Chapter 13 Chapter 10 The "Military God" Under the Mask
Regarding the commander of Unit 731, Shiro Ishii, the commander of the Kwantung Army's Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department, the former troops have some consistent memories.Let's start drawing from this point!
"The old man is a monkey playing monkey" - the first thing that came to mind of the former army personnel was the scene of Shiro Ishii being a "monkey".
Every year, Unit 731 never fails to hold gatherings for all personnel as usual.Such as: Army Remembrance Day, Era Day, Tianchang Day, etc.Whenever such an event is held, Captain Ishii will appear in front of all the staff.
Whenever something happened, Troop Commander Ishii called all the staff in the auditorium of Building 63 and emphasized to them the mission of Troop 731.Behind the rostrum, a large map of the world was hung, and the posture in which he stood in front and gave a speech like a lion roared best suited his burly figure.He was over 180 centimeters tall and had a nice mustache.
Commander Ishii Shiro, who appeared at the venue, was dressed in a grass-green military uniform, hung a golden medal, and wrapped a speaker wire around his neck. When he delivered a speech, he made a haughty gesture. Walk up and down the stage.
At the time, there were no wireless speakers.When Commander Shiro Ishii walked on the stage, wires twisted and wriggled on the ground.
From the perspective of the army personnel, the gesture of Commander Ishii when he talked about current affairs and the mission of Unit 731 was like an old monkey with a rope tied around his neck roaring.
"The old man is an owl" - Captain Ishii is an extreme "night owl".During the day, he slept soundly in the captain's room, woke up in the evening, and at night, his mind was clear.
Commander Ishii's mantra is: "If you have any suggestions for the work of Unit 731, no matter how small, you can come to me, and it doesn't matter in the middle of the night." Only after sleeping and waking up at night can I say such things."
The "victims" of Commander Ishii's extreme "night owl habits" are the cadres of Unit 731.In the middle of the night, he came up with an idea about preparing for germ warfare, and immediately called the adjutant up and said: "Call the cadres immediately... an emergency meeting is held now."
In the middle of the night, the adjutant called the Dongcun dormitory and knocked on the door of the residence of the cadres of Unit 731.Some cadres were tired from the intense work during the day, so they received the "envoy sent by the army commander" who came to visit in the middle of the night with an unhappy expression.It is said that the adjutant was not rested either physically or mentally.
"The old man has a kind of obsession with wanting to be a general" - Captain Ishii has a strong sense of superiority due to his own experience.
Shiro Ishii was born on June 25, 1892 in Osato, Chiyoda Village, Sanbu County, Chiba Prefecture (now Shibayama Town).When I went to the local private school "Ikeda School", I was able to recite textbooks overnight.His brains were so good that the teacher was greatly surprised.He later attended Chiba Junior High School.
Ishii Shiro's hometown is a landowner in the Chiyodamura area, and Shiro is the fourth eldest of the Ishii family.
After Shiro graduated from Chiba Junior High School, he was admitted to the Kyoto Imperial University School of Medicine by the former No. 4 High School in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture.After graduating from university, he entered the army as a cadre postgraduate.Later, he entered the Graduate School of Kyoto Imperial University as a student commissioned by the military.Why did Shiro choose the path of a professional soldier?This situation has not yet been clarified.
From a young age, Shiro Ishii resonated with the concept of the so-called "king and Buddha in harmony" in the Lotus Sutra.During the First World War, he was very concerned about the drug gas warfare carried out by the European powers.The testimony of his juniors said that he also admired Bismarck, the "Iron Chancellor", or that he was a young nationalist interested in science.
There is such an episode, because of his outstanding grades when studying at Kyoto Imperial University, the then president of Kyoto Imperial University pinned his hopes on Shiro Ishii's future and let him marry his daughter.
After leaving the Graduate School of Kyoto Imperial University, Shiro Ishii made rapid progress as an army cadre along the path of professional soldiers. In 1921, he served as a second-class military doctor (equivalent to a lieutenant); in 1924, he was promoted to a first-class military doctor (equivalent to a captain); in 1927, he wrote a dissertation on epidemic prevention and became a doctor of medicine; in 1931, only 39 years old, Ishii Shiro was promoted to be a third-class military doctor (equivalent to a major), served as an instructor of the Army Medical School, and became a cadre of the Army Ordnance Factory at the same time.Ishii Shiro's experience of concurrently serving as a cadre of the Ordnance General Factory and an instructor of the Military Medical School has its own particularity.
