Chapter 60 3. The arrest of Hisao Tani

The chief culprit of the "Nanjing Massacre", Hisao Tani, the head of the Sixth Division of the Japanese Invading Army, was one of the first generals recalled by the Japanese government in order to conceal the tragedy of the "Nanjing Massacre". On December 28, 1937, Hisao Tani was appointed as the commander of the Central Defense Area by the Japanese Army High Command. In September 1939, he was transferred to the reserve. On August 12, 1945, Hisao Tani was re-activated in the base camp, and he was appointed as the commander of the 59th Japanese Army and the commander of the Chinese military area. However, before he could take up his post, Japan had already announced its unconditional surrender.

Hearing the news of Japan's defeat and surrender, Hisao Tani was both sad and panicked. Thinking of what he and his subordinates did when they captured Nanjing, the Chinese would inevitably settle accounts with themselves, so they were worried all day long.He neither wanted to be stubborn like some die-hard soldiers, nor wanted to commit suicide by cutting open his stomach like some marshals and generals.He just wanted to hide at home and peep quietly, looking for opportunities to escape punishment. On September 16, Hisao Tani went to visit his old boss with anxiety.When talking about the allies’ plans to punish war criminals, the wily Iwane Matsui told him: “What happened when the imperial army captured Nanjing in the early days of the Sino-Japanese War, whether it is the Allies or China, it is estimated that they will settle accounts. When the time comes, you, the commander of the main siege force, and your boss, Iwane Matsui, will be the targets of the Allied Forces, and you must be fully prepared for this."

Back home, Gu Hisao conspired with his wife to discuss various ways to deal with the Allied forces' arrest of him. Three days later, Matsui Iwane was arrested by the Allied forces. Hisao Tani thought it was his turn, and he was terrified all day long, restless.Days and months passed, and Hisao Tani was still safe and sound, so he mistakenly believed that for the "Nanjing Massacre", the Allied Forces and China had settled the blame on Matsui Iwane alone, and he could escape punishment from now on .Hisao Tani, who had calmed down, changed his past strategy of living in seclusion and began to haunt social places, and considered shifting his energy to business.Just as he was negotiating with an American businessman to set up a joint venture factory, the demon sword was pointed at the demon who slaughtered the people of Nanjing!

Late at night on February 2, 1946, Lieutenant Colonel Clark of the Allied Forces Headquarters in Japan led more than a dozen American troops to arrest Hisao Tani. After the 3 cars drove out from the headquarters of the Allied Forces, they sped forward on the spacious road in Tokyo, and stopped in front of a single-family garden-style house in the suburban junction. In the dark night, several American soldiers rushed towards the dark green door of the bungalow. The leading American soldier rang the electric bell on the door. After a while, the book-sized opening on the iron door opened, revealing a The sleepy face of a woman.A U.S. military captain said: "We are the law enforcement team of the Allied Far East International Military Tribunal, and we were ordered to come to General Hisao Tani."

The woman replied that she was Matsuoka Hanako, the housekeeper of General Tani Hisao's mansion, and she was going to ask his wife for instructions on the late-night visit of the Allied forces.After dawdling for a long time, she slowly opened the iron door. Lieutenant Colonel Clark came straight to the living room with several U.S. troops. The well-dressed Mrs. and Mrs. Tanitoshi Umeko Tanitoshi came down from the upstairs, bowed politely to the visitors and said, "Gentlemen of the Allied Forces, I don't know you are here. I am late for opening the door, sorry for the inconvenience!" Lieutenant Colonel Clark said solemnly: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Clark of the law enforcement team of the International Military Tribunal for the Allied Forces in the Far East. I was ordered to arrest General Hisao Tani tonight. Please call General Hisao Tani Come down!" As he spoke, an American lieutenant took out an arrest warrant and showed it to Gu Shoumeizi.

Umeko Tanitoshi glanced at the arrest warrant, and then politely bowed to Lieutenant Colonel Clark: "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, I'm sorry, General Hisao Tani is not at home. He has gone to a relative's house in Kobe." Lieutenant Colonel Clark thought for a while and said, "Ma'am, since we have come, we have to do some business, otherwise, it will be difficult to explain to the court when we go back!" Gu Shoumeizi had no choice but to ask the housekeeper to call the whole family into the living room. The family members didn't know what happened, and looked at each other blankly.Gu Shoumeizi politely invited Lieutenant Colonel Clark into the study, and talked slowly with him.The captain took the American soldiers and searched upstairs and downstairs to the yard, but he didn't even find the shadow of Hisao Tani.

The U.S. captain reported the search results to Lieutenant Colonel Clark. The lieutenant colonel thought for a while and said calmly, "Okay, then let's go back and ask our superiors to see if we should go to Kobe!" The American soldiers left politely. After the sound of the car's engine gradually disappeared in the night sky, Meizi Gu Shou let out a long breath.She went back to the study and pressed a button the size of a button under the lamp holder. With a slight sound, the floor slowly moved under the seat of General Clark just now, revealing a 50 cm square hole. Over 60 years old, a short and strong old man climbed out of it. He was indeed the main criminal of the "Nanjing Massacre", Hisao Tani.

After climbing out of the cave, Gu Hisao glanced nervously outside, then asked in a low voice, "Are you all gone?" Meizi nodded affirmatively.Gu Hisao calmed down, thought for a while, and immediately returned to the bedroom, quickly dropped the blanket, took off his pajamas, then put on a suit and a dark black wool coat, took the bag his wife had packed for him, and told his family After earnestly exhorting him, he quietly slipped out through the small door at the back. The night sky was pitch black, and the cold wind was blowing head-on, and Hisao Tani shivered unknowingly.After going out, turn right along an alley and walk quickly towards the road.Just came to the alley.Suddenly two black figures flashed by the side of the road, and the black muzzles of two carbines were aimed at him.Gu Hisao was so shocked that he was speechless for a while.Two U.S. military policemen shouted: "General Hisao Tani, you are under arrest!"

Gu Hisao still wanted to escape the law, and replied: "You have mistaken the person, I am not Gu Hisao!" The U.S. captain stepped forward, holding the arrest warrant with Hisao Tani's photo on it, and patted Hisao Gu on the shoulder: "Mr. General, we will not make a mistake, let's go!" Gu Hisao couldn't help shivering again, his lips parted a few times, unable to speak, he had to hang his head helplessly.American soldiers came forward, handcuffed him, and escorted him to a car parked not far away.The car started immediately, the headlights picked up the night, and after a few turns on the streets of Tokyo, it drove straight to the Sugamo War Criminals Detention Center.Major Fleet, the director of the detention center, saw Hisao Tani being escorted in, and immediately went up to him. He helped him uncuff him, shook hands with him, and gave a welcome speech with a smile: "You are very welcome, General Hisao Tani! Think about it. Well, our long-awaited guest has finally arrived!"

Gu Hisao was too embarrassed to answer, so he smiled bitterly and shook his head.