Japanese Soldiers at War
Learn About:
- What battlefield conditions were like for Japanese soldiers in China
- The nature and extent of Japanese war atrocities in China
- How Japanese soldiers “rationalized” their brutal behavior
- What ideologies were and were not operative on the battlefield
Read:
Ishikawa Tatsuzō, Soldiers Alive
Watch:
Japanese Devils (2000)
Assignment:
Soldiers Alive was based on Ishikawa’s experiences as a war correspondent in China in 1938. It is one of the most realistic accounts of the war in China that appeared at the time; hence, the authorities immediately censored it and Ishikawa was imprisoned for four months.
- The novella centers on the individual soldiers of the Nishizawa Regiment. How can we explain their transformation from average Japanese men with families and jobs back home into soldiers capable of carrying out brutal atrocities and war crimes? Does any of the Japanese wartime propaganda and ideology that we’ve encountered so far manifest itself in the thoughts and actions of the soldiers? If so, how? Please use the insights gained from Japanese Devils as well.
