The word history possesses two meanings. One is "events of the past in and of themselves". The other is "a record of events of the past put into writing for the benefit of future generations" (historiography). Before writing was invented, history was transmitted orally (and still is today in communities lacking a writing system). Once writing was invented and literacy became widespread, the oral tradition gave way to written records, the literature of history. Today, when we speak of history, we are usually referring to historiography, i.e., historical literature --- the events of the past as expressed in writing.
Our perception of history derives from past events as transmitted via the written word, not from the events themselves. Is it possible for us to obtain an accurate understanding of past events? This is, epistemologically, a difficult question to answer. However, we must avoid the pitfalls of agnosticism, which is both nihilistic and unproductive, and resign ourselves of our fate as mere mortals: We cannot aspire to a totally accurate comprehension of historical facts through the medium of the written word, but we can arrive at an understanding that is a very close approximation.
Historical researchers must be aware of these possibilities (and limitation) before they embark on this intellectual activity. However, the transformation of the events of the past into the written word must always be guided by a conscientious effort to represent those events as authentically as possible. All historiographers who commit the fruits of their research to paper shoulder a weighty ethical responsibility, which involves selecting their words, the medium of facts, with the utmost care.
Unfortunately, those who engage in the recounting of history, a most sacred undertaking, do not always take this responsibility seriously. Some "historiographers" make no effort to choose words that most closely resemble the truth. Worse, they approach the task of writing the history with the attitude that their use of forceful language will convince readers that they are conveying information that very closely resembles historical fact. They are unqualified to practice the art of historiography precisely because they do not have the requisite respect for the reasoning process (logos), on which their words should rightly be based. Nevertheless, we are confronted with many such charlatans who invent or intentionally misrepresent history and, regrettably, there is little we can do to stop them.
During the modern era, inventors of history found the perfect arena for their misdeeds --- the IMTFE (International Military Tribune for the Far East, commonly known as the "Tokyo Trials"), held between 1946 and 1948 in Japan's capital, Tokyo. For their main theme, they selected Nanking Incident. Out of the occupation of the Nationalist Chinese capital by the Japanese military, which occurred during the course of a war, and which was otherwise unremarkable, they manufactured the "Nanking Massacre". Their handiwork soon gave rise to the illusion that their invention was fact. The illusion continued to gain force, until it became entrenched in the literature of history, as fact. The creation of the "Nanking Massacre" can be attributed to the Allied nations that prosecuted "war criminals" at the Tokyo Trials, and to the Republic of China which, lacking the conscience that inspires respect for the words of men, entered into conspiracy with the witnesses it dispatched to the tribunal, where they lied on the witness stand.
From the opening of the Tokyo Trials in 1946 until April 1952, when the Treaty of Peace was signed in San Francisco and the sovereignty of Japan was restored, the citizens of Japan, an occupied nation, were unable to denounce or protest the fabrication of history perpetrated at the tribunal. Wrested of freedom of speech, they were powerless to object to the shower of baseless slanders and charges of nonexistent war crimes that fell upon them. During the Occupation, which spanned nearly seven years, the sins committed by Japanese military in Nanking, products of their inventors' imaginations, were persistently and repeatedly broadcast throughout the world. This propaganda was spectacularly successful; it was embraced as fact by the international community, and engendered an inexorable, undeserved prejudice.
In April 1952, with freedom of speech restored to them, Japanese scholars debated the Nanking Incident, and exposed it for what it was --- the falsest of falsehoods. They then attempted to share the information they had acquired in the hope of refuting the notion of a "Nanking Massacre". However, by that time, the aforementioned prejudice had become so widespread and so entrenched in the collective memory that it seemed impossible to dispel.
But once roused to action, Japan's scholars persevered. They were painfully aware of their responsibility toward the written word, and could not sit by in silence while the minds of the people of the world were being clouded by vicious Chinese propaganda. The work of every scholar who joined in this quest is significant, and there are quite a few books that I would be happy to recommend to English-speaking readers, since they describe events as they actually took place.
Among them, I have singled out the writings of Tanaka Masaaki. They merit special mention, since Mr. Tanaka was the pioneer in the search for the truth about the Nanking Incident. He began work on his refutation of the "Nanking Massacre" while the Tokyo Trials were still in session. Once freedom of speech was restored, he began to write in earnest. Over a period of nearly 50 years, he has honed his arguments, subjecting his writings to constant reanalysis and revision. In What Really Happened in Nanking, his definitive work on the subject, Mr. Tanaka presents judiciously reasoned arguments. Furthermore, his respect for the virtue and power (logos) of words is obvious, as is his dedication to the historiographer's mission: to portray the events of history as accurate as is humanly possible. It is my fervent hope that English speakers throughout the world will put aside any preconceptions they may harbor, and afford this book the audience that it so richly deserves.
Kobori Keiichiro, Ph.D.
The recent emergence of a problem that has affected Japan-U.S. relations is a serious cause for concern. At root of this problem are allegations made by Chinese-American writer Iris Chang in her book entitled The Rape of Nanking (published in the United States in 1997) and the anti-Japanese campaigns it has instigated. The book's subtitle, The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, likens what Chang refers to as the "Nanking Massacre" to Nazi attempts to exterminate the Jews.
