Tamura did not know what he was doing his job for. However, the amount of money and respect he received helped him get through the struggle after all. The fact that both men are ashamed of their activities during the war is truly unfortunate.
Human expendability is sickening. What I took away from the readings was Japan's nonexistent value of an individual solider's war effort. How can you expect to maintain morale when there is no feeling of compassion? A solider's tenacity depends upon emotional support from not only his or her companions/ family but for his or her country. Arriving back to base as, basically, a ghost not only reveals a lack of care, but it makes you feel useless. What's the point of going to battle if my country fails to recognize my efforts? Has the idea of honor vanished due to Japan's rearrangement of priorities. These would be the questions I would ask as a Japanese soldier.
Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:48 pm Post subject: Zero Hour and unit 271
I feel that these ideas are better associated to the whole of Japan rather than the individual. I say this because it seems as if Japan is acting very much as a "fluid whole" in that they place much less value on the wellbeing of the individual and much more on the state of the whole. For instance, the Kamikaze battalion stands as a perfect example of how Japan made decisions based on the benefit of the whole. Selected individuals were encouraged to sacrifice themselves by flying their plains (packed with explosives) to strike American Navy vessels. Not only did this prove to be widely effective (since Japanese bombers had a tough time getting close enough to ships without being struck) at destroying aircraft carriers and destroyers, but also delivering a scary message to the heart of America. Like a "shock and awe" campaign, the Kamikaze bombers proved to the Americans that their enemy was not afraid of death and would stop at nothing to win.
Although there was much sacrifice to be had on the behalf of individuals, the entirety of Japan greatly benefitted. Im not sure exactly how the story of the radio program Zero Hour fits into this, but I guess one could argue that it speaks to the overall patriotism of Japan (and now patriotism of the individual) simply because it was aimed at effecting a large group (prisoners of war) to "nudge" the enemy into submission and convince a surrender of enemy forces, thus helping the country. "The fellows like it very much because it cries over them and feels so sorry for them. It talks about the food that they miss by not being home and tells how the war workers are stealing their jobs and their girls" -- Quote.
A whole lot of the idea of dying for personal honor or doing things for the country to recieve personal honor were just for that, personal honor. The country couldn't care less about if you lived or died. We saw this quite a bit in the video we showed in class - The pilots were expected to die for the country, and there was little choice in the matter. We saw in the other examples as well that this was the case. The low-down fighters in zero Ace did most of the "work" and were eventually expected to die for their country, whereas the educated officers did not have to do this. The experimenters, too, in 731, were part of the experiment and were expected to give their lives to the cause. The only real "noble sacrifice" that was present was what other people percieved, because the government did not see this as "noble sacrifice," only "the necessarily sacrifice of one soldier for the good of the nation"
As both of the accounters said, they struggle a lot after the war. They needed to re-examine their identities because identities were lost during the wars. Being used as tools, as discussed in previous posts, the soldiers lost the humanities and the feelings that an ordinary person would have. Sakai, the storyteller of 'Zero Ace' talks a lot about the inequality between noncoms and officers. It was unfair that the people who actually faced serious dangers and who had warfare skills were given less honor than those who did not have much skills but graduated from better schools. Surprisingly enough, Sakai insisted to re-join the air force even after losing an eye. The concept of invisible honor is deeply rooted in Sakai's and many other solders' minds. They were willing to sacrifice even when they were treated with bias and prejudice. It is dangerous and horrific to not to question the authority. By completely obeying orders, the soldiers managed to deceive themselves that they were being patriotic instead of being numb or mindless. They took pride in what they did and never thought about questioning their superiors. The story 'Unit 731' was an extreme example. I was struck by how direct that storyteller is. I believe what he says is true, and I believe what he experienced in the lab was not very different from what his co-workers experienced. The nationalist feelings were more associated with the whole country because the individual feelings were almost identical.
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