At this time, the demonic idea of diverting bacteria into weapons began to arise in Ishii's mind.
The highest rank of military doctors in the Army is lieutenant general and cannot be promoted to general.For this, Ishii Shiro was very dissatisfied.
Many people have seen the scene where Ishii vented his dissatisfaction with his status (military lieutenant general) after being drunk.Some reporters have also heard him say something like this: "I am a genius, and those officers in the General Staff Headquarters are all idiots!"
In the captain's room of Unit 731, the same double-lens microscope, which was still very rare at the time, was side by side, and a bust of Nagata Tieshan (Military Affairs Director of the Ministry of Army) was placed.
Regarding this bust of Nagata Tieshan, which expresses the admiration of Commander Ishii, there is a rumor among the relevant personnel: this is because Nagata is "the person who best understands the practice of germ warfare" and "the most powerful supporter of Ishii's proposition" characters".
However, behind Ishii Shiro's obsession with Nagata Iron Mountain, there is a hidden truth that has not been mentioned in any books or reports so far.
In the spring of 1932, in the high-end restaurant street of Kagurazaka, Ushigome, Tokyo, there was a prostitute who spent money every night.In Kagurazaka before the war, there were more than a dozen geisha houses alone. This is the fireworks and willow alley where the girls who came to sell themselves from the countryside fell.
"Recently, there is a young prostitute who spends money like water, and he appears in a high-end restaurant in Kagurazaka almost every night." The person who runs the restaurant quietly reports to the Kaguraban Police Station, which is in charge of this area.
After receiving the report, the criminal police of the Kagura Police Station conducted a secret investigation and found that the origin of this "prostitute" was a bit strange.
First, this "guest" is tall and tall, more than 180 centimeters tall, seems to be proficient in martial arts, and his movements are very agile.When the mind is concentrated, the unique three-white eyes are formed, and the black eyes are almost invisible.He wears a smart three-piece suit with hair parted down the middle.In the evening, he took a car from the direction of Ichigaya to Kagurazaka, and walked up the slope with big strides.
"Did you get any young girls...the geishas in your store are all old women!" He asked loudly in such a tone in the living room of the inner house of a high-end restaurant.
From this point of view alone, it is very likely that he is a professional soldier.The Kagurazaka Police Department reported the situation of this "client" to the Ushigome Gendarmerie.At that time, the police were not allowed to conduct investigations on active-duty soldiers casually.
The gendarmes were ordered to continue their undercover investigation and found the extravagant luxury to be astonishing.
As soon as the "client" heard that a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old had just arrived in the brothel, he forced the hostess of the restaurant to say, "Let that young prostitute come here and sleep with me!" He took out 100 yen at once.At that time, 100 yen was equivalent to about three months' salary of a young salaryman who had just started working.
I heard that once, this "prostitute" also called a taxi to take a few geisha to the coast of Shonan, and slept with a few geisha in a hotel under the name of "Shihyun".It costs so much that it cannot be covered by the monthly salary of a professional soldier.Compared with ordinary men, his way of playing is also quite abnormal.
As a result of a secret investigation conducted by the Ushigome Gendarmerie, it was found that this "client" was Shiro Ishii, a third-class military doctor who was an instructor at the Army Medical School at that time.
Where is Military Doctor Ishii getting such huge entertainment expenses?It was also found out that there is also a medical device manufacturer called "Imperial Medical Co., Ltd."
"Teikoi Medical Co., Ltd." is a company that specializes in contracting the production of "Ishii-type water filters" based on orders from the Army.The so-called "Ishii-type water filter" is the bacterial filter that later made the Army's Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department and Shiro Ishii's name a sensation on the front line: let sewage or river water pass through a filter chamber made of plain pottery fired with osmanthus algae, Through the fine particles of biscuit, bacteria can be eliminated, and the safety of drinking water can be guaranteed.
