Japanese orphans in China 中国残留日本人孤児

[Maestro Ozawa Seiji - we wish you a speedy recovery.]

In 1685, 500 藤牌兵 from Taiwan fought the Russians in Albazin, north of the Amur [the Black Dragon River黑龍江]. In the late 1930s, many Taiwanese went, in a supporting capacity, with the Japanese military to serve south of the Amur in 滿洲 - or 東北 [the Northeast of China, used to be 9 provinces, now 3: 遼寧, 吉林, and 黑龍江]. The Taiwanese certainly traveled far.

So how and why did the Japanese get there in the first place?

By the end of the 19th Century, there were already Japanese settlers heading for 東北 region. This continued unabated through 大正 (1912-1926) into the early 昭和 era. And large-scale Japanese migration into "滿洲" (and later "滿洲國"), orchestrated by the infamous 関東軍, went into full swing from 1932 onwards until 1945 [Note: A good summary of the Japanese “Agricultural Emigration” during this period can be found in: http://arts.monash.edu.au/publications/eras/edition-5/mcdowellarticle.php]

Also, the putative intents of the mass migration in the early 1900s were to counter Russian expansion and to resolve Japanese rural economy crisis. By some accounts, early settlers were led to believe that they were to populate unclaimed open lands. However, from 1932 on, the settlers were organized for a de facto takeover of 東北 farmland – often via forced acquisition from native farmers. Eventually, the whole enterprise, emboldened by China’s 不抵抗主義, degenerated into empire-building that culminated in the war with China and beyond. By September, 1944, there were 1,662,234 Japanese residing in 東北 and most were sent back to Japan in 1946-8 (see 葫芦岛市政府辽宁省社科院: “Repatriation of one million Japanese via Huludao” – some parts are available online).

Most famous among those repatriated young ones are the future music director of Boston Symphony Orchestra Seiji Ozawa (小澤 征爾, born in 1935 in 奉天, i.e., 瀋陽, father a dentist), and movie actor Toshiro Mifune (三船 敏郎, 1920-1997, born in 青島, grew up in 大連, father a professional photographer).

And it was probably the massive Han people migration into 東北 that actually saved it from being dominated by Japan. Han people went from 6 million in 1897 to 15–17 million at the end of the Qing dynasty. After that,the Japanese tried hard but could manage ultimately only 1.66 million settlers by 1944. By this time, the Han population was well over 17 million.

Since 1945, there are newly discovered/reported old consequences:

There have been a few thousand "中国残留日本人孤児" – abandoned Japanese babies/children adopted by Chinese foster parents in 1945 amidst disease, death, and destruction. In scenes that no doubt have repeated numerous times in all wars: most children were found alone crying by the roadside, some by the dead bodies of their mothers, and some were just infants left behind in vacant houses (detailed in http://japanfocus.org/products/details/2195). Their existence was first uncovered in 1965 by a group of Japanese journalists then visiting 鞍山. Very few of these children were adopted through formal arrangements, most were simply left behind because their parents either were dead or could not care for them any more. While most adopted children were treated as their own by the foster parents, some had lived on the margin of the Chinese society. And for others who returned to Japan after the 1970s, they found themselves again living on the margin of the Japanese society because of the language and culture barriers. A few Japanese families actually refused to acknowledge these orphans - in a way, also a denial of the painful past. Many foster children had elected to stay in China, before returning to Japan, to care for their now elderly Chinese parents. Most did re-enter the Japanese society.

There was an NHK 1995 TV series, 大地の子Son of the Great Earth, describing the life of such an abandoned little boy. Readers my wish to look it up.

There is more: In the 2004 "War Orphans" list released by the Japanese government, there was one baby girl adopted by the Russians. The description of her case in http://www.kikokusha-center.or.jp/joho/mihanmei/h16/h1612.htm reads [translates]: "On Aug 17, 1945 [note: Japan had surrendered on Aug 15; although fighting continued until Aug 26], near 牡丹江市, 掖河 Station, the Japanese armed forces were attacked by Soviet forces [note: no survivors on the Japanese side]. The baby was rescued by a Soviet soldier named "ミフリャ [note: this is pronounced Mifuliya but more likely, it’s Mifodzia] [note: the baby was crying among the ruins and was therefore discovered by the soldier]. When found, it was wearing a reddish brown coat, a yellow shirt and pants, and was wrapped in a blanket. Its nose was wounded by artillery bombardment." The baby was given the name "ニーナイヴァーノヴナポリャンスカヤ(Нина Ивановна Полянская)" [note: first name Nina that of the Russian nurse treating the wounded baby, middle name Ivanovitch that of the discovering Soviet soldier, and last name Boltyanskaya means "grand vision"] and later adopted by a Russian family. She visited Japan briefly in 2004 but chose to go back to Russia. She has never fully recovered from her wounds.

It was clearly a disastrous summer in 1945 for the Japanese settlers. Mass suicides were common. Some the then children now recall, in the ensuing months, the hunger, the winter cold, the deaths of siblings, hiding from the Russians, and yet retain fond memories of the place they used to call home. And because menfolks were sent to fight wars elsewhere, the remaining families became refugees amidst overwhelming hostilities. The ones escaped through Korea had an especially hard time; see, for example, the book "So far from the Bamboo Grove" by Yoko Kawashima-Watkins, New York, Viking Penguin, 1987 (Puffin Book). Its recollection of the maltreatment of the Japanese women-refugees by the Koreans has stirred up controversies leading to its ban in Korea, China, and some schools in the US [see here].

More about these Chinese foster parents: In one example of an interview in http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/141004.htm, "I did hesitate a little after we learned that it was a Japanese child," said Zhang Zhilan, Ran's foster mother. "I hated the Japanese army very much. They were so atrocious, killing Chinese civilians as if they were chopping a tree. But looking at the newly born infant, I made up my mind. If I was not going to raise him, he would soon die. After all, the child was innocent."

It is hard to imagine in the chaos of the war, some Chinese peasants who came across crying children/infants dressed in Japanese garments and decided on the spot to bring the children home. The Japanese reports describe them as 善良の中國百姓. It is far more than that because we are talking about 4,000 such children, not just a handful. This is a core character of Chinese farmers, far more benevolent, humane, and loving than others gave them credit for. It might have been the hundreds of years of influence from Buddhism, an ingrained morality if you will. For example, this saying "救人一命, 勝造七级浮屠 - Saving one life is even better than building a seven–storied pagoda" alone might have been very important in the farmers' decision to adopt.