On this date, February 23, 1946, the
Tiger of Malaya, Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita was executed by hanging in
Laguna, Philippines. I will post information about him from Wikipedia and other
links before giving my thoughts.
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Photo of Yamashita Tomoyuki,
Lieutenant-General, Commander of the Japanese 25th Army in 1941
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Native
name
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山下 奉文
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Nickname
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"The
Tiger of Malaya"
"The Beast of Bataan" |
Born
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November 8,
1885
Kōchi prefecture, Japan |
Died
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February
23, 1946 (aged 60)
Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines |
Allegiance
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Empire of
Japan
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Service/branch
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Imperial
Japanese Army
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Years of
service
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1905–1945
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Rank
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General
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Commands
held
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25th Army
1st Area Army 14th Area Army |
Battles/wars
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Awards
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Tomoyuki Yamashita (山下 奉文
Yamashita Tomoyuki, November 8, 1885 – February 23,
1946) was an Imperial Japanese Army general during World War II. He was most
famous for conquering the British possessions of Malaya and Singapore.
Biography
Yamashita
was born the son of a local doctor in Osugi village, in what is now part of Ōtoyo
village, Kōchi prefecture, Shikoku. He attended military preparatory schools in
his youth.
Early
military career
After
graduating from the 18th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in
November 1905, Yamashita was commissioned a second lieutenant in June 1906.
Promoted to lieutenant in December 1908, he fought against the German Empire in
Shantung, China in 1914. Promoted to captain in May 1916, he attended the 28th
class of the Army War College, graduating sixth in his class in 1916. He
married Hisako Nagayama, the daughter of retired General Nagayama in 1916.
Yamashita became an expert on Germany, serving as assistant military attaché at
Bern, Switzerland and Berlin, Germany from 1919–1922. He was promoted to major
in February 1922.
On
his return to Japan in 1922, Major Yamashita served in the Imperial
Headquarters and the Staff College, receiving promotion to lieutenant-colonel
in August 1925. While posted to the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff,
Yamashita unsuccessfully promoted a military reduction plan. Despite his
ability, Yamashita fell into disfavor as a result of his involvement with
political factions within the Japanese military. As a leading member of the "Imperial
Way" group, he became a rival to Hideki Tōjō and other members of the
"Control Faction". In 1928, Yamashita was posted to Vienna, Austria,
as the military attaché, and was promoted to colonel in August 1929.
In
1930, Colonel Yamashita was given command of the elite 3rd Imperial Infantry
Regiment. Promoted to major-general in August 1934, after the February 26
Incident of 1936, he fell into disfavor with Emperor Hirohito due to his appeal
for leniency toward the rebel officers involved in the attempted coup.
Early
war years
Yamashita
insisted Japan should end the conflict with China and keep peaceful relations
with the United States and Great Britain, but he was ignored and subsequently
assigned to an unimportant post in the Kwantung Army. However, he was promoted
to lieutenant-general in November 1937. From 1938 to 1940, he was assigned to
command the IJA 4th Division which saw some action in northern China against
Chinese insurgents fighting the occupying Japanese armies.
In
December 1940, Yamashita was sent on a clandestine military mission to Germany
and Italy, where he met with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
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| General Tomoyuki Yamashita leading successful assault of japanese troops on Malaya. |
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In Singapore.
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February 15, 1942.
Battle of Singapore, British Surrender. Lt.-Gen. Yamashita (seated, centre)
thumps the table with his fist to emphasize his terms -- unconditional
surrender. Lt.-Gen. Percival sits between his officers, his clenched hand to
his mouth. (Photo from Imperial War Museum)
This photograph
was created in Singapore during British colonial time. It has great historic
and educational value for independent Singapore.
In addition, the
copyright of the photograph may be expired. In Singapore, copyright expired
after 50 years. In UK, photographs taken before 1955 are in public domain.
This photograph is
taken in 1942 and has exceeded sixty years. This photograph is also found in
the Singapore National Archive, the majority of the content there is Public
Domain. Either way, it is Public domain.
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Malaya
and Singapore
Main
articles: Battle of Malaya and Battle of Singapore
On
6 November 1941, Lieutenant-General Yamashita was put in command of the Twenty-Fifth
Army. On 8 December, he launched an invasion of Malaya, from bases in French
Indochina. In the campaign, which concluded with the fall of Singapore on 15
February 1942, Yamashita's 30,000 front-line soldiers captured 130,000 British,
Indian, and Australian troops, the largest surrender of British-led personnel
in history. He became known as the "Tiger of Malaya".
The
campaign and the subsequent Japanese occupation of Singapore included war
crimes committed against captive Allied personnel and civilians, such as the Alexandra
Hospital and Sook Ching massacres. Yamashita's culpability for these events
remains a matter of controversy, as some argued that he had failed to prevent
them. However, Yamashita had the officer who instigated the hospital massacre
and some soldiers caught looting executed for these acts, and he personally
apologized to the surviving Alexandra Hospital patients.
Manchukuo
On
17 July 1942, Yamashita was reassigned from Singapore to far-away Manchukuo
again, having been given a post in commanding the First Area Army, and was
effectively sidelined for a major part of the Pacific War. It is thought that
Tōjō, by then the Prime Minister, was responsible for his banishment, taking
advantage of Yamashita's gaffe during a speech made to Singaporean civilian
leaders in early 1942, when he referred to the local populace as "citizens
of the Empire of Japan" (this was considered embarrassing for the Japanese
government, who officially did not consider the residents of occupied
territories to have the rights or privileges of Japanese citizenship). He was
promoted to full general in February 1943.
