Occidentalism

I also read in the Korean news that the authors father was a member of Unit 731, but it was based on the thinnest circumstantial evidence. I am guessing these charges are totally groundless, because they have been made with very little evidence.

Clearly the book needs to be revised with a preface that mentions that the attacks on Japanese women depicted in the book are justified because the girl’s father was a war criminal. You know, proper context.

Talking about distorting history!

Clearly the book needs to be revised with a preface that mentions that the attacks on Japanese women depicted in the book are justified because the girl’s father was a war criminal. You know, proper context.

I think that is the context they want. Something that totally justifies attacks on Japanese civilians as they left the peninsula. I wonder why the publisher needs to pull this book from the shelves? No one is forced to buy it.

もしも731部隊が細菌兵器の開発をしていたのなら、家族には秘密にするのが常識です。
If Unit 731 developed a bacteriological weapon, it is common sense that make it a secret to a family.
著者には知りようがない。
An author cannot know it.

The book is un-ArianKorean! We must burn it! Mansei!

Matt: I think that was James trying to be sarcastic

Matt: I think that was James trying to be sarcastic

I know it but truth and sarcasm intersected perfectly.

I think the charges should first be proven before suspending sales of the novel since it is not uncommon for certain Koreans to make groundless charges against the Japanese.

What should be done at first? The proof about her father’s innocence, or the sale suspension? That is one the publisher’s options. The publisher already urged the author to explain the suspicion.

‘not uncommon’? I will neither confirm nor deny your claim. But, it too is ‘not uncommon’ that you speak ill of Korea and Koreans just like this. So, I think the university authority used their option very wisely. You can claim that your dismissal is unfair. But, your act like this makes me think that their decision was right and very reasonable.

And even if she knew about it, would that change the story in some way?

The story will be the same, but the readers will not. It will give the publisher more cause to stop sales permanently.

But, I wanna read the book.

MyCoree,

It’s amazing that you fail to see that your reasons don’t stand well…too bad your nationalist ArianKorean education has made you unable to think other than to praise your ArianKorean heritage and hate subhumansthe Japanese.

What should be done at first? The proof about her father’s innocence,

I somehow had an impression that Korea has no modern concept of law. ” Innocent until proved guilty” is just common sense in moder society.

But let’s suppose her father was the member of 731 troops, (which I think is doubtful though) The author has nothing to do with 731 troop. What gives the publisher a good reason to suspend the book?….Since her father might have been a criminal, the book is what?.

If this is how Korea whitewashes the dark side of Korean history, we are the witness. As hana said, there is an fact that Koreans raped Japanese young women who was on the way to Japan from Korea after WWⅡ.
Now Koreans are adding another fact to it:the fact that they are trying to hide the fact.

But, I wanna read the book.

Don’t you think there are many books and facts that have been hidden for Korea’s convenience from Korean people in this way?

I must say this is another example to show how democracy is immature in Korea. very sad.

if you wanted to read it in Korean, you are out of luck. You will have to wait until the author is able to prove to Koreans that her father was not a high-ranking member of Unit 731. In the future, I wonder if all Japanese authors will have to prove the same thing before they can get their books published in Korea?

誰も知らないのに、どうやって証明するのでしょうか。
Though nobody knows it, how does she prove it?
日本でなら、立証責任は「彼女の父親は731部隊だ」と言った側にあるので、彼女は出版できるでしょう。
In Japan, she can publish it, because the side who say “Her father is Unit 731″ have a burden of proof.

Aren’t japanese people denying Unit 731?? just like the rape of nanking?? so how are they going to prove it lol Koreans prob made that up because they don’t have any other good reason to ban this book.

hana

2005.05.09 文化日報 has intresting article.
When ” Yoko’s book” translated into Korean,
Korean people didnot against this book to publish.
And they somehow satisfied the story which
many Japanese suffered.
I found this at 棒太郎’s site.

I think the rumor comes from the Yonhap News.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/184999.html (English)
http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2007/01/18/0200000000AKR20070118000400071.HTML (Korean)

Korean version is much more elaborate than English version.
They made an effort to connect Yoko’s father with Unit 731. But they failed.

According to the Yonhap News,
1) Yoko’s father returned to Japan after six years.
2) Twelve people from Unit 731 were released in 1956 and went back to Japan.

They say people from Unit 731 were released in 1956.
1956 means 11 years after the war.

Then how can you connect Yoko’s father who were released in 6 years with Unit 731.