In the first place, Japan resolved not to discriminate against Jews in the "Outline of Measures Towards Jewish Peoples" (1938),1 and ultimately saved a significant number of Jews from the Holocaust.2 Chang's portrayal of Japan as a nation complicit in the Holocaust --- any holocaust --- betrays her ignorance (and temerity).
The inflammatory prose that characterizes The Rape of Nanking is rife with accusations that are simply untrue and descriptions of despicable, horrific crimes that were never committed. The photographs she includes (12 pages) are, without exception, fakes.
Nevertheless, this book has succeeded in engendering hatred of Japan and the Japanese in the hearts of Americans, through the great majority of them neither knew about nor were interested in the hostilities that took place in Nanking 63 years ago prior to its publication. Thanks to the energetic support and propagandizing of Chinese activist groups based in the United States, The Rape of Nanking quickly became a bestseller, with more than 500,000 copies sold to date. It has also created political tension between the two nations. For instance, in August 1999, the California State Assembly passed a resolution (AJR 27) urging Japan to apologize for wartime atrocities and to pay reparations to the victims of those atrocities.
How did the Japanese government respond to these insults? Saito Kunihiko, Japan's ambassador to the United States, agreed to enter into a televised dialogue with Chang. However, during the dialogue, he uttered not one word of protest against Chang's lies, hyperbole, and propaganda. Mr. Saito's only response was to state that Japanese history textbook do indeed contain accounts of the Nanking Incident (until recently, this term was used to describe the battles that were waged in and around Nanking and the subsequent occupation --- nothing more). The journalists who had comprised the studio audience then reported in the American media that the Japanese government had corroborated Chang's, allegations, i.e., that the Japanese massacred 300,000 Chinese in Nanking, and they are now teaching their children about the massacre via accounts in textbook.
Matsui Iwane was, without question, the most illustrious Japanese officer of his time. He graduated from the Military Staff College at the head of his class, for which achievement Emperor Showa presented him with a Japanese sword. Soon thereafter, Matsui was posted to China, where he remained 16 years, and supported Sun Yatsen in his second revolution against Yuan Shikai. A staunch advocate of a united Asia, Matsui was the Army's China expert.
When fighting broke out between the Japanese and Chinese in Shanghai in 1937, the Headquarters of the General Staff dispatched the Shanghai Expeditionary Force and ordered Gen. Matsui into active service as its commander-in-chief. The Japanese had only 25,000 men at their disposal, while the Chinese had 300,000. Japanese military authorities, realizing that reinforcements were required, mobilized the 10th Army, commanded by Lt.-Gen. Yanagawa Heisuke, which landed at Hangzhou on November 5. The Japanese emerged victorious. On December 1, Tada Hayao, Subchief of the General Staff, flew to Shanghai and issued the order to attack Nanking. The 10th Army and the Shanghai Expeditionary Force were combined to form the General China Area Army, of which Gen. Matsui was appointed commander-in-chief.
The General China Area Army then advanced to Nanking. Gen. Matsui issued a warning to Nanking Defense Corps commander-in-chief Tang Shengzhi, urging him to open the gates of the city and admit Japanese troops without offering any resistance, but the warning was rejected. On December 10, the Japanese decided to launce a massive assault on Nanking. Gen. Matsui gathered his subordinates and conveyed the following instructions: "The entrance of the Imperial Army into the capital of a foreign nation is a historic event. The attention of the world will be focused on you. You are to observe military regulations to the letter, to set an example for the future." He ensured that all his men received a map of Nanking and vicinity, with the Zhongshan Tomb (where Sun Yatsen is interred), the Ming Xiao Tomb, foreign legations, and other places where they were prohibited from entering clearly marked, and ordered sentries to be posted at each one of them. He added, "Anyone who loots or starts a fire, even accidentally, will be severely punished."
On December 13, Nanking fell to the Japanese. They made a ceremonial entry into the city on December 17, on the following day, held a memorial service for the war dead. Concerned that no one would be praying for the repose of their souls, Gen. Matsui proposed that the Chinese war dead be honored at the same service. However, staff officers and division commanders objected; the service was held only for Japanese soldiers killed in action. (However, Japanese military authorities later conducted memorial services for fallen Chinese soldiers, on February 2 and 28, as described on p.126,127) Even after Gen. Matsui returned to Japan, his sentiments did not change. In 1940, he erected a shrine dedicated to a united Asia in honor both the Japanese and Chinese war dead, on Mt. Izu in Atami.
According to an essay he wrote about the construction of the shrine, Gen. Matsui very much regretted having to wage war with a neighboring nation, especially one that he admired. However, he believed that the conflict would eventually go down in history as a righteous war that had ultimately rescued the people of East Asia from European domination and lay the foundation for their independence. Gen. Matsui prophesied that an Asian revival as imminent.