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General Yamashita Tomoyuki and staff
surrender 2 September 1945 General Yamashita Tomoyuki and staff surrender 2
September 1945.
General Yamashita, Commander, Japanese
forces, ‘Tiger of Malaya,” and his staff walk down the trail to U.S. forces in
northern Luzon, occupied by Co ‘I’, 128th Inf Regt, 32nd Division.
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General Yamashita and
his staff surrender to officers of the 32nd Infantry Division, Luzon, P.I., 2
September 1945.
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The
Philippines
Main
article: Philippines campaign (1944–45)
In
1944, when the war situation was critical for Japan, Yamashita was rescued from
his enforced exile in China by the new Japanese government after the downfall
of Hideki Tōjō and his cabinet, and he assumed the command of the Fourteenth
Area Army to defend the Philippines on 10 October. The U.S. forces landed on Leyte
on 20 October, only ten days after Yamashita's arrival at Manila. On 6 January
1945, the Sixth U.S. Army, totalling 200,000 men, landed at Lingayen Gulf in Luzon.
Yamashita
commanded approximately 262,000 troops in three defensive groups; the largest,
the Shobo Group, under his personal command numbered 152,000 troops, defended
northern Luzon. The smallest group, totaling 30,000 troops, known as the Kembu
Group, under the command of Tsukada, defended Bataan and the western shores.
The last group, the Shimbu Group, totaling 80,000 men under the command of
Yokoyama, defended Manila and southern Luzon. Yamashita tried to rebuild his
army but was forced to retreat from Manila to the Sierra Madre mountains of
northern Luzon, as well as the Cordillera Central mountains. Yamashita ordered
all troops, except those tasked with security, out of the city.
Almost
immediately, Imperial Japanese Navy Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi re-occupied
Manila with 16,000 sailors, with the intent of destroying all port facilities
and naval storehouses. Once there, Iwabuchi took command of the 3,750 Army
security troops, and against Yamashita's specific order, turned the city into a battlefield. The
battle and the Japanese atrocities resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 Filipino
civilians, in what would be later known as the Manila
massacre, during the fierce street fighting for the capital which raged
from February 4 to March 3.
Yamashita
used delaying tactics to maintain his army in Kiangan (part of the Ifugao
Province), until 2 September 1945, after the surrender of Japan, where his forces were
reduced to under 50,000 by the tough campaigning by elements of the combined
American and Filipino soldiers including the recognized guerrillas. Yamashita
surrendered in the presence of Generals Jonathan Wainwright and Arthur Percival,
both of whom had been prisoners of war in Manchuria. Percival had surrendered
to Yamashita after the Battle of Singapore.
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| Yamashita (second from right) at his trial in Manila, November 1945 |
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The Yamashita Trial Commission. From left to
right: Maj. Gen. Donovan, Brig. Gen. Harwerk, Maj. Gen. Reynolds, Brig. Gen.
Bullens, and Maj. Gen. Lester. The Yamashita Trial Commission. From left to
right: Maj. Gen. Donovan, Brig. Gen. Harwerk, Maj. Gen. Reynolds, Brig. Gen.
Bullens, and Maj. Gen. Lester.
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Trial
From
29 October to 7 December 1945, an American military tribunal in Manila tried
General Yamashita for war crimes relating to the Manila Massacre and many
atrocities in the Philippines and Singapore against civilians and prisoners of
war, such as the Sook Ching massacre, and sentenced him to death. This
controversial case has become a precedent regarding the command responsibility
for war crimes and is known as the Yamashita Standard.
The
principal accusation against Yamashita was that he had failed in his duty as
commander of Japanese forces in the Philippines to prevent them from committing
atrocities. The defense acknowledged that atrocities had been committed but
contended that the breakdown of communications and the Japanese chain of
command in the chaotic battle of the second Philippines campaign was such that
Yamashita could not have controlled his troops even if he had known of their
actions, which was not certain in any case; furthermore, many of the atrocities
had been committed by Japanese naval forces outside his command.
During
his trial, the defense attorneys who challenged MacArthur deeply impressed
General Yamashita with their dedication to the case, and reaffirmed his respect
for his former enemies. American lawyer Harry E. Clarke, Sr., a colonel in the United
States Army at the time, served as the chief counsel for the defense. In his
opening statement, Clarke asserted:
The Accused is not charged with having done something or having failed to do something, but solely with having been something....American jurisprudence recognizes no such principle so far as its own military personnel are concerned....No one would even suggest that the Commanding General of an American occupational force becomes a criminal every time an American soldier violates the law....one man is not held to answer for the crime of another.
The
court found Yamashita guilty as charged and sentenced him to death. Clarke
appealed the sentence to General MacArthur, who upheld it. He then appealed to
the Philippines Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court, both of
which declined to review the verdict.
The
trial was not without criticism.
In
dissent from the Supreme Court of the United States's majority, Justice W.B. Rutledge
wrote:
More is at stake than General Yamashita's fate. There could be no possible sympathy for him if he is guilty of the atrocities for which his death is sought. But there can be and should be justice administered according to the law....It is not too early, it is never too early, for the nation steadfastly to follow its great constitutional traditions, none older or more universally protective against unbridled power than due process of law in the trial and punishment of men, that is, of all men, whether citizens, aliens, alien enemies or enemy belligerents.