Aren’t japanese people denying Unit 731?? just like the rape of nanking?? so how are they going to prove it lol

Where did you get this idea? ….eh?
Unit 731 and Nanjing massacre are well known in Japan.
As for Nanjing massacre, there are Japanese people who deny it, but the government made it clear it DID happen. And majority of Japanese historians ,and the controversial history textbook by Fusoussya admit it did happen. It is just that there is a controversy about the death toll and some people are pointing out the photos used as evidence for Nanjing Massacre
are inadequate, in that for instance, the caption of the photos are wrong.

That the Nanjing Massacre has been used as political tool is not the proof that it didn’t happen. and but the pointing out there were inadequate evidences does not means denying the fact.

There were comfort women. Probably many of them lived miserable lives. Japanese troops are involved in the comfort station in that they regulated illegal acts albeit insufficiently. To deny that the comfort women were recruited by force as Korea mistakenly allege does not mean denying the existence of the comfort station and insufficient control of the comfort station. The same thing.

As for unit 731, I don’t know if there is a denier.
Besides, by your logic, how does this author prove that his father was not a member of 731 troop.
Kojimobo, imagine how you prove your (grand)father was not a member of 731 troop. He was not in the relevant place, you might say, but that does not prove your father was innocent. It is possible that your (grand)father was in contact with the troop in distance etc.

Kojimob, honesty, I think this allegation is crazy. Suppose your (grand)father turned out to be a criminal, then you can not publish the book? then you are not reliable?. your book should not be read?

I guess you are too influenced by Korean propaganda about Japan.

This is report in South Korea of two years ago about Yoko’s story. Japanese is here.
It is not a criticism but it even praises it.

Maybe the Koreans are confusing ther father, Yoshio Kawashima, with Kiyoshi Kawashima who was found guilty in the Khabarosk war trials and was given a sentence of 25-year labor in Siberia and returned to Japan in 1956 after normalization talks.

In Korea, your father is a good man who fought against the forced name changes of Koreans while they consider you to be on their side, but when they judge you to be an anti-Korean, your father suddenly becomes a war criminal and your story is suddenly lifted out of the shelves. I’m betting that neither claim has any proof. It’s just the Korean media fabricating stories as they see fit for the current situation.
http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2005050901012630023006

opp wrote:

This is report in South Korea of two years ago about Yoko’s story. Japanese is here.
It is not a criticism but it even praises it.

げげ、それ、見たような記憶がある。
Oh, I have the memory that I watched it.
気が付かなかった。
I did not notice.
その本が翻訳される前には、涙を流す程に称讃していたのに、出版する頃には、逆に止めようとしてるとは……
Before the book was translated, Korean was praised it so as to shed tears.
But, when the book is published, Korean is going to stop publication of the book.

Gerry

I admit I’ve never seen you said false things about Korea. But, I think there is a limit line of expression as a teacher in Korea (though not now!) and you sometimes stepped over the line. Now I think my expression about your argument was careless – very sorry.

Yesterday, I called up all the bookstores near my company and home. But, as Gerry said, “Yoko’s Story”s were all sold out or withdrawn by the publisher. I have no idea how to get one *_*.

About her story, I have a vague memory that I heard there were some attacks to the withdrawing Japanese after World War II. Her story has a high probability. Very absurd to suspend selling. To decide good or bad, right or wrong is the readers’ portion. Don’t you think so? I’m afraid some Koreans regard me as a pro-Japanese though I’m closer to the opposite. T_T

myCoree wrote:

I’m afraid some Koreans regard me as a pro-Japanese though I’m closer to the opposite.

「親日家」は悪いことではありません。
“A pro-Japanese” is not bad.
何故、怖れるんだ? (苦笑
Why are you afraid?

sqz:

「親日家」は悪いことではありません。“A pro-Japanese” is not bad.
何故、怖れるんだ? (苦笑 Why are you afraid?

I am no more a pro-J than you are a pro-K.
A pro-K is not bad.
Why are you afraid? 썩은 미소 ^_*

I am sure that I am closer to J than most anti-J in K.

Gerry. Thank you.

You seems to have a direct style as you said.

And, sqz
썩은미소 is here. (I don’t have any bad intention, you know.)

Have a good afternoon.

myCoree,

> “To decide good or bad, right or wrong is the readers’ portion. ”

I strongly agree with you. I hope there will be more Korean people like you. Whether pro-J or pro-k is not an important issue, the point is whether the truth can be available or not.

myCoree wrote:

I am no more a pro-J than you are a pro-K.
A pro-K is not bad.
Why are you afraid? 썩은 미소 ^_*

I am sure that I am closer to J than most anti-J in K.

