April 7, 2010Fifteen tanka (Japanese 31-syllable poems) written by novelist Ashihei Hino on the day that World War II ended have been discovered and are being exhibited at the Kitakyushu Literature Museum until April 11.
Hino, a Kitakyushu native, received high acclaim for his three-part "solider" series including "Mugi to heitai" (Wheat and Soldiers), which he wrote while serving in the second Sino-Japanese War.
Immediately following Japan's defeat in World War II, however, Hino was condemned for being a "cultural war criminal." After much self-introspection over his wartime actions and questioning the inhumane acts committed by the U.S. such as the dropping of the atomic bombs, Hino committed suicide in 1960 at the age of 53.
The 15 tanka found this year -- 50 years after his death, which also marks the 50-year anniversary of the Japan-U.S. security pact -- can be seen as expressions of protest against the Japanese public's uncritical acceptance of the bilateral security arrangement.
At the time the war ended, Hino belonged to the Imperial Japanese Army's Western Military News Service, a unit of intellectuals based in the city of Fukuoka. The newly discovered tanka were written in notes given to colleagues.
In Hino's hometown of Kitakyushu's Wakamatsu Ward, surviving family members and academics have been re-reading his works for the past 10 years. At first glance, his poems may seem like the futile resistance of a militarist. But having attended the meetings in which Hino's works are re-examined, I cannot shrug his words off as those of a mere war monger.
The author, rather, was a humanist. In "Mugi to Heitai," documenting the everyday lives of soldiers, Hino depicts the savage murder of Chinese soldiers. In "Hana to ryu" (Flower and Dragon), a novel Hino wrote after the war, all of the characters are common people. Hino was exposed to American literature during his time as a Waseda University student, and experienced the labor movement after he graduated. At the same time, however, he received his education in pre-war Japan and worshipped the Imperial Family.
Society underwent drastic change after Japan experienced defeat in World War II. People played up to the U.S. military and denounced Hino. A month after the end of the war, he stopped writing indefinitely after penning the words: "Moral decay and lack of integrity are the true cause of defeat." In 1948, he was driven from his position in the public service. The hows and whys of what happened during this time are detailed in his autobiographical novel, "Kakumei zengo" (Before and After the Revolution), written after Hino took up his pen again in 1959, and was released in 1959. In the book, the protagonist says in an interrogation at the hands of the U.S. military, "Once the war began, I could not help but hope for the victory of my homeland."
This may have been as far as Hino could go. But as an editor at Fukuoka publisher Sogensha says, for Hino, a good Japanese person was synonymous with a good human being. The 15 newly discovered tanka were an expression of the pure-mindedness with which he believed in Japan's righteousness. One poem, which reads that, "Those who do not follow the Emperor (i.e. America,) should be brought down," could be interpreted as a mere expression of hostility toward the enemy. One may see that there may be more to it, however, upon reading "Kakumei zengo," which describes a scene in which members of a news service find themselves at a loss for words after seeing photos of Nagasaki soon after the dropping of the atomic bomb. Indeed, Hino made friends take the photos -- "valuable materials documenting atrocities," he called them -- home to avoid confiscation by the U.S. military.
It was the famous military photographer Yosuke Yamahata (1917-1966) who took the photos, which were published in 1952 in a book called "Genbaku no Nagasaki" (Atomic Nagasaki) and sent shockwaves all around the world. I cannot help but believe that the phrase "bring down those who do not follow the Emperor," written by Hino after Japan experienced atomic bombings and air raids, was meant as a criticism of such acts against humanity committed by the U.S.
In addition to questioning his own responsibility for the war, Hino also turned his attention toward Japan-U.S. relations when he returned to the literary world in 1950. In his 1952 work "Chigirareta Nawa" (Torn Rope), based in U.S.-occupied Okinawa, the protagonist relays stories of people being forcibly stripped of their land and crimes running rampant. "The government in Tokyo appears to be busier currying favor with the U.S. than it is thinking about the welfare of Okinawa and the Japanese public," the main character of the novel says.
In "Amerika Tanken-ki" (A Record of Travels in America), Hino talks of his journey to the U.S. in 1958. There, he was overcome with frustration over joint Japan-U.S. drills in Pearl Harbor, pointing out that "Japan-U.S. goodwill is not a sign of freedom and peace." He also refers to the curiosity of the U.S. atomic bombings avoiding trial as war crimes, and insists, "Humankind must never again fight wars." I believe this was Hino's final conclusion.
Half a century has passed since revisions to the Japan-U.S. security arrangement -- an issue that split public opinion in two -- came into effect. Today, the expression "Japan-U.S. alliance" is uttered without hesitation, and the Futenma relocation issue has made it obvious that maintaining the bilateral alliance is considered a higher priority than the will of the Okinawan people. Hino's son, Fumitaro Tamai, 73, says, "Precisely because my father was a patriot, there is no doubt he would've been indignant about the current situation had he been alive today."
After completing his autobiographical novel "Kakumei zengo," Hino wrote a suicide note saying that he was going to kill himself because of "a vague anxiety."
A line from "Kanashiki heitai" (The Sad Soldier), which Hino wrote immediately before he went on his writing hiatus, is loaded with meaning.
"That the very thing (a lack of critical thinking) that led to Japan's defeat is being dragged along and passed down after the war -- is terrifying just to think about." (By Kazuto Ito, Kyushu Editorial Department)
Click here for the original Japanese story
(Mainichi Japan) April 7, 2010
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