The
legitimacy of the hasty trial was questioned at the time, including by Justice Frank
Murphy, who protested various procedural issues, the inclusion of hearsay
evidence, and the general lack of professional conduct by the prosecuting
officers. The considerable body of evidence that Yamashita did not have
ultimate command responsibility over all military units in the Philippines was
not admitted in court.
Former
war crimes prosecutor Allan Ryan argues that by order of five American
generals, General Douglas MacArthur, and the Supreme Court of the United
States, General Yamashita was executed for what his soldiers did without his
approval or even prior knowledge. The two dissenting Supreme Court Justices
called the entire trial a miscarriage of justice, an exercise in vengeance, and
a denial of human rights.
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Yamashita is removed from the courtroom by
military police immediately after hearing the verdict of death by hanging.
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Execution
Following
the Supreme Court decision, an appeal for clemency was made to U.S. President Harry
S Truman; Truman, however, declined to intervene and left the matter entirely
in the hands of the military authorities. In due course, General MacArthur
confirmed the sentence of the Commission.
On
23 February 1946, at Los Baños, Laguna Prison Camp, 30 miles (48 km) south
of Manila, Yamashita was hanged. After climbing the thirteen steps leading to
the gallows, he was asked if he had a final statement. To this Yamashita
replied through a translator:
I was carrying out my duty, as the Japanese high commander of the Japanese Army in the Philippine Islands, to control my army with the best of my ability during wartime. Until now, I believe that I have tried my best for my army. As I said in the Manila Supreme Court that I have done everything with all my capacity, so I wouldn't be ashamed in front of the Gods for what I have done when I have died. But if you say to me "you do not have any ability to command the Japanese Army," I should say nothing in response, because it is my own nature. Now, our war criminal trial is going on in the Manila Supreme Court, so I wish to be justified under your kindness and righteousness. I know that all your American military affairs always have had tolerant and rightful judgment. When I had been investigated in the Manila court, I have had good treatment, a kind attitude from your good-natured officers who protected me all the time. I will never forget what they have done for me even if I die. I don't blame my executioners. I'll pray that the Gods bless them. Please send my thankful word to Col. Clarke and Lt. Col. Feldhaus, Lt. Col. Hendrix, Maj. Guy, Capt. Sandburg, Capt. Reel, at Manila court, and Col. Arnard. I thank you. I pray for the Emperor's long life and prosperity forever.
Yamashita's
chief of staff in the Philippines, Akira Mutō, was executed on 23 December 1948
after having been found guilty of war crimes by the International Military
Tribunal for the Far East.
Enduring
legal legacy
The
U.S. Supreme Court has never overruled its 1946 Yamashita decision. The
precedent the decision established was that a commander can be held accountable
before the law for the crimes committed by his troops even if he did not order
them, did not stand by to allow them, or possibly even know about them or have
the means to stop them.
This
doctrine of command accountability has been added to the Geneva Conventions and
was applied to dozens of trials in the international tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia. It has also been adopted by the International Criminal Court
established in 2002.
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tomoyuki_Yamashita
- I was carrying out my duty, as the Japanese high commander of the Japanese Army in the Philippine Islands, to control my army with the best of my ability during wartime. Until now, I believe that I have tried my best for my army. As I said in the Manila Supreme Court that I have done everything with all my capacity, so I wouldn't be ashamed in front of the Gods for what I have done when I have died. But if you say to me "you do not have any ability to command the Japanese Army," I should say nothing in response, because it is my own nature. Now, our war criminal trial is going on in the Manila Supreme Court, so I wish to be justified under your kindness and righteousness. I know that all your American military affairs always have had tolerant and rightful judgment. When I had been investigated in the Manila court, I have had good treatment, a kind attitude from your good-natured officers who protected me all the time. I will never forget what they have done for me even if I die. I don't blame my executioners. I'll pray that the Gods bless them. Please send my thankful word to Col. Clarke and Lt. Col. Feldhaus, Lt. Col. Hendrix, Maj. Guy, Capt. Sandburg, Capt. Reel, at Manila court, and Col. Arnard. I thank you. I pray for the Emperor's long life and prosperity forever.
- Last words. Quoted in "Yamashita Hanged Near Los Banos" - "New York Times" article - February 23, 1946
- How could we win when you had all that?
- About the great armada of ships gathered for the invasion of Japan. Quoted in "The Tiger of Malaya: The Story of General Tomoyuki Yamashita" - Page 38 - by Aubrey Saint Kenworthy - 1953
- We have just received your reply. The Japanese Army will consider nothing but surrender.
- Quoted in "But Not in Shame: The Six Months After Pearl Harbor" - Page 216 - by John Toland - 1961
- In order to carry out orders from the southern army I sent 50,000 troops to Leyte, but due to air and submarine attacks half of them were lost.
- Quoted in "Yamashita Denies Any Atrocity Link" - New York Times - November 29, 1945
- All I want to hear from you is Yes or No!
- Demanding the surrender of Singapore. Quoted in "Secret Missions: The Story of an Intelligence Officer" - Page 419 - by Ellis M. Zacharias - 2003
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YAMASHITA'S
ARRAIGNMENT. - Lt. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, the "Tiger of Malaya," is
arraigned before the War Crimes Commission in Manila, pleading "not
guilty." He will be confined at New Bilibid Prison until his trial, October
29, 1945, in Manila. Here, Major Kenworthy, Military Police prison officer,
delivers Gen. Yamashita to the residence of the Philippine High Commissioner,
where Yamashita was held for arraignment in the first step of the war-crime
trials to be held in the Pacific. The arraignment was open to the public.
