Japan and U.S. have distant views of Iwojima

Baron Nishi is probably a familiar name to people who know the history of Japan in the days leading up to World War II. Born an aristocrat, his first name was Takeichi. He won a gold medal in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, and served in the Imperial Japanese Army during the war. After a tour in Manchuria, he was shipped to Iwojima island, where he was killed in action.

It is said that U.S. soldiers on Iwojima tried in vain to get Nishi to surrender, calling out to him by name: ``Olympic hero Baron Nishi, please turn yourself in. You are too great a man to die.'' But Nishi refused.

Some think this story was made up after the war. According to official records, Nishi died on March 17 exactly 60 years ago.

Mitsuhiko Niwa, 17, Nishi's great-grandson, visited Iwojima for the first time last weekend. Wearing a funereal black necktie and carrying two cameras, he walked around the island with about 110 people whose family members had also died there.

As many as 27,000 Japanese and American soldiers perished on the island, but Mitsuhiko found it surprisingly small. He had read many books about his great-grandfather, but it was only after ``stepping into dark, deep trenches and walking on blood-soaked beaches'' that he was truly able to feel his great-grandfather's ``physical presence'' for the first time.

Mitsuhiko climbed Mount Suribachi, where young Japanese and American soldiers literally fought to the death six decades ago. A photograph of the Stars and Stripes fluttering atop the mountain is still well-known in the United States partly because the photo is effective for raising morale. Whenever a catastrophe comparable in magnitude to 9/11 occurs, the photo is invariably used on fliers soliciting donations or announcing meetings of bereaved families.

Yasunori Nishi, 77, Baron Nishi's eldest son and Mitsuhiko's grandfather, noted: ``Japanese and Americans feel entirely differently about Iwojima. For us Japanese, it is an island for mourning the dead. For the Americans, it is an island for glorifying their victory.''

Mitsuhiko will enroll in an American university this autumn. He hopes to start horseback riding there--a sport his great-grandfather would have enjoyed into old age, had he lived in peacetime.

The important thing now is to include as much positive discussion and action to keep a strong and growing friendship with our Japanese Allies.

Agreed. Like Racehorse, I also respect those who can neither forget nor forgive Japanese atrocities.

(Did you know that the US Marines fought Koreans in 1871? It was our first real contact with Korea?)

I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. :)

My simple understanding (reader's digest version):

With all of the ambition and desire the pre-war Japanese culture had, and being so enamored with the Americans that brought them out of their isolation, many pro-militant Japanese (especially the successful combat hardened Imperial Japanese officers) were discouraged by the lack of racial acceptance of what America use to be.

Japanese militant politics fashioned themselves from misconceived fantasies of the Samurai class defeated by, then, modern conscripted Imperial armies. The fascist politics used a twisted modernized Bushido code to "save face" for failed Japanese politics that couldn't halt encroaching Western powers. The militant politics felt that the expanding Japanese population, and hyper-industrializing society, couldn't and shouldn't be constrained to the Japanese Islands. Because Western powers (particularly British and American are faulted by the militant Japanese) didn't offer a compromise to democratic Japanese politics, the whole of Japan was shamed for having to essential neuter its military, and particularly naval power. Militant politics violently took control of Japanese democratic politics.

(Note of 20/20 hindsight...what if America offered business opportunity to replace what Japan would have built? Build oil tankers and cargo ships instead of battleships and carriers and let's all get rich?)

As previously stated, who should the successful Imperial Japanese military powers kowtow to? The Imperial Navy thoroughly destroyed the Russian Tzar's fleet and any Chinese gunboats tried to tangle with Japan. The Imperial Army had decimated Russian Armies even when the Japanese were clearly outnumbered. Many Japanese had given up the agricultural economy to live in industrialized cities. Western powers blocked resources to Japan that would continue to fuel that economy.

Some historians viewing the Japanese side of history state that their country was staring starvation in the face. Some viewing the nature of Japanese Imperialism didn't like the lack of individual rights that the Empire had for its subjects at home and especially lacking for those conquered. I'm sure that fault can be placed on all sides for what led up to WW2 in the Pacific Theater. I also know that the Christian message was neither well received by former Japanese Shoguns nor other powers that decided Nagasaki (largest population of Japanese Christians) was a legitimate target for destruction. But then again, if all with free will were to have accept the Christian message, then there wouldn't have been all this war history we're talking about right now.

Agreed - particularly having been on the island for a month. Those guys (whether they knew who he was or not) weren't in the mood to tell some Japanese guy what a great man he was at that point, I'm guessing.

When you're afraid to fall asleep, you get a little jumpy.

They even had to make up ways to call a medic ("Tallulah!", because of the pronounciation, so the enemy couldn't imitate them and take out their docs) - so it's a pretty good stretch to think they'd be sweet talking this guy.

I don't care about Japans pain.
I care about the pain of Americans as well as other nations citizens that died because of Japan.

The Japaneese were more then brutal. They were savage.
I would no sooner buy a mitsubishi then I would tour France.
This company as well as many other Japaneese firms used American and other P.O.W.s as slave labour.
I can go on for about ten pages decumenting the abuses meeted out by these "Allies".
The only reason they care a whif about us is to have us help keep China at bay.
The Chineese would still love to beat hell out of japan after the carnage they suffered so long ago.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.