僕には、君に悪意があると思います。
I think that you have bad intention.
何時僕が怖れましたか?
When are you afraid it?
言ったこと無いですが。
I do not say it.
なぜ嘘をつくのですか?
Why do you tell a lie?

sqz:

Seems like:

Soft=comments in accord with Korean ultranationalism/Japan-bashing
Harsh= anyone who are not

We should definitely not bash MyCorée – he is not a Korean nationalist. I think he is rather trying to overcome the narrow nationalistic perspective which is so prevalent in Korean society.

And, at times, our own views may be questionable, as well. Possibly MyCorée can set us right when we are in danger of going into a wrong direction. It is sensible to look at things from different perspectives, for the Koreans, but equally for us.

Good that we have him on this blog…

I agree with Fantasy.

keroro,

The six years mentioned in the Yonhap article seems to be the length of sentence served in Siberia. They did not overlook the fact that 1956 is 11 years after WWII ended. They are saying that the men served six years counting from the date of their trial.

Twelve people from Unit 731 who were tried at the war tribunal in Khabarovsk in December 1949

The Korean article quotes the book’s jacket – “Yoko’s father returned from a prison camp in Siberia six years later”. Though this sentence alone it is not clear, I’d have to assume it means six years after his family got to Japan and not six years after his trial.

If someone has the book, it’d be great if you could clarify this.

Also seems like there should be records of Kawashawa Yoshio, since it seems like he held a high enough position to have Russian soldiers looking for him and his family. And finding such records would show undeniably that he wasn’t working for Unit 731

And he also knew people in even higher positions? From page 77 of “So Far from the Bamboo Grove”:

…
“By chance, is your father’s name Yoshio?”
“Yes,” Mother said.
“I know him,” said the doctor. “My father and your husband were classmates at the University. My father is Kazuzo Takeda — he’s a member of the House of Peers.
…

You can search for words through Amazon’s preview system. The quote was found by searching for “Yoshio”. If you search for “six years” you get the bit about the father returning on page 186. For some reason that note about the father references page 105, which I could not make sense of because there’s nothing about the father on page 105.

Huh. For some reason I thought the name of author’s father was Kawashawa Yoshio because Amazon shows author’s name as “Yoko Kawashawa Watkins”. I should correct myself – “Also seems like there should be records of KAWASHIMA Yoshio…”

Here’s a sequel to Bamboo Grove -

My Brother, My Sister, and I

empraptor, here is a list of people put on trial by the Soviet Union for war crimes. There is no Yoshio Kawashima, but there is a different man with a similar name called Kiyoshi Kawashima.

It is incumbent upon those that want to claim that her father was a war criminal to present some evidence. At this point evidence evidence provided by articles like this amount to zero.

Anyway, I see this as a red herring by the Korean media seeking to change focus from atrocities committed by Koreans to atrocities committed by Japanese.

empraptor,
I finally got my copy (paperback), and reading it, I thought that since page 105 was about Yoko, her sister, and mother being forced to leave the refugee camp in Fukuoka where they were waiting to be reunited with Yoko’s brother, that the six year’s later mentioned in the Notes from the Publisher on p. 183 should be counted from there. Thus, her father must have come back to Japan somewhere around 1951.

empraptor,
If your father was missing and came back after 11 years. Do you say he was back in six years because another 5 years was a trial period ?

By the way, there is a terrible article in the wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_far_from_the_Bamboo_Grove:_A_Fiction

By the way, there is a terrible article in the wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_far_from_the_Bamboo_Grove:_A_Fiction

Wow, that is really terrible! Here is the Wikipedia article below.

So far from the Bamboo Grove is a controversial book written by Yoko Kawashima Watkins, Japanese writer. This book illustrates how 11-year-old Yoko, her sister Ko, and their mother made a safe run from Nanam in north Korea back to Japan, their home country right after Japan lost the war in 1945. The book describes Yoko’s father was a high level Japanese government official working in Manchuria. The Russians are after Yoko’s family because of their interest in Yoko’s father’s secret work in Manchuria.

The author omitted a lot of historical background, making the readers pondering. First, why was her Japanese family living in Nanam, a northern part of Korea, from the beginning? It was during Japanese invasion in Korea in which period Japanese people had privilege over Korean.

Many facts leads Yoko’s father closely to the unit 731 where terrible medical experiments were performed on live human bodies. Yoko Kawashima still keeps her father’s work in secret. Her father served in the prison camp in Siberia with other war criminals most of who worked in the notorious unit 731.