The "Ishii-type water filter" made according to this principle has been improved many times. After the Nomenkan incident in 1939, many types have been produced. The big ones are as big as the tanks carried by trucks, and the small ones are like carrying water guns. so big.
There is such a small episode that can show that its performance is superior.Shiro Ishii personally used a water filter to filter urine to make transparent water, and brought it to the Army Staff Headquarters to show them.
Due to the expansion of the Sino-Japanese War and the outbreak of the Pacific War, Japanese officers and soldiers "moved to battle" in mainland China and the South (referring to Southeast Asia and other regions - Translator's Note).For them, the "Ishii-style water filter" has become a "new weapon" in epidemic prevention.
When the Ushigome Gendarmerie investigated the secrets of Ishii Shiro's squandering luxury, only some people in the upper echelons of the army knew the name Ishii Shiro.
The gendarmerie found out: "Ishii-type water filter" was contracted by "Teikoku Medical Co., Ltd.", and it developed rapidly as an army imperial enterprise.Behind it, there is Ishii Shiro suspected of accepting huge bribes.It is said that soon after, the Ushigome Gendarmerie grasped the fact that Ishii Shiro had accepted a bribe of 50,000 yen, and arrested relevant personnel of "Teikoku Medical Co., Ltd." and Ishii Shiro.
The Ushigome Military Police detained Shiro Ishii, a military doctor, for 10 days and conducted severe interrogation.When Ishii Shiro was prosecuted, and it was generally believed that a guilty verdict was inevitable—on the eleventh day, the higher-ups of the Army suddenly issued a secret order: "Release Ishii Shiro, the third-class military doctor!"
Ishii Shiro squinted his eyes at the Ushigome Gendarmerie, who stamped his feet and beat his chest, regretting it, and walked out of the army prison with joy on his face.He learned that behind the sudden release, it was his superior, the Chief of Military Affairs Nagata Tieshan (then the Colonel), who did the work.
Since then, for Shiro Ishii, Nagata Tieshan has become the "savior" he will never forget in his life.Nagata is indeed the benefactor who saved the lives of Shiro Ishii soldiers. "It's a pity that this person who is about to make a difference is tied up with a rope as a sinner." Therefore, Nagata Tieshan ran up and down in the higher-level organs of the army.This is something Shiro Ishii will never forget until his death.
Behind the bust of Nagata in the captain's room, there is a big corruption incident related to the water filter.
Shiro Ishii had the diabolical idea of diverting bacteria into weapons, and had the ambition to complete germ warfare tactics in Japan.The occasion was an inspection trip to Europe in the spring of 1930.
Although this time was an inspection, in fact, according to Ishii Shiro himself, it was a secret reconnaissance that kept in touch with Japanese embassies and consulates in various countries, that is to say, it was a military spy trip.
Shiro Ishii was sent to Europe by Nagata Tetsuyama, then a section chief of the Army Ministry.At that time, Ishii Shiro was a first-class military doctor. As the inventor of the "Ishii-style water filter", his name began to be known among army leaders (it was still under development at the time, and the finished product was actually developed two years later. Come).
In the autumn of 1931, Shiro Ishii returned to Japan after finishing his "spy trip" to various European countries.In September before his return to China, under the planning of the Kwantung Army, the Liutiao Lake incident occurred.
While watching the expansion of the Sino-Japanese war, Shiro Ishii went to the Ministry of the Army to visit Section Chief Nagata to report the results of his one-and-a-half year inspection in Europe.It is said that at that time, Ishii reported that European powers, especially Nazi Germany, were trying to convert bacteria into weapons, and argued that "if Japan does not start basic research immediately, it will not be able to catch up with the carriage."
Soon after Shiro Ishii returned to China, he began to work in the First Army Hospital and was promoted to be a third-class military doctor.
It is believed that Shiro Ishii began to conduct research on the toxicity of bacteria at this time, no, it was not simply a study on the toxicity of bacteria.Shiro Ishii became the head of the Army Anti-epidemic Research Office (it was called another name in 1933 according to the testimony of relevant personnel, but this has not been clarified) set up in the Army Medical School in Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo.Although small-scale research was carried out using assistants, a fairly organized and systematic work on culturing bacteria and infection experiments began.