Yamashita was brought from his cell in New Bilibid Prison in an ambulance for
security reasons.
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"The Tiger"
returns to his "cage". Here General Tomoyuki Yamashita, guarded by
military police, returns to his cell at the end of a day in court listening to
testimony against him in the war crimes trial at Manila, P.I. His expression
indicates his reaction to testimony submitted concerning massacre, rape, and
other atrocities. 11/1/45.
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INTERNET
SOURCE: http://japanfocus.org/-Yuki-TANAKA/1753
Last Words of the Tiger of Malaya, General Yamashita Tomoyuki
By Yuki
Tanaka
The final reflections of a convicted war criminal enshrined at Yasukuni Jinja
One of the major reasons for Chinese and Korean
public criticism of Prime Minister Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni Shrine is that
14 out of 28 A-Class Japanese war criminals are enshrined there. Seven among
them including Tojo Hideki and Matsui Iwane were executed at the conclusion of
the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal and the other seven died either during the
tribunal or while serving their sentences. Yasukuni Shrine also sanctifies many
B and C-Class war criminals, many of whom were directly responsible for
atrocities committed throughout the Asia-Pacific region. One of those is
Tomoyuki Yamashita, who was enshrined on 17 October 1959. As the commander who
led the Japanese Imperial Army troops to invade Singapore in February 1942, he
was nicknamed the 'Tiger of Malaya.'
At 2:15 am on the morning of 8 December 1941, advance troops of the 25th Army led by Lieutenant General Yamashita landed at Kota Bharu on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula with the aim of seizing Singapore. This landing was an hour and 20 minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor and thus, strictly speaking, marks the beginning of the Pacific War. The 25th Army swiftly advanced south towards Singapore, completely unsuspected by the British forces armed with large-bore artillery that were defending Singapore from seaborne attack via the Straits of Malacca. The Japanese troops numbered 20,000; the defending troops consisted of 88,000 British, Australian, and Indian soldiers and Malay volunteers. Although the British forces had the advantage of much greater numbers, Singapore fell relatively quickly, the British not only having underestimated the ability of the Japanese forces, but being insufficiently trained in jungle warfare and lacking adequate communication among their forces.
On the evening of 15 February 1942, Yamashita and Lieutenant General A.E. Percival of the British Forces met at the Ford Motor factory outside Singapore to negotiate the surrender of the Commonwealth forces. Japanese correspondents reporting the meeting claimed that Yamashita aggressively demanded: "Is the British Army going to surrender immediately? Answer 'Yes' or 'No'." In fact, he had simply instructed his interpreter to ask Percival whether he was prepared to accept unconditional surrender. The story of this negotiation was, however, embellished and proudly publicized by the Japanese media as emblematic of Japan's new confidence and strength. Due to the swift victory of his military campaign and the successful capture of Singapore, Yamashita won the sobriquet 'Tiger of Malaya.' A feature film under the same title was screened throughout Japan and the occupied territories of Asia, creating an image of him as a ruthless militarist. Less than five months after the fall of Singapore, he was posted to remote northern Manchuria as commander of the First Area Army by General Hideki Tojo, the then Prime Minister and Minister of the Army. Effectively, Tojo demoted Yamashita whom he perceived as a threat, Yamashita belonging to a different military faction to his own.
Yamashita was promoted to General in February 1943, but in 1944, with the war situation deteriorating for Japan, he was dispatched as Commander of the 14th Area Army in the Philippines. He arrived in Manila on 6 October 1944, just two weeks prior to the landing of U.S. forces on Leyte Island. He opposed the plan devised by the Imperial Headquarters in Tokyo to send some of his troops to Leyte because of the lack of food and ammunition supplies as well as ships to transport them there. Eventually, however, he was unable to disobey his immediate superior, General Terauchi Hisaichi, General-Commander of the Southern Army, and sent approximately 80,000 troops to Leyte by early December. The result was a disaster -- 97 percent died, many from starvation. In the middle of the Battle of Leyte, Terauchi moved his headquarters from Manila to Saigon in Vietnam, thereby escaping the dangerous battlefield situation that enveloped all Japanese forces in the Philippines.
As large quantities of supplies had already been exhausted in the Battle of Leyte, there were insufficient arms and ammunition for the 287,000 Japanese troops stationed across Luzon Island under Yamashita's command as they faced 191,000 U.S. troops who landed at the island's Lingaen Bay on 9 January 1945. In mid-December 1944, anticipating the landing of the U.S. forces, Yamashita had ordered all troops stationed in Manila to evacuate the city within six weeks and his headquarters was also moved to Baguio in the mountains of northern Luzon. About 20,000 troops of the 31st Naval Base Force, initially under the command of Rear-Admiral Iwabuchi, came under Yamashita's command by late December, but they refused to move. For four weeks, these troops fought fiercely against the U.S. forces that entered the city on 3 February. As a result, about 100,000 Filipino civilians were killed. In the course of the campaign, Japanese tortured and killed many civilians believed to be members or collaborators of guerrilla groups opposing Japan. Many women were raped by the Japanese troops, and numerous civilians became victims of aerial bombing conducted by the U.S. forces. Eventually all the Japanese troops who had remained in the city to fight the Americans perished.