This book also describes young girls’ fear of being raped. During World War II, Japanese officials kidnapped over 200,000 teenage girls from other countries, mainly Korea and China, for sexual slavery to comfort Japanese soldiers. Those girls were repeatedly raped for 3 years. The count of rape for a girl averaged 5 times a day. Most of the girls were killed and merely 150 or so returned in one piece. According to one of remaining survivors, she was forced to have sex with more than 90 soldiers a day. Ironically, this book describes the cruelty yet by switching the casting of raper and the rapee. This book generates a slight illusion that the Japanese are the main victim of World War II. After the tragedy of atomic bombs they are, of course, but this book does not mention about them.

Despite the fact this book has so much potential to mislead young readers’ critical thinking, this book has been used as a reading textbook in many of American middle school classrooms without proper introduction of history lessons. The teachers claim that this book is very good in teaching the theme of survival. The next book on the recommended reading list would be “Hitler’s sister’s survival from Amsterdam”.

As terrible as it is, it is not too bad because it is so obviously biased that most readers would recognise it right away.

Matt

Wow…Just amazing the efforts Korean nationalsts take to defame Japan. And Japan is obviously NOT Korea’s enemy- Japan is Korea’s trade partner, and actually is an ALLY together with the U.S., if they ever knew. And it’s amazing how Korean nationalsts seem not to care anything about the atrocity and the crime being committed NOW by N Korea, while they always complain about things that happened in the DISTANT PAST and these things that they claim to have happened are DISTORTED and EXAGGERATED to the extreme. What is also amazing is that there seem to be few Koreans who distance themselves from this nationalism.

Two Cents,
＞ Thus, her father must have come back to Japan somewhere around 1951.

According to a Japanese record, the last general prisoners came back to Japan on April in 1950. It means they came back in five years and 9 months after the war. But with a calendar year, we sometimes count it as 6 years.
Or they landed at the Maizuru port in Kyoto. It is far from Fukuoka, so it might have taken time to reunion.

Anyway all so called war crimes (including members of Unit 731) came back to Japan on December in 1956. They came back much later.

Matt,
＞ Wow, that is really terrible!

As you all know, the most Japanese (including me) are very poor at writing English. So we can’t fight back in English. But I am very glad that there are always someone like you who know the truth. Thank you.

Correction:

war crimes
should be
war criminals

I must say, some of Koreans abroad who rule wiki article is full of hatred and ignorance and bias.

I really hope that other Korean people correct the article themselves so that the culture of Korea will not be characterized as the culture of excessive hatred.
Otherwise, Japanese have to correct the article and tell the people all over the world the shameful aspect of Korean history .

Many facts leads Yoko’s father closely to the unit 731 where terrible medical experiments were performed on live human bodies. Yoko Kawashima still keeps her father’s work in secret. Her father served in the prison camp in Siberia with other war criminals most of who worked in the notorious unit 731.

This is totally ungrouded.

During World War II, Japanese officials kidnapped over 200,000 teenage girls from other countries, mainly Korea and China, for sexual slavery to comfort Japanese soldiers. Those girls were repeatedly raped for 3 years. The count of rape for a girl averaged 5 times a day. Most of the girls were killed and merely 150 or so returned in one piece.

This is totally ungrounded.

I am glad Matt kept the record of wiki article that show the hatred, ignorance and bias of the author of the wiki article.

empraptor,

I am sorry that I asked a question to a wrong person.

＞If your father was missing and came back after 11 years. Do you say he was back in six years because another 5 years was a trial period ?

I should have asked this question to the writer of Yonhap News.
I am suspecting the writer’s intention. The writer of the article seems confusing the readers intentionally.

empraptor,
Correction:
The writer of the article seems confusing the readers intentionally.

SHOULD BE

The article seems that the writer wanted to make the readers confusing intentionally.

Two Cents,
Let me explain more about counting years.
In East Asia, we had a special way for counting years.
It was called Kazoe-doshi（数え年). And it was commonly used in Japan until the end of the war.

If your baby is born on December 31, your newborn baby is already one year old in Kazoe-doshi. And the next day (January 1), your baby will become two years old. And every time a new year(January 1) comes, your baby will become one year older.

In Korea they still use this system. For example, Japan colonized Korea from August in 1910 to August 1945. It is actually for 35 years. But Koreans always say Japan colonized Korea for 36 years, because it is correct in their counting way.

So Yoko’s explanation is correct in the old Japanese way.

Two Cents,

I thought the two names Yoshio Kawashawa and Kiyoshi Kawashimi couldn’t have been mistaken for one another and was going to reply to your old comment until I found the name is actually Kawashima and not Kawashawa (if there’s a Japanese name like that at all).

But now I’ve read from beginning to end the Korea version of the article which keroro linked. It seems they’re actually alleging that Yoshio Kawashima IS Kiyoshi Kawashima, unless I’m reading this wrong.