"Fifty Years History of the Army Medical School" (issued on November 7, 1936) has the following description when talking about the relationship between Ishii Shiro and the newly established "Epidemic Prevention Research Office":
The third is to set up an epidemic prevention research room
Purpose of establishment: The Epidemic Prevention Research Office is newly established in the Army Medical School as a research institution related to epidemic prevention operations.Regarding the establishment of this new institution, Shiro Ishii, a first-class military doctor of the Army, visited Europe as a foreign researcher in 1928 to observe the situation in various countries and deeply felt that our country lacked corresponding facilities, which was a major defect in national defense. After returning home from inspections to Europe and the United States in 1930, he pointed out this major deficiency in national defense and reported to his superiors that the establishment of such facilities was a top priority.Later, as an instructor of the Army Medical School, he used his spare time to instruct students to conduct experiments and research all night long. In 1932, with the strong support of instructor Koizumi, with the approval of the superior, a new laboratory headed by the military doctor was established in the military medical school.
In August 1932, military doctor Ishii and other five military doctors were newly assigned to the Army Military Medical School, and the epidemic prevention research room was opened.At that time, the basement classroom of the Ministry of Epidemic Prevention was remodeled.In order to carry out basic research, they work day and night.
With the progress of the work in the epidemic prevention laboratory, the basement of the epidemic prevention department felt that the research was too narrow. Military doctor Ishii was presenting the results of his opinion to his superiors. More than 5,000 ping (3.3 square meters per ping——Translator's Note) of the land was given to them, and they started to build a new epidemic prevention research room. In April 1933, construction started at a construction cost of about 200,000 yen and was completed in October of the same year.
The new laboratory is a two-story reinforced concrete building, covering an area of about 797 square meters, with a total construction area of 1795 square meters. The ancillary buildings include a wooden animal room of 39.7 square meters, an office, a substation, and a mechanical room of 863 square meters. and warehouse etc.
Establishment of Manchurian Anti-epidemic Institutions With the progress of basic anti-epidemic research, in order to carry out field application research on anti-epidemics, Military Doctor Ishii is overcoming all difficulties and going to Manchuria to do his best for the establishment of anti-epidemic institutions and has achieved actual results in various researches.The troops stationed in Manchuria maintained an inseparable relationship with the mainland. In order to meet the operational requirements of the imperial army in terms of epidemic prevention, they established a new epidemic prevention agency in 1936.
This institution echoes the Inland Epidemic Prevention Research Office, not only becoming the center of the Imperial Army's epidemic prevention, but also moving forward to fulfill the important mission of the garrison in terms of epidemic prevention.
"When he was an instructor in the military medical school, Ishii used his assistants to conduct in vivo experiments. Several people who worked as Ishii's assistants engaged in bacterial research died of bacterial infection... Among many acute infectious diseases, Ishii is most concerned about Plague. What kind of bacterial infection caused the deaths of these assistants has not yet been clarified, and it is estimated that it may be plague,” said the relevant personnel of the former Army Epidemic Prevention Research Institute.
There is a reason Shiro Ishii noticed early on that Yersinia pestis was a "powerful weapon" for germ warfare.
That's because "Shiro Ishii discovered during his travels to the European powers that all countries, including Germany, excluded plague bacteria from the 'weapons' used in germ warfare, as if they had agreed in advance."
Why did European countries exclude the plague bacteria from the "weapons" from the very beginning?Because they once had a tragic historical experience that enveloped the European continent in the past.
In the middle of the 14th century, the plague spread across the European continent, and it came fiercely.At that time, the European continent, which had a population of 100 million, lost about a quarter of its lives to the plague.From this you can see how fierce it is.
At that time, the plague hit areas ranging from Spain, Greece, Italy, the entire Balkan Peninsula, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to the south, to the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden to the north, and to parts of Russia in the east. About 25 million people died.
It is said that from then on, European nationals regarded the frightening and rampant plague situation as "God's wrath" - called the punishment of heaven, and passed down the tragic situation at that time from generation to generation.