Yamashita's troops continued to fight in the mountains despite suffering widespread disease and starvation. By the time Yamashita surrendered to the U.S. forces in June 1945, 210,000 Japanese soldiers were dead.
Immediately after the surrender, Yamashita, as commander of all Japanese forces in the Philippines, was arrested as a war criminal, charged with responsibility for atrocities committed by Japanese forces under his command against civilians in Manila. The evidence suggests, however, that he was unaware of the crimes committed by the members of the Naval Base Force who had refused to obey his order to move out of Manila, and that he exercised no command over those forces during the battle. Despite weak legal grounds for his personal responsibility for those crimes, the U.S. court martial conducted a swift trial and sentenced him to death on 7 December 1945. The background to this affair was General MacArthur's determination to turn the trial of the 'Tiger of Malaya' into a showcase. MacArthur, who had been Governor of the Philippines, fled shortly after the Japanese invasion in late December 1941. A group of American military lawyers who defended Yamashita appealed the verdict to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the appeal was rejected by five to two. Yamashita was hanged in Manila on 23 February 1946.
What was Yamashita's responsibility for the crimes committed by Japanese troops against local civilians and POWs in the Philippines? When he arrived in Manila as Commander of the 14th Area Army in October 1944, the Japanese communication and supply system was already in turmoil, and the morale of the troops was very low. These problems intensified after his headquarters was moved to Baguio while the troops were scattered throughout the mountains of northern Luzon. By this stage the soldiers were desperate in the face of severe shortages of food, medicine and ammunition. Many soldiers never received Yamashita's orders and instructions, and many commands were ignored, even by junior officers. The rejection by the 31st Naval Base Force of Yamashita's order to evacuate Manila was a typical example of a situation aggravated by the longstanding Army-Navy rivalry. For this reason, the defense lawyers, themselves members of the American armed forces, thought the trial a "kangaroo court" -- a political exercise -- staged by the U.S. Army, particularly General MacArthur.
However, this does not automatically exempt Yamashita from responsibility for all Japanese military atrocities. On 18 February 1942, three days after the capture of Singapore, Yamashita issued an order to 'select and remove hostile Chinese.' At the time, about 600,000 Chinese lived in Singapore and anti-Japanese sentiment was rife after a decade of Japanese invasion and war beginning in Manchuria in 1931 and continuing in China from 1937. Indeed, a Chinese guerilla force set up with the help of British forces support fought fiercely against the invading Japanese troops after the fall of Singapore. For their part, the Japanese occupation force amassed and interrogated 200,000 Chinese men aged between 15 and 50, in an attempt to root out the so-called "anti-Japanese elements," such as communists and supporters of the Guomindang, as well as criminals. One officer, Masanobu Tsuji, reportedly boasted that he would reduce the Chinese population of Singapore to half by implementing Yamashita's order. Due to the haphazard methods used to find these "anti-Japanese elements," however, the exercise ended as a massacre of large numbers of innocent civilians. Estimates of the toll varied between 6,000 and 100,000, although it was probably around 40,000. Similar atrocities were also carried out across the Malaya Peninsula, resulting in the deaths of a further 60,000 Chinese. If the British forces had conducted Yamashita's war crime tribunal, he would certainly have been found guilty for this appalling large-scale massacre of Chinese.
Surprisingly, it seems that Yamashita was profoundly affected by the tribunal, even though the proceedings conducted by the US Army were patently unfair. At the hearing, about 200 victims and witnesses to various Japanese atrocities gave detailed accounts of Japanese atrocities. It must have been an excruciating experience for Yamashita, listening day after day to painful stories of the victimization of many men, women and children. In the courtroom, on the advice of his American lawyers, he denied responsibility for the crimes committed by those under his command, but in his personal will he humbly acknowledged his failure as commander to discipline his soldiers and punish those who committed crimes against the people of the Philippines. Moreover, he appears to have internalized the pain of the victims of Japanese atrocities, displaying remorse for his troops' war crimes, somehow overcoming his own old-fashioned militarist ideology and replacing it with a remarkable self-criticism. This is clear from his last words, dictated to Buddhist prison chaplain Morita Shokaku, shortly before he was hanged. These words, a message to the Japanese people, were an addition to his written will, in which he sincerely apologized to all the people of the Philippines for the atrocities that his troops committed.
His dictated message started in a state of
confusion -- many ideas must have rushed to mind just hours before his execution.
Thus some of his words in the first few paragraphs do not really make sense. It
seems that he wished to justify his decision to surrender rather than commit
suicide. He obviously had a deep sense of guilt at having survived while many
men under his command died. Such statements of remorse at not having died in
combat are not unusual and most war criminals' final statements are full of
self-justification for what they did during the war. Interestingly however, in
contrast to other Generals, Yamashita made no excuses for the atrocities that
his soldiers committed against the people of the Philippines. On the contrary,
he clearly accepted responsibility as commander and the judgment "by
rigorous but impartial law." It seems ironic that many conservative
politicians who support Prime Minister Koizumi's official visits to Yasukuni
Shrine now claim that the war crime tribunals conducted by the Allied forces
were simply "victor's justice" and therefore had no legal validity.