To soil that he had shipped to Japan from the battlefields of Central China, stained with the blood of both Japanese and Chinese soldiers, Gen. Matsui added Japanese clay. He then commissioned master potter Shibayama Seifu to create a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy measuring 3.3 meters in height. He commissioned Kato Haruji, awarded Living National Treasure status by the Japanese government, to craft another statue of Kannon (60.6cm high) for the main hall of the shrine. To the right of this statue, Gen. Matsui had a memorial tablet honoring Japanese soldiers killed in action, and to its left, an identical tablet for the Nationalist soldiers. Surplus lumber from the Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya was used to build the mail hall. For the solemn consecration ceremony, the venerable priest Tessui was summoned from Tokyo. Would an officer as honorable and ethical as Gen. Matsui have ordered or sanctioned the massacre of 300,000 Chinese?
In March 1938, Gen. Matsui returned to Japan from Nanking. After reporting to the Emperor, he visited army hospitals in Osaka, Nagoya, Sendai and other parts of Japan, comforting his wounded or ailing subordinates. I accompanied him on these visit. At some point during our travels, he told me that he wondered whether Nanking was still a peaceful, orderly city, and asked me to go there to investigate.
In July 1938, seven months after the fall of Nanking, I inspected former battle sites at Yuhuatai, Zijinshan, Xiaguan, and Xinhezhen. Additionally, I explored every inch of Nanking. The population, and the city was safe enough for women to venture out alone at night. I submitted a report to that effect to Gen. Matsui.
In 1942, at the age of 32, I was drafted into the Army. I was assigned to the Central China Field Ordnance Depot in Shanghai. I heard Emperor Showa's radio broadcast announcing the end of World War II at the Branch Ordnance Depot in Wuxi, in 1945. By the time I returned to my home in Nagano, it was April 1946.
I learned that Gen. Matsui had been charged with Class A war crimes, and had been incarcerated at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo. I travelled from Nagano three times to visit him. He told me that he had never heard a word about a massacre in Nanking until the Tokyo Trials began. He had left Nanking for Shanghai a week after the ceremonial entry into the city. At two press conferences he held for foreign journalists, no one mentioned a massacre.
Sixth Division commander Lt.-Gen. Tani Hisao, who was sentenced to death at a war crimes trial held in Nanking, said that he was astonished when he first heard about the " massacre". He hadn't heard anything about one from his subordinates or anyone else, for that matter.
When I heard that William Webb, the presiding justice at the Tokyo Trials, had sentenced Gen. Matsui, the man whom I respected more than anyone else on the earth, to death by hanging, I was devastated --- so much so that I couldn't eat. To console myself, and in hope of spreading the truth to the widest audience possible, I began to write. My first book was Justice Radhabinod Pal3 Absolves Japan.4 Later, I produced four more books: The Truth About the Tokyo Trials,5 The Fabrication of the Nanking Massacre,6 The War Journal of General Matsui Iwane,7 and What Really Happened in Nanking: The Refutation of a Common Myth.8
I believe that What Really Happened in Nanking is my representative work, the fruit of long years of research on this subject, and tells the true story of what happened in Nanking. The English-language version contains only part of the original book, but it covers all the main points made therein. I urge American researchers, politicians, scholars, journalists, and opinion leaders to read it. Once they have, I am convinced that they will arrive at the realization that violations of international law of the magnitude alleged by Iris Chang in The Rape of Nanking (more than 300,000 murders and 80,000 rapes) never took place.
This problem threatens not only Japan-U.S. relations, but also world peace. Both nations must be careful to avoid being misled by misinterpretations and demagoguery, and make an earnest effort to seek the truth.
In conclusion, I would like thank Professor Kobori Keiichiro for contributing the Foreword. To Moteki Hiromichi, president of Sekai Shuppan, Inc., I offer my deepest appreciation for his encouragement, and for shouldering the responsibility for all matters relating to the translation and publication of this book.
The maintenance of cloth, amicable relations with Germany and Italy is axial to Imperial Japan's foreign policy. Consequently, the welcoming of the Jewish people into the Empire must, in principle, be avoided in light of the exclusionist policy adopted toward the Jews by our allies.
However, an exclusionary stance as extreme as that taken by Germany is simply incompatible with the spirit of racial equality that we have advocated for so many years.
Furthermore, such a stance would be extremely disadvantageous to the Empire, given the present state of emergency it faces. We must introduce foreign capital so that we may accomplish the economic construction needed to wage war, and we must not allow relations with the United States to deteriorate. For the aforementioned reasons, the following policy shall be adopted toward the Jewish people.
Lt.-Gen. Higuchi Kiichiro, head of the Harbin Special Agency, lent his support to the first conference of the Jewish communities in the Far East held at Harbin in 1937. Later, he aided many Jews who had fled to Manchuria. His good deeds have been recorded in Israelis Golden Book (Register No.4026).
Colonel Yasue Senko, head of the Dalian Special Agency, also assisted Jews who escaped to Manchuria in 1938. Subsequently, he made a special effort to protect Jewish communities in Manchuria and Shanghai. His contributions are also recorded in the Golden Book (Register No.4028).
Professor, Meisei University
Professor emeritus, Tokyo University
Introduction
Statue of Koa Kannon on Mt. Izu, Atami
Notes