In the minds of the ruling classes of European countries, the horror of the plague pandemic in the mid-fourteenth century remained as a sequelae.Out of the idea that the plague is God's punishment, they excluded the plague bacteria as a germ warfare "weapon".
Shiro Ishii heard many horror legends about the plague during his visits to European countries.He seems to regard Yersinia pestis, which is not studied by other countries, as "the best bacteria that Japan should study alone."
Nagata Tieshan supported Shiro Ishii's proposition of "conducting Japan's own germ warfare research" from beginning to end.Nagata rescued Ishii from the revelation of the corruption of the water filter, which was written in the previous chapter.
Nagata Tetsuzan was assassinated by Aizawa Nakasa on August 12, 1935 in the Office of the Military Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of the Army.This incident is considered to be the "heavenly punishment" of Nagata, the commander-in-chief of the army control faction of the imperial party.For details about this incident, please allow me to give up here.
Later, Shiro Ishii invited a famous sculptor from Kyoto to Harbin to carve a bust of Nagata in order to commemorate the "legacy" of Nagata Tieshan.
If you study the historical evolution of Unit 731, you will find that there have been incomprehensible personnel transfers in a period of time.
In July 1942, Ishii Shiro was transferred from the post of commander of Unit 731, and Kitano Masaji took over his job.
After Ishii was relieved of his position as army commander, he entered Nanjing and commanded the notorious "Zhejiang-Jiangxi Operation" in the history of the Sino-Japanese War - a large-scale germ warfare.
However, the reason for the sudden dismissal of the unit commander at that time was not for field command of germ warfare.The reason for his dismissal was that it was discovered that he had a huge amount of money that was unknown, including misappropriation of the budget.In layman's terms, it is the revelation of the corruption and embezzlement of public funds that Shiro Ishii and the Harbin Gendarmerie Headquarters participated in.
The direct opportunity for discovering the crime was to discover that he had violated the law in the construction of the facility of Unit 731—the auditorium in Building No. 63.
According to the testimonies of relevant personnel, there is a big difference between the plan to build the auditorium in Building No. 63 reported to the Kwantung Army Command and the auditorium built on the spot.The Army Staff Headquarters noticed that there was a luxurious stage and stage equipment built there that were not included in the construction plan.This becomes the beginning of the detection of criminal behavior.But details are unknown.
As a secret unit of the Kwantung Army, Unit 731 has a huge secret budget.For example: In 1940, Unit 731 received a total budget of 10 million yen, including 5 million yen for research and 5 million yen for personnel expenses. (Records of the public trial of the Khabarovsk Military Court)
At that time, the annual salary of the most senior generals (major and lieutenant generals) in the army was 8,000 yen to 10,000 yen, and the "market price" was determined by the notice of the Prime Minister.The average annual salary of commissioned officers, including wartime allowances, is 2,500 yen.Employees are 1,000 yen, and servants are around 400 yen.
In 1940, the actual number of Unit 731 was 2,000.Suppose there are 50 junior officers and senior officers; 600 lieutenants and commissioned officers; 700 remaining employees; and 700 servants.Calculate the personnel expenses for the whole year, roughly as follows:
Senior civil servants (senior officials) 500,000 yen
Middle-level civil servants (appointed officials) 1.5 million yen
Junior civil servants (employees) 700,000 yen
Junior civil servants (maids) 280,000 yen
Total: 2.98 million yen
According to the testimony provided by the person in charge of finance, around 1940, including hazard pay, "the total personnel expenses of military personnel did not exceed 4 million yen per year."
Although it is a simple estimate, the annual personnel cost alone can exceed 1 million yen.
The content of the research project costing 5 million yen is even more bizarre. In 1940, the main facilities of Unit 731, except for some dormitories, were almost completely completed.There are also large stocks of laboratory equipment, printing machinery, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.This is clear from the testimonies of some veterans of the former army.In this way, there is still a surplus amount of more than 1 million yen per year.
In addition, there is a huge "temporary confidentiality fee" of 500,000 yen to 1 million yen temporarily spent in Unit 731.The root cause of illegal and corrupt activities lies in this huge secret budget.