Undoubtedly the trials were unfair because the Allies ruled out consideration of war crimes committed by their own forces -- the most obvious example of war crimes committed by the United States being the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (The A-bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed between 70,000 and 80,000 people in an instant, and an estimated 140,000 died by the end of 1945. In Nagasaki, 70,000 people are believed to have died by the end of the same year. Many more would die agonizing deaths in subsequent years from the blast, wounds, and radiation. It is a well-established fact that the killing of civilians in wartime is contrary to international law.) However, unfairness in the tribunals themselves does not invalidate the criminality of the numerous atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during the Asia-Pacific War, nor does it call into question the responsibility of their commanders, including that of the Supreme Commander, Emperor Hirohito.
When Yamashita overcame his initial difficulty in explaining himself and started talking about his hopes for the Japanese people, his tone became quite straightforward and confident. He ascribed the fundamental cause of war crimes to the Japanese peoples' inability to make independent moral judgments. Although he did not use the term "human rights" (and probably he was not familiar with that terminology), the words "moral judgment" are repeatedly used in order to urge the Japanese people to respect the human rights of others. This is indicated by his expression "your personal responsibility in relations with other people" (emphasis added). By the time he faced execution, he clearly had come to the realization that Japan's brutal military actions were due to the lack of a sense of personal responsibility toward others that may be equated with the concept of "human rights", and that this eventually led people in Asia and elsewhere to distrust Japan. He concluded that this was one of the crucial reasons for Japan's defeat in war. He welcomed the prospect that the Japanese in defeat would belatedly be given the freedom to make their own moral judgments. But he remained apprehensive about their ability to do so, and urged the Japanese to become "cultured and dignified" people. We need to reflect on this statement carefully, particularly in the current situation where some nationalist scholars and many Japanese politicians -- including Prime Minister Koizumi -- seek to sanitize Japan's military conduct during the Asia-Pacific War.
Yamashita's second point was that there could be no weapons or military strategies to defend ourselves against nuclear weapons. This should also be re-emphasized on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 2005, and above all in light of the failure of the NPT Review Conference in May 2005 to advance the abolition of nuclear weapons. Politicians like Mr. Abe Shinzo, who think that Japan should develop nuclear arms for defense purposes, should also be reminded of General Yamashita's words that the "only method to defend ourselves against atomic bombs" is "to establish nations all over the world that would never contemplate the use of such weapons." Indeed, these words of a Japanese general at the hour of his execution are fully consistent with the spirit of eternal peace that the A-bomb victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have long advocated.
It is remarkable that half of his final words were addressed to women. Here we can discern Yamashita's hope that the new Japanese society should be built on the principles of women, not those of men, specifically power and violence. His statement that "the driving force of peace is in the heart of women" sums up his thoughts on this issue. He was surely that rare person amongst Japanese military leaders who was able to see the fundamental link between war and male violence. He came to hold the view that women should play more important roles in building peace, especially in the field of education. I am not sure how he overcame his own patriarchal beliefs in the eight months between his surrender and execution. During the conduct of his trial, something must have occurred that led him to dramatically change his views on gender and society, and indeed on war and peace.
His last point emphasizing the importance of mothers educating their children sounds like male chauvinism, imposing all responsibilities for raising children on women. We must understand, however, that his views on this issue were closely intertwined with his deep sense of personal responsibility for the deaths of many young men under his command. Perhaps for this reason he romanticized the bond between mothers and their children, using "breastfeeding" as an overriding metaphor for nurturing and educating children. It should be noted that his goal was to educate Japanese youth "to be able to live independently, cope with various circumstances, love peace, appreciate cooperation with others and have a strong will to contribute to mankind when they grow up."
Closely examining Yamashita's last words, it becomes crystal-clear that the conclusions he drew from his war experience are fundamentally at odds with the reigning ideology of Yasukuni Shrine and its supporters. It is an historical irony that General Yamashita is worshipped by neo-nationalist politicians who claim that Yasukuni Shrine is sacred, deride the legality of the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal as victor's justice, deny Japan's war responsibilities, promote nationalistic education policies and textbooks, advocate the abolition of the Peace Constitution, suggest the necessity of possessing nuclear arms "for the purpose of defending the country," and show no interest at all in improving women's social and economic status.
Yamashita Tomoyuki's Last Message to the Japanese People
Due to my carelessness and personal crassness, I committed an inexcusable blunder as the commander of the entire [14th Area] Army and consequently caused the deaths of your precious sons and dearest husbands. I am really sorry and cannot find appropriate words for sincere apologies as I am really confused because of my excruciating agony. As the commander of your beloved men, I am soon to receive the death penalty, having been judged by rigorous but impartial law. It is a strange coincidence that the execution is to be carried out on the birthday of the first U.S. president, George Washington.
I do not know how to express my apology, but the time has come to atone for my guilt with my death. However, I do not think that all the crimes for which I am responsible can easily be liquidated simply by my death. Various indelible stains that I left on the history of mankind cannot be offset by the mechanical termination of my life.
For a person like me who constantly faced death, to die is not at all difficult. Of course I should have committed suicide when I surrendered, as ordered by the emperor in accordance with the Japanese code of the samurai. In fact, I once decided to do so when I attended the surrender ceremonies at Kiangan and Baguio, at which General Percival, whom I had defeated [in Singapore], was also present. What prevented me from committing such an egocentric act was the presence of my soldiers, who did not yet know that the war was over at that time. By refusing to take my own life, I was able to set my men free from meaningless deaths, as those stationed around Kiangan were ready to commit suicide. I really felt pain from the shame of remaining alive, in violation of the samurai's code of "dying at the appropriate time in an appropriate place." I therefore can imagine how much more difficult it is for people like you to remain alive and re-build Japan rather than being executed as a war criminal. If I were not a war criminal, I would still have chosen a difficult path, bearing shame to stay alive and atone for my sins until natural death comes, no matter how you all might despise me.