한편 요코씨가 미국으로 이주하기 전인 1952년 뗀 호적에 따르면 요코씨의 아버지와 할아버지의 이름이 모두 `요시오’로 나와 호적을 조작했을 가능성도 있는 것으로 지적되고 있다. 일본은 물론 한국이나 중국 등에서는 아버지와 아들 이름이 같은 경우는 없다고 전문가들은 지적했다.

That quote roughly translates to

A birth certificate (lineage document?) issued in 1952 – before Yoko’s emigration to the US – shows names of both Yoko’s father and granfather to be ‘Yoshio’, bringing up the possibility that it has been tempered with. Experts say that in Japan, as in Korea and China, there are no instances where father and son share names.

But then again how would Yonhap obtain of the author’s birth certificate?

And they also allege that the Kazuzo Takeda, who I quoted as being mentioned the book, was involved in Unit 731.

요코씨 책에 아버지와 대학 동창으로 나오는 다케다 가즈조(Takeda Kazuzo)는 일본 황실 출신으로 731부대에서 근무한 행적이 자세히 나와 있으며, 다른 등장인물인 마쓰무라, 야마다, 가와시마 등도 모두 상세한 재판 기록이 남아 있다. 이들은 대부분 의사 출신으로 731부대에서 핵심 중책을 맡은 인물들인데, 책에도 의사나 의무 하사관 등으로 등장한다.

특히 다케다씨는 교토의대 출신으로 책에 따르면 요코씨의 아버지도 교토의대를 나온 셈인데, 731부대 창설자인 이시이 시로를 비롯한 이 부대 고위 간부 상당수가 교토의대 출신이기도 하다.

ROUGH TRANSLATION: Takeda Kazuzo, who makes appearance as college classmate of her father in Yoko’s book, was of Japanese royal background[?황실 출신] whose involvement with Unit 731 has been exposed in detail. Other characters such as Matsumuri, Yamada, Kawashima all have detailed trial records. Most of them were doctors, and they also appear in the book as doctors or as non-commissioned officers.

Of special interest is that Takeda graduated from Kyoto Medical College, which according to the book implies Yoko’s father also graduated from Kyoto Medical College. Unit 731′s founder Ishii Shiro is also Kyoto Medical College graduate.

There are other allegations, but their argument would be stronger if it was a single strong evidence rather than these numerous connections. And seeing as how you’ve confirmed Yoshio returned in 1950 or 1951 rather than 1956 I don’t see how he could be Kiyoshi.

——————————————
hana
2005.05.09 文化日報 has intresting article.
When ” Yoko’s book” translated into Korean,
Korean people didnot against this book to publish.
——————————————
This is the article hana mentioned.
http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2005050901012630023006 (Korean)

They even introduced the book as an anti-Japanese book two years ago.
——————————————
작가의 아버지는 조선인에 대한 창씨개명은 잘못이라고 공개적으로 비판했다가 1942년 일본으로 소환돼 옥살이를 하기도 했고
——————————————
They say that Yoko’s father was recalled to Japan in 1942 and jailed because he criticized the 創氏改名 policy openly.

empraptor,
——————————–
The six years mentioned in the Yonhap article seems to be the length of sentence served in Siberia. They did not overlook the fact that 1956 is 11 years after WWII ended. They are saying that the men served six years counting from the date of their trial.
——————————–

Yonhap made a simple mistake in the calculation.
The members of Unit 731 were tried in December 1949 and they were all released in December 1956. The men served 7 years, not 6 years, counting from the date of their trial.

keroro,

I didn’t realize they were release in December. You’re correct – that would mean they were imprisoned for 7 years. But based on the information I previously had – that they were sentenced in December of 1949, that they were released some time in 1956 and the article indicating that they served for six years – I assumed they were released during earlier months of 1956.

Either way, my point was that they did not in miscalculate a time interval by 5 years – which seems unlikely. Their main mistake was in misreading the note about the father’s return.

The book is un-ArianKorean! We must burn it! Mansei!

I just realized that tomato was trying to draw a line between Koreans and Nazis for this. With the strike-through formatting and the misspelling I kept reading “Asian”.

The Nazi theme might not fit here. Instead, try a witch hunt – accuse first, ask questions later, and the accused is fucked either way.

—-

So I was reading about what happened to Unit 731 criminals after WWII. Soviets and US really flunked in the ethics department there, didn’t they?

7 years seems like an awful short time for conducting WMD experiments on humans. And US covering up the crimes. All so they could get hands on research results. Unit 731 criminals should be thankful for Cold War, I guess.