There are three reasons why Shiro Ishii was dismissed as the commander of Unit 731:
First, Shiro Ishii himself is suspected of embezzling a huge amount of public funds for entertainment expenses.Ishii Shiro, who slept a lot during the day, slipped out of the bungalow with his adjutant at dusk, ran to Xinjing (Changchun), and went as far as Fengtian (Shenyang) to indulge in wandering, and often did not return to the army for several days and nights.
When the commander of the Kwantung Army contacted him in an urgent matter, all the adjutants dispatched to search for "Commander Ishii" in every restaurant in the streets and alleys of Xinjing.This kind of joke is very famous.
Shiro Ishii likes to go to the Japanese-style high-end restaurant "Suishan" in Naniwa-cho, Mukden City.When Ishii came to Fengtian, he must go to this shop. From five or six o'clock in the evening, he was served by young geisha, and he was very happy.
Second, Ishii Shiro was suspected of being bribed by a frequent arms dealer. The main facilities of Unit 731 are contracted by more than a dozen companies including Japan Special Industries Corporation, responsible for construction and supply of equipment.Most of the huge amount of money with unknown purposes is due to the following reasons: These "arms dealers" supply indiscriminate goods, and as corresponding remuneration, these "arms dealers" will bear the burden of Ishii's work in Harbin, Xinjing, Fengtian, Dalian and other places. The cost of having fun with a sympathetic wife.
Third, it is suspected that he has illegal economic transactions with the Harbin Gendarmerie and the secret service agencies responsible for escorting "Malutai".Because "Marutai" is a valuable experimental material for Unit 731, but it is also the best cash cow for military police and secret service personnel.How much "internal handling fee" each "Marutai" paid from Unit 731, I don't know the exact situation.
However, the lavish entertainment of military police and secret service personnel related to Unit 731 was a well-known secret at that time.
Beginning with suspicions about the construction expenses of the auditorium in Building 63, the financial violations were discovered. Later, the Army Staff Headquarters conducted special reconnaissance. After several months of investigations, his crimes were successively discovered. There are not many, and finally announced: "Ishii Shiro will be given a serious warning and dismissed from the post of army commander." This is the rough outline of the truth.
There are many people who worry about the country who sing patriotism in words, but there are many people who are lecherous, wandering, illegal and corrupt behind the scenes. Unit 731 is the best culture medium for this kind of illegal behavior.It turns out that corruption in the upper echelon of the military is not limited to Unit 731.For generals from the Army Non-commissioned Officer Academy and Army University, other countries should be invaded, and the army is a means for them to make a fortune. Behind the positive signs of patriotism and defense of the motherland, they have always used the army as a tool. .
In addition, Mr. M.H of Inuyama City sent the following letter regarding the issue of Shiro Ishii:
I don't have the consciousness of saying Ishii Shiro as a villain.In order to restore the true face of Ishii's "private army" Unit 731, I have to talk about his personality and his influence.It is not to expose Shiro Ishii's personal privacy, but to investigate the war crimes committed by soldiers who were 'public servants' at that time.Ishii's corruption and loitering and Unit 731's war crimes are mutually exclusive.Some readers, however, got the impression described in the following letter.This cannot be denied.I also feel that the author has an extremely abnormal view of Lieutenant General Shiro Ishii, a military doctor.
The author concludes by affirming that "what is truly terrifying is the fact that the people who committed such cruel acts were not another human being like us".This point is repeatedly emphasized in "The Devil's Hunger Strike (Sequel)".Even so, there is still suspicion of contempt for Lieutenant General Shiro Ishii, a military doctor.
There are villains in the story, and the villains in the story are always bad to the end.However, I don't think there are such bad people in the real world.
In the case of anonymous members of the other troops, the emphasis on Shiro Ishii, the commander of the army, is particularly conspicuous.
I also agree with the author's definition of war as "collective madness" in the book.If it is a collective madness, then, will the existence of a chronic madman have such a big effect!
I don't think Shiro Ishii is a contrived villain in this book.
Sunday, September 19, 1982
All of the above are excerpts from the original text.
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