Sun Tzu said 'The art of war is of vital importance
to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to
ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.'
From these words, we learn that our military forces were lethal weapons and
their very existence was a crime. I tried my best to prevent the war. I am
really ashamed of having been unable to do so because of my weakness. You may
think that I am a born aggressor and a typical militarist, because my campaign
in Malaya and the fall of Singapore excited the entire Japanese nation. I
understand that this is quite natural. I do not excuse myself, as I was a
professional soldier and dedicated myself to the military. But even while being
a military man, I also have a relatively strong sense as a Japanese citizen.
There is no resurrection any longer for the ruined nation and the dead. From
ancient times, war has always been a matter for exceptional prudence by wise rulers
and sensible soldiers. It was entirely due to our military authorities'
arbitrary decisions, which were made by just a handful of people, that a large
number of our people died and the rest of the nation was dragged into its
present unbearable suffering. I feel as if my heart will break when I think
that we professional soldiers will become the object of your bitter resentment.
I believe that the Potsdam Declaration will wipe out the leaders of military
cliques who led the nation to its downfall, and Japan will start rebuilding as
a peaceful nation under new leaders elected by the popular will. However, the
path of rebuilding the nation will not be easy in the face of many obstacles.
The experience that you went through, enduring various difficulties and poverty in the last ten years of war, will inevitably give you some strength, even though it was as an unwelcome result of pressure from the military authorities. To construct a new Japan, you really must not include militarists who are the relics of the past or opportunistic unprincipled politicians, or scholars patronized by the government who try to rationalize an aggressive war.
Probably some appropriate policies will be adopted by the Allied Occupation Forces. But I would like to say something on this point, as I am just about to die and thus have great concern about Japan's future. Weeds have a strong life force, and grow again when spring comes, no matter how hard they are trodden underfoot. I am confident that, with strong determination for development, you will rebuild our nation now completely destroyed, and make it a highly cultured one like Denmark. Denmark lost its fertile land in Schleswig-Holstein as the result of the German-Denmark War in 1863, but gave up rearming themselves and made their infertile areas into one of the most cultured of European nations. As a ruined people, we repent having done wrong. I will pray for Japan's restoration from a grave in a foreign country.
Japanese people, you have expelled the militarists and will gain your own independence. Please stand up firmly after the ravages of war. That is my wish. I am a simple soldier. Faced with execution in a very short time, a thousand emotions overwhelm me. But in addition to apologizing, I want to express my views on certain matters. I feel sorry that I cannot express myself very well, because I am a man of action, reticent and with a limited vocabulary. The time of my execution is drawing near. I have only one hour and forty minutes left. Probably only convicts on death row are capable of comprehending the value of one hour and forty minutes. I asked Mr. Morita, a prison chaplain, to record these words and I hope he will pass my ideas on to you some day.
Facing death, I have four things to say to you, the people of the nation of Japan as it resurrects.
First, is about carrying out one's duty. From ancient times, this topic has repeatedly been discussed by scholars, yet it remains most difficult to achieve. Without a sense of duty, a democratic and cooperative society cannot exist. Duty has to be fulfilled as a result of self-regulating and naturally motivated action. I feel some misgivings in thinking about this, considering that you are suddenly to be liberated from the social restraints under which you have long lived.
I often discussed this with my junior officers. The moral decay of our military was so grave that the Imperial Code of Military Conduct as well as the Field Service Code were simply dead letters. Therefore, we had to remind people of this all the time, even in the military where obedience was strongly demanded and defying orders was not allowed at all. In this war, it was far from true that officers under my command carried out their duties satisfactorily.
They were unable to fulfill even the duties that were imposed upon them. Therefore I have some concern over your ability to fulfill your duty voluntarily and independently, after being released from long-standing social restraints. I wonder if you'll be dazzled by suddenly bestowed freedom, and whether some may fail to carry out your duty as required in relations with others, as you've received basically the same education as military men. In a free society, you should nurture your own ability to make moral judgments in order to carry out your duties. Duties can only be carried out correctly by a socially mature person with an independent mind and with culture and dignity.
The fundamental reason why the world has lost
confidence in our nation, and why we have so many war-crime suspects who left
ugly scars on our history, was this lack of morals. I would like you to
cultivate and accept the common moral judgment of the world, and become a
people who fulfill duties on your own responsibility. You are expected to be
independent and carve out your own future. No one can avoid this responsibility
and choose an easy way. Only through that path can eternal peace be attained in
the world.
Second, I would like you to promote education in science. No one can deny that the level of Japan's modern science, apart from certain minor areas, is well below world standards. If you travel outside Japan, the first thing you notice is the unscientific way of life of the Japanese. To search for truth with Japan's irrational and cliquish mentality is like searching for fish among the trees.
We soldiers had great difficulties in securing the necessary materials to fight and to make up for the lack of scientific knowledge. We tried to fight against the superior forces of the United States and to win the war by throwing away the priceless lives of our nation as substitutes for bullets and bombs. Various methods of horrendous suicide attack were invented. We exposed our pilots to danger by stripping vital equipment from the planes in order to just slightly improve their mobility. This shows how little knowledge we had for conducting war. We made the greatest mistake -- unprecedented in world history -- by trying to make up for the lack of materials and scientific knowledge with human bodies.
My present state of mind is quite different from that at the time of surrender. In the car on the way to Baguio from Kiangan, Mr. Robert MacMillan, a journalist of the magazine Youth asked, what I thought was the fundamental reason for Japan's defeat. Something suppressed for a long time in my sub-consciousness suddenly burst out and I instantly responded "science," before referring to other important issues. This was because my long-lasting frustration and intense anger were loosened all at once when the war was over.
I am not saying that this is the only reason, but it was clearly one important reason for Japan's defeat. If there will be another war somewhere in the world (although I hope there won't be), it is expected end in a short time through the use of horrific scientific weapons. The foolish methods of war that Japan adopted will be regarded as the illusions of an idiot. Human beings throughout the world, I presume, will make efforts to prevent such a terrible war -- not just the Japanese who thoroughly endured the horror of this war. This is the task that is given to humanity.
The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were horrendous weapons. Never before have so many people been killed instantly in the long history of slaughtering human beings. As I have been in prison, I have not had enough time to study the A-bomb, but I think that no weapon will be invented to defend against atomic weapons. It used to be said that it would always be possible to fight against a new method of attack. This is still true. If there is any method to defend against atomic bombs -- the weapon that has made obsolete all past warfare -- it would simply be to create nations all over the world that would never contemplate the use of such weapons.
A defeated officer like me reflects sadly that if we had had superior scientific knowledge and sufficient scientific weapons, we would not have killed so many of our own men. Instead we could have sent them back home to use the knowledge as the foundation to rebuild a glorious and peaceful country. However, the science that I mean is not science that leads mankind to destruction. It is science that will develop natural resources still to be tapped, that will make human life rich, and will be used for peaceful purposes to free human beings from misery and poverty.
Third, I want to mention the education of women. I have heard that Japanese women have been liberated from the feudal state authorities and been given the privilege of suffrage. From my experience of living in foreign countries for a long time, I can say that the position of modern Japanese women is inferior to that of women in the west.
I am slightly apprehensive about the fact that freedom for Japanese women is a generous gift from the Occupation Forces, not one that they struggled to acquire themselves. A gift is often enjoyed as an object of appreciation and not actually put to direct use. The highest virtues for Japanese women used to be "obedience" and "fidelity." That was no different from "obedient allegiance" in the military. A person who respects such castrated and slave-like virtues has been called a "chaste woman" or praised as a "loyal and brave soldier." In such values, there is no freedom of action or freedom of thought, and they are not the virtues by which one can self-examine autonomously. My hope is that you will break out of your old shell, enrich your education, and become new active Japanese women, while maintaining only the good elements of existing values. The driving force for peace is the heart of women. Please utilize your newly gained freedom effectively and appropriately. Your freedom should not be violated or taken away by anyone. As free women, you should be united with women throughout the world and give full play to your unique abilities as women. If not, you will be squandering all the privileges that you have been given.
Finally, there is one more thing that I would like to tell women -- you are either already a mother or will become a mother in future. You should clearly realize that one of a mother's responsibilities is a very important role in the "human education" of the next generation.
I have always been unhappy about the idea that modern education begins at school. The home is the most appropriate place for educating infants and the most appropriate teacher is the mother. You alone can lay the foundation for education in its true meaning. If you do not want to be criticized as worthless women, please do your best in educating your own children. Education does not begin at kindergarten or on entry to elementary school. It should begin when you breastfeed a newborn baby. It is a mother's privilege to have a special feeling that no one else can have when she cuddles and breastfeeds her baby. Mothers should give their love to their baby both physically and mentally, as they are the baby's source of life. Breastfeeding can be done by another, and nourishment can be provided by other animals, or can be substituted for by a bottle. Yet nothing else can substitute for mother's love.
It is not enough for a mother to think only about how to keep her children alive. She should raise them to be able to live independently, cope with various circumstances, love peace, appreciate cooperation with others and have a strong desire to contribute to humanity when they grow up.
You should raise the joyful feeling of breastfeeding to the level of intellectual emotion and refined love. Mother's love will constantly flow into her baby's body through breastfeeding. The fundamental elements of future education must exist in embryo in mother's milk. Attention to the baby's needs can be the basis for education. Untiring mothering skills should naturally develop into a higher level of educational skill. I am not a specialist on education and therefore I am not sure how appropriate it is, but I would like to call this kind of education "breastfeeding education." Please bear this simple and ordinary phrase in your mind. These are the last words of the person who took your children's lives away from you.
Yuki Tanaka is research professor at the Hiroshima Peace Institute, a Coordinator of Japan Focus, and author of Japan's Comfort Women. Sexual slavery and prostitution during World War II and the US Occupation. He prepared this article for Japan Focus. Posted September 22, 2005.
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OTHER LINKS:
YAMASHITA
ON TRIAL FOR WAR CRIMES
Tokyo/Yamashita
Trials
Uploaded on Dec
14, 2009
Clips
from a program hosted by Oliver North entitled "War Stories" relating
to the Tokyo Trial and the Yamashita Trial. The featured prosecutor was Robert
Donihi who was part of Joseph Keenan's team at Tokyo. Mr. Donihi was also a
guest at the Robert H. Jackson Center during the celebration of the 60th
Anniversary of the Nuremberg Trial. For further information, see http://www.roberthjackson.org
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